In The Beginning Was The Word
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 were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:1-3
The Exact Representation of God’s Nature
In the beginning was the Word. The Word with a capital W. The Word is logos in the Greek and it means a thought. The capital W means the Word is divine. The Word is what John calls Jesus in the first verse of the gospel of John. In other words, Jesus The Word is the expression of God’s thoughts. Jesus is a living expression of God’s mind. Or as the writer of Hebrews tells us, Jesus is the exact representation of His nature. (Hebrews 1:3)
When Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus answered,“Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:8-21)
The God We Can’t Understand
And we’re so immensely blessed by Jesus’ incarnation. Think this through with me: If you believe God created the universe and everything in it (by whatever method) then He’s an immensely complex Being. He’s the one who coded who you are, through your DNA. And your genetic code is about as intricate and complex as you can imagine.
The human genome, the genetic code in each human cell, contains 23 DNA molecules each containing from 500 thousand to 2.5 million nucleotide pairs. DNA molecules of this size are 1.7 to 8.5 cm long when uncoiled, or about 5 cm on average. There are about 37 trillion cells in the human body and if you’d uncoil all of the DNA encased in each cell and put them end to end, then these would sum to a total length of 2×1014 meters or enough for 17 Pluto roundtrips (1.2×1013 meters/Pluto roundtrip). (ZME Science)
Bill Gates’s words are true: “DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.” (Gates)
So if you believe God created the universe and everything in it, by whatever method, then God is the one who coded our DNA. And God is the one who created our planet. And if you could travel at the speed of light you could circle the earth 7.5 times per second. And if you did that for a year you would travel around planet earth 236,520,000 times. And God created our galaxy which is 100,000 light years across. And God created at least 100 billion galaxies.
God created photons and quarks and comets.
God created the eagle — and He created the Eagle Nebula.
The God who created the universe and all that’s in it is immensely complex. He’s Transcendent. He’s Big and Beyond our comprehension. He’s a Mystery.
The Answer To The Mystery
So if God is immensely complex, then how can we know His mind and heart? The answer is the same as if you loved ants, and if you were trying to communicate with them, with ants. What would that be like? Let’s say my wife Kathy is getting ready to paint your garage floor with epoxy which is a way to make an old beat up garage floor look beautiful. (Kathy has all the home improvement talent in the family.) But before she does that she she has to prepare the garage floor by washing it in acid. Your garage floor, like most garage floors, sometimes has ants residing on it. So what are you to do if you want to tell those ants that the acid is coming? You can try to reason with them. You can shout at them. You can wave your arms or speak through a megaphone, but the ants won’t understand. You’re too big, You’re too complex a creature, You’re beyond their comprehension. The only way to communicate would be for you to become an ant yourself.
And that’s the answer. The Answer to that Mystery of God’s thoughts and nature is found in Jesus The Word, The Logos. Jesus, the person, The Word, The Logos is God’s primary means of communicating with us. Jesus is how we know God’s mind and heart.
Always go back to this. Whenever you’re wondering about those strange Old Testament verses, turn to the gospels and study Jesus. Whenever you see something Paul writes that might be difficult to understand, turn to the gospels and study Jesus. He clarifies our insight into God’s mind and heart. Because Jesus is the exact representation of His nature. Anytime you have questions about Him, about the Most High God your Father in heaven and what He thinks, go to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: and see Jesus.
Because if you have seen Jesus you have seen the Father.
References:
Bill Gates, The Road Ahead, Penguin, 1996
Cary and Michael Huang, The Scale of the Universe 2
Jon Courson, Application Commentary New Testament, Thomas Nelson 2004
Image via General Physics Lab – Creative Commons
So awesome – what would you tell someone with struggling with why she was healed of cancer and others were not? The why, the mystery of God?
That’s a really great question Paulette. I’ve been pondering how to answer for awhile now. Here’s where I landed. Yes, I would say the complexity of the God who created the universe results in mysteries we may never understand. For every person Jesus healed while he walked the planet, there were hundreds or thousands around him who remained in their infirmity. It may be that some of those Jesus healed felt the same as your friend who’s struggling. From what I understand that’s not an uncommon response.
Something else I’d say is to take care of the basics. It’s amazing what guarding your heart does for your outlook. Praying enough, sleeping enough, eating healthy, regular exercise, and staying in God’s word are all ways to guard our hearts.
Finally I’d say that it’s helpful to use the emotion of guilt to go out and find someone who you can help, and then help them. That’s how Jesus commands us to live anyway.
For you Paulette, as someone trying to help, all of these are best offered by example and proximity. If you can, gently find a way to do these together with your friend.
Hope this is helpful.