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It would seem logical that the Bible would contain a core definition of who Jesus really is, that answers some of the most commonly asked questions. And the Bible does. Questions like “Who really is Jesus Christ?”, “How could Jesus not sin?”, and “How could Jesus be fully God and fully man?”

The first five words of John 1:14, are one of the most important things we learn in our entire lifetime. The meaning of it almost everyone misses. If you have not studied it out, I can almost guarantee that you have also missed it. I missed it for my first 43 years as a Christian.

It is logical and very self evident and is not of anyone's private interpretation.  It is what people would already know, if they had previously fully studied it out.

It is important to understand that this discussion is not
a battle of one belief or religion vs another.
It is MUCH, MUCH bigger than that!

It is, . . is the battle of real life
vs
all the deceptions and evils
that are working to destroy our real life.

This scripture in the book of John was originally written in Greek and our Bibles have been translated into English from copies of the original Greek text. When something is translated from one language to another, for many words there are direct equivalent words. However, sometimes there are words, that there are NO equivalent words in the new language. In these cases the translator, translates the best they can for their purpose.

People love lessons that provide instant gratification. So how does someone make a lesson about something really important if most people just want a quick explanation?

Something this important is going to take more than a 15 second elevator speech and more than a 3 point Sunday sermon to address it properly.

While at first this may seem to be a deep topic, when taken in context with basic mainstream Christian doctrine, it is extremely logical and very easy to understand. People miss the meaning God intended for us to receive, as they think they understand the English of their translation. The translation in most English Bibles is not wrong, but it is vague.  (translations where the translators were clueless and destroy this scripture are: New Living Translation, Contemporary English Version, God's Word Translation, & the Good News Translation)

 

The fullness of the meaning in the Greek is difficult to translate directly into the English. So either the translators would have to put in a lengthy explanation or just translate is as best they can. Logically we would understand that our English version is a translation and consult a Greek / English dictionary for clarification. But as people believe they understand the English, they see no reason to study it out.

Regardless of a person's religious background, understanding and believing these 5 words as God intended, will have a dramatic and positive impact upon our understanding of who God is, and on the quality of the personal relationship between God and ourselves.

Two of these five words in John 1:14, the Bible has two different meanings for each word, while the world around us, only uses one definition per word. Again, this is not anyone’s private interpretation. The meaning God intended will be very logical and self evident when a person actually studies it out. People with a solid biblical understanding of mainstream Christianity. will connect the dots fairly quickly. Others will need to take the time to learn a "basic" understanding of Christian doctrine. Then it will be easy to connect the dots.

The two definitions are seemingly similar enough that people falsely assume there is just one definition, the world’s definition. These two different meanings for the word “flesh” are not interchangeable. They are used throughout both the old and new testaments.  So being unaware, people just miss the second biblical definition and falsely assume the world’s wrong definition.  The problem this creates in our understanding is much larger than we realize.

This is not anyone’s private interpretation. The meaning God intended for us to receive will be very logical and self evident when a person actually studies it out. People with a solid biblical understanding of mainstream Christianity. will connect the dots fairly quickly. Others will need to take the time to work through a basic understanding of Christian doctrine. Then it will be easy to connect the dots.

When we do grasp what this short scripture says, it gives us perfect answers to these questions:

1. 
   1.  Who really is Jesus Christ?
   2.  How is it possible that Jesus did not sin?
   3.  How could Jesus be fully God and at the same time be fully man?

But it doesn’t stop there. That is just the tip of the iceberg. It will likely take years to realize all the biblical details this scripture impacts. As we slowly start to grasp the full meaning of these 5 words in John 1:14, we begin to realize how this Jesus affects every part of our daily lives. It does not matter what religion we were, or what sins we have committed. We also start to realize God deserves a rightful place in our lives, and this Jesus is the door to that life that we all desire, deep in our hearts.

 

 (yes we are working on this and we are also working on a video version of it.)

 

Some would say the whole Bible is ultimately about Jesus, and it is. However the understanding in this scripture people have missed, all the way back to Bible times.

Normally we would start with a precise core definition of who Jesus is, then follow with a detailed explanation. But that doesn’t work well where almost all people are already locked into their previously established beliefs.

