PART 3 — THE WORD BECAME FLESH
The first two parts showed a pattern that runs throughout the Scriptures.
Yehovah is Spirit.
Yet He reveals Himself to mankind.
Abraham spoke with Him.
Jacob said he saw God face to face.
The Messenger of Yehovah spoke as God, carried His name, and did things that ordinary messengers never did.
Then we come to the opening words of John's gospel.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:1
John does not begin in Bethlehem.
He begins in the beginning.
Before Abraham.
Before Moses.
Before creation itself.
The Word already existed.
And John says:
"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made."
John 1:3
Everything was made through Him.
The heavens.
The earth.
Mankind.
The stars.
The seas.
Everything.
Then John says something remarkable.
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us."
John 1:14
The Word did not simply appear.
The Word became flesh.
He was born.
He grew.
He became hungry.
He became tired.
He wept.
He suffered.
He died.
This was not a temporary appearance like the encounters we saw in the Hebrew Scriptures.
This was a real human life.
God Manifested In Flesh
Paul writes:
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh."
1 Timothy 3:16
The mystery is not that God sent a representative.
The mystery is that God was manifested in flesh.
The same God who created all things entered His creation.
The Fullness Dwelling Bodily
Paul also writes:
"For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the divine nature bodily."
Colossians 2:9
Notice what Paul does not say.
He does not say part of the divine nature.
He does not say a portion of God.
He says:
"all the fulness."
The fullness of God's nature dwelt in Messiah.
This is why Yeshua could say:
"He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."
John 14:9
The Father was manifested in Him in a unique and complete way. Not merely represented as a prophet or messenger represents God, nor simply indwelt as the Holy Spirit dwells in believers, but with the fullness of the divine nature dwelling in Him bodily.
The distinction is not between two separate divine beings.
Rather, the invisible God was fully revealed through Messiah, so that in seeing Him, people could truly see the Father.
The Father Dwelling In The Son
Yeshua said:
"The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works."
John 14:10
And Paul wrote:
"God was in Messiah, reconciling the world unto Himself."
2 Corinthians 5:19
The works people witnessed were the works of the Father.
The authority they witnessed was the Father's authority.
The words they heard were the Father's words.
Yeshua was not acting independently from the Father.
Throughout the Scriptures, the Father revealed Himself to mankind and made His presence known among His people. Abraham spoke with Him. Jacob said he saw God face to face. The Messenger of Yehovah appeared and spoke with divine authority. These encounters showed that God was not distant from His creation but actively involved with those who trusted Him.
In Messiah, however, the Father revealed Himself in an even greater way. The Word became flesh and was born of a woman. This was not an unexpected development, but the fulfillment of a promise given from the very beginning. After Adam and Eve sinned, Yehovah declared to the serpent:
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
Genesis 3:15
From that moment forward, Scripture pointed to the coming Seed of the woman who would defeat the serpent and undo the damage caused by sin. When the Word became flesh, He entered the world through birth, taking on human nature and becoming the promised descendant who would crush the serpent's head. This was not merely another revelation of God's presence, but a true human life lived among mankind. He humbled Himself and entered the human condition, living among His people and experiencing the struggles and limitations of human life. What had been revealed throughout the Scriptures was now made known in a fuller way through the life of Yeshua the Messiah, as God drew near to mankind in human flesh.
Why Did Yeshua Pray?
One of the most common questions people ask is:
If Yeshua is the Father, why did He pray to the Father?
The answer is found in what John already told us.
The Word became flesh.
Yeshua was truly human.
He was not pretending to be human.
He was not wearing a human disguise.
He experienced human life.
He experienced temptation, suffering, grief, and death.
Because He was truly human, He prayed.
When He prayed in Gethsemane:
"Not My will, but Thine, be done."
Luke 22:42
we are seeing the obedience of the Messiah.
Not two gods arguing with one another.
But the Son as the Father revealed in genuine human life (the only begotten of God), and in that humbled human condition He submitted Himself completely to the Father's own divine will. The distinction we see is not between two separate divine beings, but between God as He exists eternally and God as He revealed Himself in flesh. In doing so, He showed us the pattern of obedience that we are called to follow. Peter wrote:
"For even hereunto were ye called: because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps."
1 Peter 2:21
Yeshua repeatedly demonstrated things for the benefit of those around Him. Before raising Lazarus, He prayed aloud and then said:
"And I knew that Thou hearest Me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me."
John 11:42
Likewise, when a voice came from heaven, Yeshua explained:
"This voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes."
John 12:30
These events were not necessary because the Father and the Son lacked communication with one another. Rather, they were signs given for the benefit of the witnesses, teaching them who Yeshua was and how they should respond to God. He not only taught obedience with His words but demonstrated it through His own life.
The Father was not limited by the human body of Messiah, as though God could only exist within flesh and nowhere else. God is Spirit and fills heaven and earth. He was fully present in Messiah while at the same time remaining enthroned above all creation. What we see in these prayers is not a separation within God, but the genuine human life of Messiah yielding perfectly to the eternal will of the Father.
The Image Of The Invisible God
Paul calls Yeshua:
"the image of the invisible God."
Colossians 1:15
God is invisible.
Yet in Yeshua, mankind could see His character, His mercy, His righteousness, His authority, and His love.
Yeshua said:
"He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."
John 14:9
The invisible God had made Himself visible.
The Promise
The Scriptures began with God walking with mankind in the garden.
Sin brought separation.
But throughout Scripture, Yehovah continued revealing Himself to His people.
Through the prophets.
Through the Messenger of Yehovah.
Through visions and appearances.
Then the Word became flesh.
He drew near to His people.
He walked among His people.
He taught them, healed them, and forgave them.
He laid down His life for them.
This was not unexpected. The prophets had already spoken of a coming Servant who would suffer on behalf of His people.
Isaiah wrote:
"Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows."
Isaiah 53:4
And:
"He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities."
Isaiah 53:5
Isaiah also declared:
"All we like sheep have gone astray... and Yehovah hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."
Isaiah 53:6
At first glance, the Servant and Yehovah appear distinct within the prophecy. Yet immediately afterward Isaiah identifies Israel's Redeemer as Yehovah Himself:
"For your Maker is your husband, Yehovah of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth."
Isaiah 54:5
The Redeemer is not presented as someone other than Yehovah.
The Redeemer is Yehovah.
Paul describes this humility when speaking of Messiah:
"Who, being in the form of God... made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant."
Philippians 2:6–7
The One who came as the Servant was not separate from the God who promised redemption.
Yehovah humbled Himself.
The Word became flesh.
The Creator entered His creation and took the form of a servant.
The God who had revealed Himself through prophets, visions, and appearances now lived among His people as Yeshua the Messiah.
In the next part we will look at why the apostles repeatedly applied the names, titles, works, and prophecies of Yehovah directly to Yeshua.