Session
7
Q.
Today we'll study verse 14 'and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and
we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of
grace and truth.’ Dr. Nagi, what does the ‘Word’ mean here?
A. The
Word here is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His name), as we
explained before; when we commented on John 1:1'In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'
Q. It
is clear from the context that when the scripture says, 'and the Word became
flesh', that the reference is made to a person, and not merely an uttered word
as we said earlier. But I have a
question about the term 'became flesh', become means substantiate. In other words this person was something and
has become something else. This does not
conform to the nature of the Almighty.
If we say that the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His name) is God
Himself revealed in human body, this means that there is some sort of change in
the person of God Himself. This is not
acceptable to the human mind. Do you
mind explaining this issue?
A. There is a great
difference between the fact that the overwhelming God reveals Himself in human
form, and that the Almighty become merely a simple man. If we say that the Almighty has become man
only, and then there is no God Almighty in heaven. This does not conform to the nature of God
Almighty, and cannot be? But if we say
that He had a tent (tabernacle) in which He dwelt among men, in order to reveal
to us His glory, essence and nature, then we deny the substantiation from God
Almighty. He is omnipresent - on earth,
in heaven, and throughout the entire universe.
He also existed in the body of The Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His
name) when He was on earth, ‘with whom there is no variation or shadow of
turning,’ James 1:17 In
fact, God Almighty revealed Himself in a human body long before the Lord Jesus
Christ (Glory be to His name) came to earth.
Q. Did
the Holy Scripture state that the Almighty appeared in human form before the
Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His name) came to earth?
A. Indeed. In the Genesis, the first book of the
testament, to write which God Almighty used Moses. In Genesis 18, the scripture referring to
Abraham, the prophet of God, states that, ‘And the LORD appeared unto him in
the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in
the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men
stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and
bowed himself toward the ground,
And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I
pray thee, from thy servant.’ Genesis 1:1-3 Abraham seeing three men coming to
see him, he started to address one of them calling Him, Master. This person was the Lord God Almighty.
Q. How
can we tell that the person whom Abraham addressed saying Master, is the Lord
God?
A. If we read the
whole story, we see that it was the Lord God who promised Abraham of having a
son. In verse 10, ‘, I will certainly
return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall
have a son.’ The scripture states that Sarah laughed as she heard what they
said. Even though she was not in their
presence, but in the tent, the All Knowledgeable Almighty knew that Sarah
laughed, ‘Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old
shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also, And the LORD said unto Abraham,
Wherefore did Sarah laugh?... Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she
was afraid. And he said, nay; but thou didst laugh.’ Genesis 18:12, 13,
15. Who is this person who knows the
future and all that is hidden by Man save the Almighty? This person is the Lord who was told to have
appeared to Abraham in human image.
Q. Dr. Nagi, how can you prove that the one who appeared to
Abraham was God revealed in human form?
A. Besides what we
already said that the Holy Scripture called Him Lord, i.e. The One Righteous
God as per the Hebrew original text, and that He knew the future, and also that
Sarah laughed in secret, there is more.
In the same Chapter, verse 17, the same Lord is being referred to as
having been revealed, which means He was hidden and could not be seen, the
scripture states that the three men left Abraham, and the bible says, ‘Shall I
hide from Abraham that thing which I do?’
Meaning that the Lord had intended to do something, and He was referring
to the destruction of
Q. Dr. Nagi, may I ask you to elaborate further on this
point? It is indeed important, because
if it is proved that God Almighty appeared in human form before Jesus Christ
(Glory be to His name) came to earth; and that he talked to one of His
creatures, even further, the scripture says that He ate with Abraham, this
means that there shouldn’t be any problem in believing that the Lord Jesus
Christ (Glory be to His name) is God revealed in human form. The verse we are now discussing will become
indeed simple and acceptable, 'and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…’
A. It is indeed
simple if Man chooses to believe. But
should Man insist on rejecting what God Almighty has revealed of Himself,
insisting on blocking both mind and heart in the face of this fact; he will not
be able to perceive them. I believe that
one of the proofs that it was God revealed in human form who spoke with Abraham
with respect to Sodom and Gomorrah, is that Abraham was pleading with Him not
to destroy the city saying, ‘Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the
wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ Genesis 18:23, 25. This shows us that the person speaking with
Abraham has the right and the might to destroy, kill, preserve, and also has
feelings. Abraham, His friend, asked Him
to forgive the sins and iniquities of
Q. Dr. Nagi, I’m indeed happy that we elaborated on this
incidence, which leaves no doubt that it was God Almighty who appeared to
Abraham in human forms. This confirms
the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His name) is God revealed in
human body makes it easier to perceive.
I would like to ask you one more question though, about, ‘dwelt among
us’, wouldn’t that dwelling limit God Almighty within the limited existence of
the Man who walked through the streets of
A. The word ‘dwelt’
means resided, took a tent for a dwelling, which of course is through a human
body. In the old times, the Almighty had
taken a tent called ‘The Tent of the Lord’s presence’, which He had ordered
Moses to establish in order to dwell in it with His Presence and Glory. God Almighty called it the Tent of the Lord’s
presence; it was the place where He dwelt on earth. Now, let me pose a question, would God take a
tent for His dwelling place, or does He sit (dwell) on His throne, where no one
equals Him? Should He reveal Himself,
Presence and Glory within a tent, would He then leave His throne? Doesn’t He fill the heavens and the earth,
being omnipresent in every time and place?
His presence in the Tent of the presence of the Lord, or in the
Q. Dr. Nagi, what does ‘we beheld His glory’ mean? Whose glory is this verse referring to?
A. ‘We beheld His
glory’ means we’ve seen its coming, revealing His essence, presence, and
magnificence. All of which could not be
said, save in reference to the Lord God Almighty. The word glory here is referring to the
‘Word’ who has taken a human body, and dwelt among us.