So we will first examine several biblical precepts that are self evident and logical. Then we will list how the scriptures say we are made. Then we will discuss how these parts work together in a godly life.  Then we will dig into a few key scriptures that define Jesus and then connect the dots. That will clearly give us a succinct core definition of who Jesus really is.

For some this will bring incredible new insight to replace our existing beliefs that just didn't fit biblically. For many others it will cause them to realize there is definitely a more excellent biblical explanation that answers so many of our questions.

Anytime a person does a deeper study of the scriptures, there arises the potential issue of legalism or perceived legalism. We are instructed to believe the scriptures including the deeper details as we confirm them.  There is no life in living by law. None.  For a person to say that the scriptures are God's law, and we "must" obey God's law is legalism.  Acting that way locks a person into their own limited understanding of the scriptures.  People often think they look better by fullfilling the law.  Rather we should follow the truth of God's law by faith.  The scriptures are clear. If we are wise, we will make a choice to believe them.  Then throughout our day we will naturally make our decisions, which are based upon what we have chosen to truly believe.

Some say Jesus Christ was just a man or a wise religious leader.  Some would say He was a prophet.  The Bible says he was more than a man and more than a prophet.  The Bible says Jesus Christ is God.  He is God with us. 

MatT 1:23

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

While some would like to consider that statement offensive, by the end of this discussion it will be very self evident, very logical as to why it is true, even to those who may not be believers.  People have missed who Jesus Christ really is all the way back to Bible times.  Again this isn't our private interpretation or any denomination's private interpretation.

At some point each of us come to question what is the real meaning of life. Every religion claims they are the exclusive answer and some of them look pretty impressive. Real religion opens up the door to the very highest quality of life.  If our commitment to truth is strong enough to reject those false religions that don’t have the keys to real life, our search will eventually lead us to Jesus Christ.  We are not pushing any denomination.  What we are saying  is, each of us should learn of and connect personally with the biblical Jesus.  

Most Christians have likely heard the core descriptive scriptures many times.  As we break it down, it will be easy to see why people miss the meaning God wants us to understand.  I think you will find this a very interesting discussion. It doesn’t matter whether you believe in God or not and it doesn’t matter what religion you are. This discussion is not likely to be what you were expecting.

Almost everyone subconsciously recognizes that there is something very different about this Jesus Christ. Yes different than any other person or religious leader that has ever lived. Even though we typically don’t examine our subconscious thoughts, if we did, we would realize that the difference with this Jesus is far more than just the claim that Jesus is alive because He rose from the dead. While that is a very important claim, there is much more to this Jesus. 

To protect ourselves from what we don’t know, we humans put up strong subconscious mental walls. Those mental walls are sometimes based on truth, but so often we base them on our own assumptions, our fears, and our imaginations.

We may not want to, . . or we may think that we don't have to, deal with this Jesus Christ.  Regardless of what we think, we eventually come to realize, we actually do have to deal with Him each and every day, simply because of who He is.  If we never develop any core understanding of who Jesus really is then this is not self evident until our life ends.

The Bible says this Jesus came to save the world. Since just about everyone declares they already think they know who Jesus is, then again why is the world in such a mess?

John 12:47
“And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.”

John 3:17
“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

I wish every church in the world would teach the scriptures as we present them here on who Jesus really is, as it would clarify so many questions and people would see what God intended for us to understand..

John 1:10
".  .  .  He (Jesus) was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not."

When we actually study the scriptures we come to realize that all the way back through Bible times, most people really didn’t have a clear understanding of who this Jesus really is and the Bible confirms that. Both the world at large and those people that considered themselves as the people of God missed who Jesus really is..  

In the book of John chapter 8:42 Jesus was speaking to the highly educated religious leaders and says “Why do you not understand my speech? . . .” Also in the conversations of Jesus and Nicodemus in the book of John 3:9-10 “Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Are you a master of Israel, and know not these things?” Being a “master of Israel” means one is considered highly educated in the scriptures and is able to teach others. There are many other examples including the fact that the brightest and most educated leaders of the time, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the lawyers, they murdered or crucified the very one that was sent to save the world.

We have record of what Jesus said and He spoke very succinctly and with great wisdom. So why did the highly educated religious leaders not understand what he was saying? Why did Nicodemus not understand what Jesus was saying when Nicodemus was also so highly educated in the scriptures?

