John 1:1-18 has been described as the Prologue of the gospel. In vs.1 John established for his reader the deity of the Logos (Jesus). Then he gave one important added proof about Jesus’ deity. He told us in vs.3 that Jesus is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. The apostle Paul made it clear also in Col.1:16 that Jesus is the Creator. And in vs.17 he told us that Jesus, who “is before all things” (eternal), is the Sustainer of creation. “What Christ has created He maintains in permanent order, stability, and productivity.” (Harris).

John’s next important goal in writing is found in vs.14. Now, if we connect vs.1 to vs.14, John’s primary purpose in His prologue would become very clear to us. John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Note two repetitions : “the Word” and the connective “and”. John’s emphasis in his prologue is : the eternal Word who is God, became flesh.

The verb “became” is the same Greek verb John used in vs.3 with reference to creation. The verb “became” tells us that the Son of God who “was” entered time (creation) as a real flesh and blood human being.  This is John’s incarnation story : the Lord Jesus, the Word, who is the eternal God, became man; from eternity and divine existence to time and manhood, to human existence. “The assumption of human nature by the Son of God is the most stupendous fact in the history of providence.” (Hiebert).

Now, John could have said, “the Word became man” or “the Word took a body”. Instead, John said, “the Word became flesh.” The word “flesh” is the Greek word sarks. For the Greeks, this is a strong, almost crude way of referring to human nature. John chose that form of expression which sets before the reader what he wanted to say very clearly and most bluntly. John is very clear about the deity of Jesus. But he was just as clear and emphatic about the genuineness of Jesus’ humanity. 

We saw previously that vs.1 would have been very offensive to the Jews. Now we must note that vs.14 would have been very offensive to the Greeks. The Greeks believed that the gods appeared to men as phantom beings. They seemed to be physically real (Docetism) but they were not. They gods did not incarnate on this earth as real flesh and blood human beings. As noted, the Greek word for “flesh”, sarks, is a strong word and conveys the idea of real flesh and blood. John is making it clear that Jesus was not a phantom being. Jesus was physically a real flesh and blood human being.

Why was John making it so clear that Jesus was not a phantom being? When John wrote his gospel and epistles, the church was already fighting against the heresies of Docetism and Gnosticism. And so, with good reason, John began his first epistle as follows  :  “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life.” Note the verbs : heard, seen, looked, touched. They heard Jesus. They saw Him. He was no phantom. They looked, that is, they scrutinized him thoroughly.

They touched (handled) Him. “Their physical contact with the body of Jesus was no mere accidental brushing against His body but a purposeful touching of His body to verify its physical reality.” (Hiebert). Jesus used this same verb after His resurrection, in Lk.24:39-43 (cf. Jn.20:27), to challenge His disciples to prove the reality of His bodily presence.

John wrote that everyone who “confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” (1Jn.4:2). But those who do not confess Jesus is from God are the antichrist. (vs.3). Those “who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh” are the deceivers and the antichrist. (2Jn.1:7). Those who deny “that Jesus is the Christ” and “the Son” are the liars and the antichrist. (1Jn.2:22).

Jesus is the eternal Son of God. He is God, the second member of the Triune Godhead. He was born of a woman as a real flesh and blood human being. He is the truth. He is the only Savior of sinners. He is the resurrected Lord. Unless you believe these truths with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength, (cf. Mk.12:30), you belong to the antichrist movement of liars and deceivers. Furthermore, you are of your father, the devil. (Jn.8:44).  And when you die you will be joining the devil in his eternal abode.