Feb 24, 2022
Jesus made God known to us, but He wasn't just a man and we have to wrestle with this concept. Can we handle things that don't quite make sense to us? Let's talk about that today.
Hey, I'm Mike Henry Sr. with Follower of One. Thanks for joining me on the Follower of One Podcast. I'm grateful that you're here and I'm grateful that from time to time, you might share this, even with your friends.
What does it mean to have beliefs or understandings about God that we don't quite understand? We've been talking through John 1:1-18 for several episodes now, and today we're on verse 18 in the English Standard Version. It says "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known."
When you read this in a number of translations, some even translate that to say that it's the Son. The Christian Standard Bible, for example, says "No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son who is Himself God, and is at the Father's side, He has revealed Him."
I think it's important to understand the Trinity; that there are three persons in the Godhead.
And I understand so little of this, I can't really explain it. But there is God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. God manifests Himself these three ways. And He is one but He is three. And I don't understand it.
Can it make sense to me, that's something like this doesn't make sense? John is clearly stating right here that God the Father who has not been seen by us, has been made visible a little bit.
We've seen God, the Son we've seen Jesus. Jesus became flesh. It said in verse 14, "The Word became flesh." And we have seen His glory. We saw God the Son.
In John 14, Jesus even says, "Have I been with you so long? And you still ask, 'Show us the Father.'' He was talking to Phillip in John chapter 14. Jesus is God come to us in the flesh. He's everything we need.
Many of the people that we work with and live with and interact with on a daily basis, don't believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Or they don't think that Jesus is the only way to God. And these are both challenges for some of the people that we know and maybe challenges for you too, as you're listening to this podcast.
Today, I want to lean into this verse and think about how God the Son came to Earth for us and created a way so that we could restore and be restored in our relationship to God the Father. I believe that's true. And I believe that there are not multiple ways to God simply because if there were more than one way, then why did Jesus have to die?
I believe that's the way this works. And every day I deal a little bit with the gap between my own belief and my own understanding. I believe in a God who's bigger than my understanding, as well as I believe in a God who's more powerful than I can ever imagine. I know that I will never say to God, "Oh, I thought you were bigger." Because God is almighty and all-powerful and bigger than even I can think.
And I want to live that way today. I want to live like I follow a God who does impossible things. And so today I ask God to use my life in the world to make a difference with me. Would you do that with us? We start by praying, "Jesus. Here I am. Please put me to work. My job as a believer is not just to stay out of trouble today. My job as a believer is to look for opportunities to make you visible. Can I do that today?"
That's my job as a follower of Jesus. Would you join me in that role today? This is how we get to know God if we follow Jesus.
Thanks for being a marketplace minister. And thanks for listening to this podcast. Please share it with your friends.
Also, please check out the next Marketplace Mission Trip. We do these things called Marketplace Mission Trips, where we try and live our faith daily over a two-week period. You can sign up for the next Marketplace Mission Trip by joining our online community at https://community.followerofone.org. Thanks very much.