Many find it easy to criticize Nicodemus as the Bible shows us his errors. However so many of us are living similar to Nicodemus. We have educated ourselves according to this world, even in the area of religion. We believe so strongly that we have the truth. We become so educated in these beliefs that we can teach these concepts with ease.

With all the incredibly strong opinions people have of who this Jesus is, nobody seems to think their current opinion is a fuzzy understanding or just their imaginations until they are able to see a much clearer understanding.  I have never heard anyone connect the dots from the scriptures to give a succinct, clear, core definition like we will present here. We will use common scriptures defined in context with mainstream Christianity to provide a logical self evident understanding.

Many of you may have heard that this Jesus was fully God and fully man. While not the point of this discussion, it will be very clear, very self evident, to easily see how this Jesus was fully God and fully man.  It will also be very clear why Jesus did not sin.

It is so easy to think we know what a scripture means just because we understand the English. For many words, the Bible uses the same meaning as the world around us. But there are some words to which God ascribes a completely different meaning. Then there are some words with more than one meaning to the same word. We currently see this in words like heart which can be the organ that pumps our blood or with a second meaning of our innermost motivation. If we are unaware the Bible has a second meaning to a word, we will use the world’s common definition that we are familiar with. Using the wrong definition will cause us confusion and we may not even realize it. If we dig into and study the scriptures we find a few words where the world only uses one definition, but the Bible has two distinctly different meanings. This is especially true with John 1:14 where God is using different meanings for the common English words “Word“ and “flesh”. This will be perfectly self evident to any person who actually studies it out.

So often what people call a Bible study is a search for what others have said. But those posts and commentaries are so often from others that also have searched out primarily the opinions of others. Opinions of others and commentaries should not be the first thing we look to.

A real Bible study consists of studying the scriptures in context to understand the meaning God is trying to convey to us. Then we cross reference to other scriptures using the same or similar core words. We then reference Bible dictionaries and recognized Bible study aids.

Studying the Bible is not as hard as it sounds, we just have to take enough time to do it correctly and with honesty. With all the Bible study aids we have available, you also can do it. I personally use biblehub.com (free), others use BlueLetterBible.com (free) or one of the many Bible softwares available (some free, some paid). I use the interlinear and the Greek and Hebrew dictionaries that most of these study aids offer because I am not yet fluent in the Greek and Hebrew languages. Please consider using them, as they will give you a far better understanding of the meaning of the scriptures.

As we study the scriptures, we should let the scriptures tell us what they mean rather than for us to dictate to God what the scriptures mean.

If there is more than one meaning to a word, it usually is clearly self evident if we have taken the time to study it out. We often miss it if we don't.

We will find meanings two ways. First we find scriptures directly stating that something is such and such. That makes it easy. We may also find where there are multiple scriptures that say that same something is such and such with a different such and such each time. That gives us multiple views to something more complex.

Then there are words that don’t specifically say what they mean. We try to isolate the meaning by studying how the word is used elsewhere and look for parallel meanings of the root word. This second method usually takes quite a bit more study, and can take longer, sometimes even years, to actually prove what the word means.

Any person who studies the Bible will find parts that are self evident, and other parts they do not understand how they possibly could be true. This causes an internal conflict in us between our current beliefs and what the Bible says. We “think” we know what the world has taught us, but that can conflict with both what we truly do know and what the Bible says.  It is each person’s responsibility to sort this out so they can know what is really true. The natural reaction when this conflict arises, is to just reject Jesus. Doing so strengthens our flesh and puffs us up. That doesn’t make the internal conflict in us go away. If we continue to reject Jesus, it just causes us to harden our hearts. But that internal conflict still does not go away. Give credit to Nicodemus, he actually went and sought out Jesus. Jesus confronts Nicodemus and reveals the core issue of Nicodemus’s heart. Nicodemus questions how what Jesus says, could be true. We do the same thing. A wise person will also seek answers to those things of the Bible that don’t line up to our worldly beliefs, while a person focused on themselves could care less.

