2020 FOCUSED on The Word, Part 2

Ryan Cox • February 8, 2020

Every word of the Bible is true, accurate, and inspired, which is why Jesus said in John 10:35, “the Scripture cannot be broken.” You can’t just take part of it and cast some aside; it’s an all or nothing deal.

But let’s one up it. Let’s take this to a level of awareness that transcends human/worldly reasoning and understanding that makes a difference in hearts and minds.

John 1:1-3 says, “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

Who or What is this Word? In John 1, the Greek word translated as “ Word ” is just full of meaning. It is the word logos.

In Greek literature, Socrates and Plato used this word logos not as a part of speech, but as the very thoughts of the gods that somehow made it down to man. The Stoics took logos to mean that it wasn’t just the gods’ thoughts, but that the thoughts and words of the gods took actual physical form in space and time (similar to Genesis 1; God spoke and, *BAM*, it was so).

Philo, a Hebrew scholar who was very Hellenized (of Greek culture), taught in the years before Jesus that the logos of the Old Testament was that which connected God to the world. It’s what allowed man to hear and understand God. It was the spoken word of God that became reality for us.

The Apostle John infuses these two concepts into this word to try the best he can under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to tell us about this supernatural Word that was before the creation of the world. In fact, in verse 1 the word “was” is in the Greek imperfect tense. That means this Word was, still is, and always will be. This Word is eternal! It was with God, meaning it was co-existent yet distinct with God, and yet the Word was God. Again, it was, is, and always will be God. God Himself!

However, in the Jehovah Witness Bible (called the New World Translation) they insert an “a” to say this Word was just “a god” of some kind. That is not found in one single manuscript of John’s Gospel ever discovered.

To emphasize the Word’s true identity even more, verse 3 says, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

Additionally, if you look at verses 2 and 3, what do you discover? Yes, this Word was the agent of creation in Genesis 1, but the Word is also a HE ! You might be thinking, “Yeah, God’s a ‘He.’ So what?” In verse two, He and God are both mentioned and are yet one and the same.

Verse 4 says that in Him, this Word, is life. You could not breathe nor exist today if it were not for this Word. But even more so, verse 4 says that this life is the “Light of men.” Psalm 119:105 states, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” That means this Word as the Light tells man what is moral, what is true, what is righteous, and what is holy. Therefore, the life that is through Him is also eternal.

He was, is, and always will be, and we follow Him because He made us and has offered us eternal life.

Skip down to verse 14 of John 1, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” This Word became a man!

So Who was this Word that, even though He is God the Creator and the Life and Light of man, He would leave that position, empty Himself (Philippians 2:7), and become like one of us? Granted, He would still be God; you just can’t quit that day job. But He would take on the form of one of us, full of its pains, aches and troubles, and come be with us so that we could know Him better than we could ever imagine.

John 1:16-17 proclaims, “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”

It’s Jesus!    Do you know Him?

After reading what God has told us about Him through John, don’t you think you ought to get to know Him? He’s made quite an effort for you to do so. In fact, if you go back and read it again, who is really the focus of the text?

It’s YOU! It’s ME! It’s EVERYONE!

Despite how awesome, great, and magnificent He is, He took time to make you and me, and then humbled Himself to become one of us that He might save us!

When you realize how badly He wants to know you, have you, save you, and be with you for all eternity, don’t you think that might change how you and I live? Don’t you think that might change what we as the Church do for Him?

If we got to know Jesus, if we were to fall in love with Him once again, if you were to get to know who He really is, what He’s really like, and He became a part of your life like no other companion could ever be, what do you think life would be like?

Don’t you think we’d have the best marriages, the best families?

Don’t you think we’d be the most loving, serving, caring, giving, and charitable people our communities ever met?

Don’t you think we’d be a truly praying church, as we would so badly want to talk with our Heavenly Father?

Don’t you think we would stand upon the Word no matter what would ever happen to us?

Don’t you think God would be well pleased with us?

When we finally see the Word, we finally see Jesus. The everlasting impact of seeing Jesus, of Jesus coming into focus in your life, is indescribable in its life-changing effect.

That is when you will have John 20:20 focus – “After He said this, He showed them His hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

By Ryan Cox June 18, 2025
Moses & History (part 3)
lined up books
By Matt Miles June 18, 2025
Over the course of time a person can accumulate many things. Most of the stuff we collect is meaningless to most everyone else, but when a person collects books, they can be treasured for a lifetime and even beyond. In this age of digital media, physical books seem to be less important to many people. Digital books are searchable, and copy/paste functions make it easy to use those great quotes. Yet, there is still something great about a physical book, things you can’t get digitally: the turning of pages, the feel of it in your hand, and the “book” smell. For our founder Dr. Sharp, physical books could never be replaced by digital. While my collection of books is growing each year, it is dwarfed by Dr. Sharp’s collection. Over the years he collected thousands of titles for research and enjoyment. Through the course of his ministry he had to sell his book collection a couple of different times to support his family, only to start collecting again when he was able to do so. When Doc passed his office full of packed bookshelves to me and said he would clear the shelves, I laughed out loud at the prospect of having loads of empty bookshelves. So I urged him to instead leave his books for my, and anyone else’s, use. Little did I understand that the four bookcases in my office were only a fraction of his entire collection. A couple of years back when Doc moved from his house, it was decided that his book collection would be stored at the office. Our thought was to establish a library, yet none of us had time to plan, organize and catalog all 79 boxes of books. They sat piled in his office until last year when my daughter Megan joined our ministry. She has a love of books, both reading and writing. So we offered her the task of cataloging and establishing Doc’s library. Can you picture me, a bbq lover, being offered a table full of succulent smoked offerings - brisket, sausage, ribs, pulled pork, chicken, turkey and all sides? Yep, that was Megan’s response to the library. For over four months she cataloged and organized the entire collection. The Dr. G. Thomas Sharp Library was completed earlier this year in his old office space, with overflow into my office. The entire 2700+ volume agglomeration is digitally cataloged for searching and locating. As you might expect, there is an extensive collection of creation and evolution subject matter, yet the library is full of many different categories. It very much reflects Doc’s love of gaining knowledge and research. An extensive commentary collection and multiple Biblical reference sections are invaluable to our ministry. There is even a whole bookcase housing books that are over 100 years old. Our desire was not to just house books but to also make a place of honor and inspiration. One wall exhibits Doc’s many diplomas, and throughout the library we have placed personal memorabilia of the mission trips he took over the years. Come, grab a book, relax in the sitting area and allow Doc’s handwritten notes from the margins or post-it notes bring a smile to your face. For those who may be more ambitious, Doc's office chair resides at the credenza for anyone to sit and be inspired to study. This is a place to honor Doc’s life and love for books. We at CTF have already utilized this great resource for further study, and we are so thankful to Diane and their family for donating these books for continued Kingdom growth. Blessings.
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