Gnosticsm & the Proclamation of Christianity with special reference to John's Gospel (Cont)
Knowing God: In Jesus Christ man can truly know God
John 17: 26 (NIV)
"In Him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ... And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14 [NRSV]). John would have agreed with Paul: "God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4: 6,7 [AV]).
John at the beginning of his Gospel wrote: "In Him was life; and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1: 4,5 (NIV)). And then he wrote the rest of his Gospel to explain how Jesus Christ came as that light and that life to show us what God was like, that He loved us while we were yet sinners, so much so, that He died on the Cross to save us.
No one has seen God, but Jesus Christ has shown us what He is like without distortion. This is set out clearly in the Prologue in John 1: 14-18.
"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Son from the Father. ... From His fullness have we all received grace upon grace."
"For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Then comes the remarkable closing sentence of the Prologue. "No one has ever seen God; the Only Son, ... He has made Him known."
Jesus Christ is not some being intermediate between God and man, but God Himself as Man.
This is the great wonder and mystery of the Christian faith. God has, in the Person of His Son, Himself become flesh. God's eternity has been joined to man's temporality (transient life on earth), and this occurred in man's history.
God remains invisible, but He is no longer unknown or unknowable. Jesus Christ, the Word, who is the Son of God Incarnate has revealed Him and made Him known. ( See Explanatory Note 2 at end of document.)
"According to the New Testament, Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. This fundamental revelation of the Christian faith is frequently overlooked among Christians." [55] We can only really know God personally in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God Himself as Man. This is why we worship Him. ( See Explanatory Note 3 at end of document.)
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