I don't need to tell you that this world is in a mess.  This same world works overtime putting out its sophisticated reasons to try and convince you and I to agree with them and not believe the Bible.  You may currently have your own reasons to not believe or maybe you just don't believe some parts of the scriptures.  The scriptures say that Jesus Christ is God with us and one of Jesus's characteristics is absolutely pure truth.  Whether we believe it or not does not change what is said.  In fact nothing we do including any of our actions or beliefs, will destroy real truth.  We can fight it and try and box it in.  We can deny it or ignore it.  But the reality is when we quit resisting and acknowledge it, then it will rise again or to put it another way, it will rise from the dead. There are billions of ways to pollute or try to destroy truth, but real truth is something nobody can permanently destroy. Normal people real truth without being forced into it. Sometimes it takes a while for us to realization.

Let's look at some scriptures.

Colossians 1:15-16
"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:"

Isaiah 53:6.

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all."

The scriptures say that this Jesus Christ was “the image of the invisible God”. Why does the Bible call Jesus “the image”? People so often think of Jesus as a man first and then second as that man having special religious knowledge and powers. They think we get some truth from Jesus.

Thinking of Jesus as just a normal man having special religious knowledge and power, in my mind would not qualify Him to be God. You probably think the same way. To be really God there would have to be perfection. People are not perfect. Making the distinction between God being a man and God with us, is huge. 

Before Jesus walked the earth He had the likeness, the image, of a human, yet He was not in a physical human body. As we go further into this it will make more and more sense.

Jesus was not just a man having special religious knowledge and powers. Jesus does not just speak some truth,   Part of the character of Jesus Christ is truth.  Our challenge is to wrap our minds around this concept. That does not mean that everything someone claims is truth is Jesus.  Part of who He is, is the image of truth so we can relate to what is true. Jesus is one of the three parts of the eternal Godhead. The Father, the Son, sometimes called the Word, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus existed from the very beginning, even before creation. He existed but was not in a human body prior to walking the earth approximately 2000 years ago. He always existed as “the image of the invisible God”.  While it is so much easier to relate to Him in a human body, that does not change who He is.

John 14:1
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”    

If Jesus is God, and He is, why would he say “ye believe in God, believe also in me”? There are many, literally thousands of religions in the world. All of them some way or another claim to be the path that connects a person with god. Just to say one believes in god does not define the god that they say they believe in.  We choose to believe in this Jesus because we see His truth is better than our so called truth. God's truth is truth worth trusting over what we have been trusting.

So we choose His truth and ways over our own.

We are deceived into believing that by the things of this world we are made complete, but reality is, it is only in real truth that we are complete.

God knew people needed to see something tangible in order to relate to Him. So Jesus was “the image of the invisible God”. Yes God is invisible to us unless He reveals Himself to us. God reveals himself to us through His Word, the scriptures.

We talked about some words having two meanings, well, the term Word or Word of God, also has two meanings. In the original scriptures there are two different Greek words both translated as the Word of God. They are the word Logos and the word Rhema. The word Logos means the original “written” scriptures our Bibles are translated from. The word Rhema is the inspired word or understanding God may give at any time. The Rhema never conflicts with the Logos.

A common example of where people misinterpret the term Word or “Word of God” is in Romans 10:17.

Romans 10:17 (Rhema)
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Most people assume the “Word of God” used here means the Bible. It would be if the original word was the word “Logos”, however that is not the original word. The word used in the original for ”the word of God.”, is the word Rhema. That changes the entire meaning. Instead of trusting the Bible like a schoolbook, God is saying we are to trust what God has revealed to us that we know is true. Huge difference. Trusting what God has revealed to us that we know is true is part of the personal relationship a Christian has with God. Obviously with such we have to exercise honesty and handle what has been revealed to us responsibly. Assuming the wrong definition of any scripture or revelation, will just cause us confusion. That confusion can easily bring about destructive results.

To understand the scriptures we also need to understand that there are two kingdoms; the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God. We have been imaged to think like the world. Trying to understand the kingdom of God judging it according to the thinking of the world, will cause problems. It is like going to a radically different country with no understanding of their culture, then trying to understand that culture based on our understanding of our own culture.

Yes, this Jesus, the God that created the heavens and the earth, is in a different kingdom than the worldly kingdom we have lived in from birth. God reveals to us the kingdom of God by the scriptures. We come to understand God’s kingdom bit by bit or truth by truth as they become self evident. All people were born into the kingdom of this world except Jesus and Adam and Eve.

