The Logos Became Flesh...

  Christmas has always been my favorite holiday.  My favorite Christmas song is "O Come, O Come, Immanuel".  The ache of a people longing for their God in the midst of a broken, sin-filled world.  The answer coming into this world as an infant.  Years of prophecy fulfilled with the birth of a child.


"The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned...For to us a child a child is born, to us a son is given, and the govenrment shall be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:2, 6


  The books of prophecy are some of my favorites, so I love seeing how verses like these were fulfilled through the birth of Christ.  This year, however, God opened my eyes to the beauty of Christmas from a Gentile perspective.  I am a philosophy major, and one of the classes I was required to take this semester was history of ancient philosophy.  We studied Greek philosophy that occurred prior to Christ's birth.  I also got to study the first 11 chapter of the book of Acts with my life group at church and see how Christianity spread to the Gentiles.


  One of the things the ancient Greek philosophers we studied focused on was the arkhe, or the first cause.  Many of them focused on physical substances.  Some of them considered theological questions.  Xenophanes claimed that the divine did not communicate with humans. 


  The next philosopher we studied was Heraclitus of Ephesus.  I was thrilled when I came across the word "logos", the same word that is translated as "Word" in the beginning of John.  Heraclitus used the term logos to refer to what he believed was a single divine law that controlled and guided everything.  He believed that the logos was both an objective and independent truth and that it was available to everyone.  He also viewed the logos as unchanging.  According to Heraclitus, all things come to be in accordance with the logos.


  Sound a little like the beginning of the book of John?  I thought so.  I did a little research with the help of Google and found that John had done ministry in Ephesus where this philosophy was likely still circulating.


  Now imagine you are a Greek citizen during this time.  Some of the philosophy passed down suggests that the divine can't be known.  Some of it talks about the logos as Heraclitus described it, including that it's physical sign is fire.  Now here comes this new guy named John preaching about this Jesus fellow:


"In the beginning was the [Logos], and the [Logos] was with God, and the [Logos] was God.  he was with God in the beginning.  Through Him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3


  Ok- so, essentially, the logos is the arkhe, which is here defined as being God.  Now here's the kicker:


"The [Logos] became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth...No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known." John 1:14, 18


  Say what?!  The driving force of the universe became flesh and dwelt among us?!  He came to make the divine known?!


  I think the Ephesians may have been presented with a story that was familiar to them but with an unexpected twist.  Instead of fire, the driving force of the universe appeared in the form of an infant.  Instead of a divine being or divine beings that did not communicate with humans, God came to dwell with humans and make Himself known to them.  As John would later continue, the driving force of the universe also took on flesh and was born to be the atoning scarifice for all of mankind.  He was the baby that was delivered so that He may deliver us all.  My teacher for this class said that one of the appeals of Christianity to the Gentiles was the fact that this personal, loving God was so different from the gods they had been taught about.


  There's something so humbling about knowing that the driving force of the universe willingly became a helpless infant- all to willingly die on a cross for our sins.  How could one not worship Him?  he is so worthy of all our adoration and praise!