COURSE LEARNING PACKETS Document Code FM-STL-014

Saint Louis University Revision No. 01

School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts Effectivity June 07, 2021
Page 1 of 2

INSPIRED WORD OF GOD

Read the following Biblical passages from the Gospel of John. Consider the guide
questions below as you read the text:

1. Who was at the beginning with God?

2. From a Christian perspective, who is the Word?
3. How is the Word related to God?
4. What happened to the Word according to the text?

The Word Became Flesh (John1: 1-18)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning
with God. All things came into being through him, and
without him not one thing came into being. What has come
into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all
people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose
name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the
light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was
not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true
light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the
world. 10 He was in the world, and the world came into
being through him; yet the world did not know him. He
came to what was his own, and his own people did not
accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his
accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were
name, he gave power to become children of God, who were
born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among
born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of
us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried
man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived
out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his
among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a
fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through
father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to
Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who
comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before
 COURSE LEARNING PACKETS Document Code FM-STL-014
Saint Louis University Revision No. 01
School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts Effectivity June 07, 2021
Page 2 of 2

This introduction to the Gospel of John became partly the Scriptural basis for the
doctrine of the incarnation, which is central to Christianity. Incarnation means ‘becoming
flesh” or “en-fleshing.” The Christian teaching holds that in the person of Jesus, God
became human like us. God revealed who he is in Jesus so that in another part of the
Gospel of John, Jesus says, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father,” and “The
Father and I are one.”

Among the other Biblical basis for teaching the incarnation are the stories in the
Gospels of Matthew and Luke about Jesus’ conception and birth. For many Christians,
these stories are familiar because they are usually narrated or read during the prevalent
season of Christmas. In these stories, Jesus is described as God’s Son born of a human
being. He is understood as a heavenly figure who became human precisely to save
human beings. He is Emmanuel, God-with-us.

The idea of a “god” involving himself in the affairs of men by coming to the earth
is not a novel one. In the Greek culture of New Testament times, numerous instances in
which the “gods” were said to have manifested themselves in human flesh.1 In our times,
numerous examples of “super-beings” have intervened in human history. Just check out
the movies and the novels proliferating around, and you will find these "super-heroes."

However, all of our present-day “super-beings” offer little help regarding the
doctrine of the incarnation. In the first place, these are fictional characters--nobody
believes in them. This predisposes us to doubt the description of our Lord in the New
Testament. In addition, these “super-heroes” of our time are vastly different from the
person of Christ, who is God incarnate. There is nothing in fact or fiction in the history of
human beings which matches the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Humanly speaking, no one anticipated God’s intervention into human history by the birth
of a child born in a manger. Not even Judaism was looking for the Messiah to come in
this way. Furthermore, we have become so accustomed to the biblical narratives of the
birth of our Lord and the creedal formulations of the doctrines involved that we have
often ceased to appreciate the mystery of the incarnation (The importance of the
Incarnation, 2004).