We should use what is self evident as truth from the scriptures rather than what the kingdom of this world calls truth to judge whether the kingdom of God is right or wrong. God leads us by real truth. A person has to be careful here in what we call truth. Something is not true because we have been taught it, we want it to be true, we think it, or we believe it.

A baby learns the language of its parents by trying to detect what it knows is true. This is happening even before it has or uses words. This knowing process works even without words but it does work far better with words. We should not cast off this process because of what we have been taught to believe or think. As a baby gains understanding from what they determine they know, they then take on words which help to greatly clarify meaning. God made it that way. God has programmed a baby to respond to what it knows and that is how it learns. It would be easy to think that a baby only learns by repeating or echoing what we try to teach it. That is only a flow of information from us to the baby. The learning process needs something to confirm truth. That is the recognition of what we know. God put a determination process in the baby of what to accept and what not to accept based upon what they know. While obviously undeveloped, it still is trying to detect what it knows to form its understanding. Every person, regardless of our age are to try to determine truth by what we know, and to do so honestly.

We should not cast off that process by which we learned our parents language. Instead we should use it to test all that is called truth. That is a good topic for another study.

There is this battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world and we are in that battle whether we like it or not.

We realize that battle starts in our mind and goes out from there. As we fight this battle through out our lives, we recognize it is shaping our character. If we follow the truth of the God that created the heavens and the earth, then it creates better character in us, and, if we follow the kingdom of this world in the end, it degrades our character and causes us confusion, heartache, and sorrow. We sacrifice our character by sacrificing what we know is true. It may seem justifiable to sacrifice our character and real values for gain or lust, or pride, but that is like sacrificing gold for gravel.

John 1:10
"That (Jesus) was the true Light, which gives light to every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not."

Jesus illuminates every person’s understanding in real truth, whether they are a Christian or not. There are many sources that try to lead a person to believe things that are supposed to be true, but aren’t. Jesus is the “true Light” that reveals truth to all people that are living all through out the world. Some people play with this scripture supposing that Jesus is a different frequency of light. The understanding of the scriptures is Jesus is absolutely perfect truth. As perfect truth, when we understand it in context, it reveals truth we can relate to and understand, just as light allows us to not walk in darkness. Believing the scriptures, again in context, connects us to God as well as it reveals to us the real truth.

To understand how truth and lies play out through our lives, we should briefly go over how we are made and how each part works. The Bible describes six different major parts that make up a Christian. We could talk about this for months but here we will just cover the basics.  It is important to understand that some of those parts are made up of other parts.  Additionally all translations do not always use these same words.  An example is some English translations, translate the word soul as the word being.  While the word being is not wrong it is easy to miss part of the fullness of meaning compared to the word soul.

Those parts are:

1. Our physical body
   
2. Our soul
3. Our heart
4. Our flesh   
   
5. Our spiritual body.
   
6. Our human spirit.
   

The Holy Spirit is sometimes called the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, or the Spirit of Truth. While not an actual part of us, when we become a believer, the Holy Spirit comes into our human spirit and abides in us from salvation on.  It is one of the three parts of the godhead.  There is a lot written and said about the Holy Spirit. It is the earnest deposit in us to prove we are saved by leading us into all truth.  Since the Holy Spirit needs to make itself known in order for us to see that we have that earnest deposit, He still moves today as he always has.  A person has to be careful as it is a topic that is so easy to be distorted, then presented to unknowing people for gain. There is a lot said and written, both good and bad, on who the Holy Spirit is.  Take the time to get a clean understanding and to not be deceived.

2nd Cor 1:22
"Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest (deposit) of the Spirit in our hearts".

Interesting note: The Holy Spirit abides in us. The word "abide" implies that the one abiding is expecting something. The Holy Spirit expects us to listen to and trust God. We also are to abide in God, and we expect God to do what He says.

A strong word of caution: Some teach that the soul and human spirit are one and the same. We find that those teaching such are either from a cult or very confused. Many cults teach this as it lays the groundwork to get you to believe cultic lies. If someone or an organization teaches that these two are basically the same, that is a HUGE red flag! They likely have many other false teachings as well. It would be good to avoid them and their organization and not sit under their teaching. Also if a person is so confused that they teach what they don’t understand, it is another good reason to avoid them.

Let us define these six parts of a Christian.

The physical body is pretty self evident so no reason to expand further.

The soul is fairly complex but understanding how it operates is necessary for our discussion. It is designed to process all the information we receive.  It processes our thinking, our will, and our emotions.  It also processes all the input from our 5 senses: our sight, our smell, our touch, our hearing and our taste.  It can processes information from both the natural world and the spiritual world. For the unbeliever, the soul pretty much only accepts information from the natural realm and sometimes from the satanic realm. Why would an unbelieving person accept any input or information from a God that they claim they don’t believe in?

Some people have chosen to not believe in the devil but the scriptures talk a fair amount about him. The devil is obviously head of the satanic realm.  The devil is a lier so anything that is a lie is from the satanic realm.  Anything that is a lie is not from God as God does not lie. 

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:  Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:"   [1st Peter 2:21-22]

Becoming a Christian opens up spiritual access to the kingdom of God. The God that created the heavens and the earth. A believer has far more available to them than they understand, however it only works 100% God’s way. So we need to learn and trust God’s way. Not everything that is called god is God. If we are wise, we will learn the ways, of the God that made the heavens and the earth.

How we choose to process information defines our individuality and the direction of our life. If we are truly honest we can come to where we can often detect whether what we have is from the natural or the spiritual realm. Extreme caution is necessary here. God guides us through truth. Not just what we “think” is true, and not just what we “believe” is true. Thinking and believing are natural functions of the soul. Truly knowing something is different.

When we were living as per the kingdom of this world, our flesh used our soul to maintain its kingship over our lives. True knowing is different as it is not a thought or belief that originated in our mind. Frame your understanding of this very carefully as mistakes here can be devastating to our lives and the lives of others.

“The soul is defined in Gen 2:7
”And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

God created our bodies of the elements of the earth, gave us a human spirit to empower that what He made, and in that the man became a living soul. The word man used here is not gender specific.

Our heart  The Bible uses two different meanings for the word heart just like the world does. We should be careful here as we can think one thing in our mind and something different in our heart, our innermost motivation. This is why the scriptures say the heart is so deceitful.

Jer 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

Proverbs 4:23
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

None of us wants to admit that our core innermost motivation is “deceitful”!

But the Bible says “the heart is deceitful above all things”. When it says “all things” would that also include Satan himself? I think it does.

Our responsibility is to guard our hearts, our innermost motivation, as we can easily let or cause our hearts to be corrupted. It is our responsibility to be the one who controls or changes our heart. God will provide plenty of reasons why we should change our hearts, but ultimately it is our responsibility do it. People often assume God will do the changing of our hearts for us. But no, God has given us a free will and the control of our heart is our responsibility. Yes God will allow or create events that prove to us our hearts need changed, but the changing again is our responsibility.  Some translations use wording that seems to say that God will do the changing your heart.  (example Deuteronomy 30:6))  When you study it out in the original languages one realizes that is a poor translation.

God's sanctification process is ongoing, even to trying to lead people to Christ before salvation.  Every person that is old enough to be able to articulate what they know, they know that there is a God.  They may not know who God is, but they do know that God exists.  Additionally every person sees proof of God in the very creation around us.

Romans 1:18-22

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;  Because that which may be known of God is manifest (clearly apparent) in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" 

Our heart, our innermost motivation, works to control the direction of our lives.  It is very sophisticated and usually works subconsciously.  People are rarely aware of the depth of what is in their heart.  Part of the sanctification process is to make us aware of what is in our hearts.  This is a struggle for most children of God.  We were imaged by the world's dictates which was part truth and part lies.  We believed what the world told us.  Now in the kingdom of God, we slowly become aware that we know some things that are contrary to those so called truths the world has taught us.  Some of those things our hearts doesn't want to give up. By not giving them up we struggle to live after what we believe over what we truly do know.  This is a major battle in a child of God's life.  If we hold on to what we want to believe, over what we truly know, we take on man made religion to justify ourselves.  Much of this battle happens in our subconscious.  This is why there are so many religions in the world.  This also is why it is the battle of real life vs all the deceptions and evils that are working to destroy our lives.

Our flesh  The world around us has one definition of the word flesh.  In contrast there are two definitions of the word flesh used in both the New and Old Testaments of the Bible.  This is actually a huge stumbling point that most people miss.  We should carefully select the definition that fits the scripture we are studying.  If we assume the wrong definition, our understanding is confused.  That can and does causes major confusion of what God intends for us to understand. Even most seasoned Christians that have come to realize that there are two definitions of this word flesh they tend to usually use the world's definition when studying the scriptures.  Obviously the world's definition is the same as one of the biblical definitions. That definition, is the soft body parts on our bones or our physical body.  When we eat the flesh of a cow or chicken, we eat the soft body parts on the bones.  But this discussion will focus more on the second definition. The second definition which is not used by the world, is what we call self, or that “me” part of us.  It includes our personality, our ego, our drive or lack of it, and our beliefs.   It is very closely knit with our soul but we need to understand they are different. The flesh is what the believer is instructed to crucify at salvation. Never are we instructed to crucify the soul. So they are not the same.

So let’s verify that there are two definitions to this word flesh. Understanding that one of the definitions means our body or the soft body parts on our bones is self evident to everyone. However that definition is the totally wrong meaning for many scriptures like we see in Galatians 5:24 and others. We realize that there has to be another definition.

Galatians 5:24
"And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."

Galatians 2:20
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

In these scriptures, if the word “flesh” meant a physical body, or the soft body parts on our bones, it would not make any sense. We don’t kill our body at salvation, instead we crucify or believe dead our flesh, our self life. When we apply the second definition to these scriptures in John 1:14, Gal 5:23, Gal 2:20 and many other scriptures, the scriptures now make perfect sense. But more than that the implications again are HUGE! Both in understanding who this Jesus really is and in understanding our own struggle with sin.

Isaiah 53:6
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."    

We all go our own way because we are led by our self, that me part of us which the Bible calls our flesh. 

You and I have an image of the world imprinted on our flesh or self part of us. It was so easy for the world to imprint us that way. We knew nothing else. The world gave us some truth and they constructed false scientific or religious evidence to convince us of their lies.

This flesh is all the ways we have chosen to live life that make up our self life. Our wishes, our drive, our emotions, our lusts, our dreams, our beliefs, our greed, our fears, our stubbornness, our ego, our personality and the list goes on and on. It is this corrupted self or as the Bible calls it our flesh, that causes us to sin and that ushers in all types of evil. We don’t want to acknowledge our flesh, our self as being the cause of evil, but because it is corrupted, that is just its nature. We see the evil when we see the consequences that are the result of the actions of our flesh. This is self evident over time. While we consider our actions as normal when we do them, we are not including the consequences that work out in the end. When we compare the actions of our flesh or self to those of a perfect God, our righteousness or what we call doing the right thing is like filthy rags.

In our going our way or at least partially our way, we realize there is also a great emptiness or void within us. Feeding this flesh, this self our way, does not lead us to a lasting quality of life or of a fullfilling of that emptiness. How could it, it is based on us and the world, and not on life’s highest values; which are pure truth, love, and righteousness.

The fact that there are two definitions of this word “flesh” is a big deal. People missed the fact that there are two different definitions of the word flesh clear back to Bible times and it caused some to even depart from their faith in God.

John 6:47-58
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eats of this bread shall live for ever.”

John 6:66
“From that time many of his disciples (not the 12) went back, and walked no more with him.”

In these sets of scriptures Jesus is NOT talking about cannibalism. This does point out the case that we humans put a lot of trust in things that we assume. Assuming something is not knowing it. These followers of Jesus assumed he was talking about cannibalism, so much so that some gave up on Jesus when He talked about eating His flesh. Some of those would have been highly educated, and some might not have been. Either way they assumed they knew the truth, but were wrong. As we go deeper into all this it will make perfect sense.

Our spiritual body  This is a more obscure part, but the Bible does talk about it in 1st Cor 15:44.  Many believe that we get our spiritual body when we go to heaven.  As I study this deeper that falls apart.  In the scripture below the word "raised" means to awaken and have them get up. When we become spiritually awakened and alive in the kingdom of God is at salvation, not when we die and go to heaven.  We have a spiritual body from salvation on.  I do not see anywhere in the scriptures where we have a spiritual body before salvation.  It appears from the scriptures that we get it at salvation.  Of course we have our physical body from natural birth to when it physically dies.  I have a seen a few times where this spiritual body was very self evident in a believer.

1st Cor 15:44

"It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body."   

Our human spirit   Often is often translated as the “breath of life”.  It empowers our body and soul to live or function. Our human spirit is not the Holy Spirit! However part of our salvation prayer is for the Holy Spirit to come into us. In essence we invite the Holy Spirit to come into and abide in our human spirit.

So let's get to our key verse to understand who really is this Jesus Christ.

John 1:14
"And the Word was made 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."

This key scriptures is so often skimmed over as people understand the English, but miss the meaning God wants us to understand.

The word “Word” used here, is the Greek word Logos which means the written scriptures our Bibles are translated from. But more than that it means all or 100% of those scriptures. We will see why in a minute.

The word “flesh” used here is the second definition of this word.

 

(This picture is the interlinear on BibleHub.com, an excellent, free Bible study website.  An interlinear translates word for word without the focus being on word flow.  The numbers at the top are the numbers that correspond to the numbers of Strong's Greek dictionary.  I use the interlinear of BibleHub.com quite a bit as it provides more precise word meanings.)

As we study "and the Word was made flesh" let's take the concept of how a baby learns the language of its parents a little deeper.  

The "CORE" Definition of WHO REALLY IS JESUS CHRIST?

So Jesus was the Word of God, as the entire Logos or, the entire written scriptures our Bibles were translated from, making up or filling Jesus’s entire flesh, or that self or me part of Him. It wasn’t 85% or even 98% of the Logos but Jesus Christ had all or 100% of the Logos, the written word of God, filling 100 % or all of His flesh, His self.

When we realize what all this definition
of Jesus entails
it will transform one’s life.
It is HUGE !!!
It is one of the most important precepts
to understand in our lifetime.
It is that important!

That is how Jesus was fully God and fully man.

That is also why Jesus did not sin. This is HUGE.  It is sin that opens the door to evil.  We don't define sin, the scriptures do.  Sin opens the door to the evil that works to destroy our lives and the lives of people around us, even to the point of killing us. Jesus, while tempted, did not sin.  He was not under the control of any lust, hate, fear, greed, envy or any other corruption in Him like we have imaged in us.  None.  Instead Jesus is the embodiment of pure truth, pure love and pure righteousness and is our example to believe and follow. The more we have of Jesus in our flesh, our self, the less we sin and the more we are like Him.  This improves our quality of life.

Col 2:9


“For in him (Jesus) dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

The meaning expressed here does not displace anything else in the Bible.  Instead it is what God intended for us to believe and understand along with all the other scriptures. 

As we to meditate further on this we realize that some biblical precepts seem simple and yet others seem incredibly complex.

Jesus's resurrected body was not the same as a normal human body.  We know He appeared in rooms where the doors were locked without entering through the door.  Our natural physical body cannot walk through walls.  We know that he ate fish so His body was processing food.  Yet a being that is totally spirit does not process physical food.  Additionally days after the resurrection Jesus told Thomas to put his hand in Jesus's side where he had been speared shortly after He died.  I wouldn't want anyone sticking their hand in a large wound I had that was just a few days old. The scriptures actually say Jesus told Thomas to stick his hand in, yes in, the hole in Jesus’s side, not just touch it.

We have to be very careful here that we don't let our imaginations run wild.  It is important for us to stick with how the scriptures define things when meditating on things outside of our own dimension.  

 

1 John 4:3 


“And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”  

Gal 5:17


“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”

Not only was 100% of the Logos in Jesus’s flesh, but because the Godhead is three in one, “the fulness of the (entire) Godhead” was also in this Jesus Christ. That includes the Holy Spirit and God the Father.

in conclusion ,I do not see any way possible that creation could have been designed better than how God did it.  Using extreme precision of chemistry and the elements, Jesus added in love and compassion and redemption to give us real life, if we would just choose to accept and embrace it. 

If we are wise, we will also use Jesus Christ as our example of having the scriptures in our flesh, our self. Again this is not my personal interpretation nor any denomination’s personal interpretation.

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