Day Nine - John 1: The Word Becomes Flesh Come And See

For the next 21 Days We will walk through the Gospel of John and identify the story of Communion and CommunionFire. We come to Jesus's Table in Communion and Jesus comes to us in CommunionFire. 

If it hasn't already happened, it will. When you eat the Bread of Life, The Body of Jesus and drink the Wine of Life, the Blood of Jesus, something happens. It is intimacy with Jesus at His Table where the relationship develops. That is what Communion is all about and where the Miracle of CommunionFire happens. 

Jesus starts us in the natural and brings us into His supernatural, We start at our table and end up at His Table. We start with bread and it becomes His flesh. We start with wine and it becomes His blood. We start with a cup in our hands and He floods the cup of your heart with living waters of his Spirit until it overflows. It is Jesus. He opens our eyes to see the unseen. He opens our ears to hear the voice of His whisper. As you eat, close your eyes and look with the eyes of your spirit. As you drink listen with the hearing of your spirit. The manifestation of Jesus is by the power of the Holy Spirit. He will lead you into a revelation of Jesus. He will bring to mind things you did not know as though they were already a part of your memory.

Jesus is the Word. Some say the word bread and word are interchangeable. There are 3 definitions in the Greek for the word "Word" in the New Testament. 

The first is the word: "graphe". This is the paper and ink of the Bible - the Scriptures. 

The second is the word: "The Logos" (which is the word being used in verse one.) Logos literally means The Word become flesh or Jesus. 

The third is the word: "rhema" which is what happens when the Holy Spirit speaks The Logos to us. it is like a whisper on the breeze or an understanding in the heart of what Jesus is sharing with you. 

Like bread, our relationship with Jesus is "the bread of a living, moment by moment relationship". When Jesus said to 'do this in remembrance of Me' He was inviting us to feast on fellowship with Him. It is the entire purpose of God. His love craves for us to have a deepening, day by day, personal relationship with Jesus. He is the Word (Logos, Light of heaven that pierces the darkness of this world so that we can see and encounter Him in Communion the same way they did when He walked the earth. He is like a lamp to our feet, lighting our path in His way of life. We are walking in Him, with Him into eternity. It starts now and is revived every time we have Communion.) 

His presence shines into the darkness of our hearts and lights it up. Spending time with Jesus feeds us and fills us with the substance of eternal life. When in His presence our spirit feeds on revelation of Him in His glory, His light. That is, when we 'see Him' we get to know Him. 

When you see someone and hear them speak its a big difference from a letter you might get or a phone conversation because you see the expression behind the words. You see the stature of their presence.  You see how they carry themsleves. You can see if they are weighted down or alive with joy by their energy. This 'sheds light' on who it is you are relating to. 

Because Jesus loved us first, there are lots of things He knows that we do not know. When we see Him we realize He already knows us inside out. 

Knowing Him is what connects the beating of our heart with the beating of His heart. We see Him smile and we smile. We see Him lift His head and we lift our head. We see Him stretch out His hand and we reach out to take it. We see Him as He is in that moment and He connects with us as we are in that same moment with Him. 

The Word Became Flesh

Later Jesus will discuss His flesh as the bread of life and He said we need to eat it so that our eyes might be opened to recognize Him in the spirit. When we gives us this ability, we see and recognize Jesus, as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. This is God's provision for us to come into Communion with Him. When we see into the light of His glory we encounter His graciousness and and the truth of His real presence. We call that CommunionFire. In His presence we are flooded by one pounding wave of grace after another. The reality of encountering Jesus feeds us with his life. It is this life that gives us His light to walk in throughout the day.

People may ask who we are just like they did John. They recognize that we have been with Him. They see His glory in us and on us. In that moment we become His witnesses, just like John. In fact John says that he baptizes with water but that Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit - the water of life. In His presence the water becomes the wine of His blood. We drown in His presence and are raised up and empowered to become a new creation. 

We see and recognize Jesus as the Lamb of God who took away our sins, guilt, shame and condemnation. We see that the same Spirit that descended upon Jesus after baptism is the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead. It is the same Spirit that Jesus pours out upon us and when we drink we are filled to overflowing. Then the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us and makes us alive. 

Note that John "looking upon Jesus" said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" So Andrew and Nathaniel left following John to follow Jesus. Jesus responded to their desire to follow Him by saying, "Come and See!" When we follow Jesus to His Table He is constantly opening our eyes to see more and more of Him. 

The Jesus looked upon Peter. He sees us before we see Him. He sees us not only as we are but also for who He created us to become. That is why He gave Peter a new name. 

The next day Jesus went to find Philip who was with Andrew the day before. Today He said, "Follow me!" Believe me, when Jesus looks into your eyes and says, "Follow me!" something happens. He gives you His ability and confidence to follow Him. Philip became an instant evangelist just like Andrew! He found Nathaniel and told him what His heart understood when Jesus said, "Follow Me!". He told Nathaniel, "We have found the person Moses spoke of in the law and who the Prophets prophesied about - It is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathaniel said, "Can any good come from Nazareth?" and Philip said, "Come and See!" He repeated the words of Jesus to Andrew.

We come to Jesus and we see Him. We come to Jesus Table and He is there. We encounter His presence by the miracle from eating and digesting His flesh and blood. We eat and our eyes are open to recognize Him and when we drink and our ears recognize His voice.

Come and see!

Like Peter, Jesus says to Nathaniel, "Before Philip called you I saw you under the fig tree!" When we know that Jesus has seen us before we follow Him we know, "He is the Son of God, the King of Israel!"

Then Jesus says, "You will see greater things. You will see angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." The Word becomes flesh and when we feed on Jesus' presence our eyes are opened to the reality of eternal life. We taste it, see it, hear it and feel it. 

John 1 
 
The Beginning: Genesis of the New Covenant
(Genesis 1:1-2)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by Him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shined in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

The Witness of John to the Reality of Jesus
(Malachi 3:1-5)
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name [was] John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but [was sent] to bear witness of that Light.

9 [That] was the TRUE Light, which lights every man that comes into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on His name:   13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Made Flesh To Be Here With Us
(Psalm 84:1-12)
14 And the Word was made flesh, and lived among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth. 15 John bare witness of Him and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that comes after me is preferred before me: for He was before me. 16 And of his fullness have all we received, and 
grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18 No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared [Him].

The Mission of John the Baptist
(Isaiah 40:1-5; Matthew 3:1-12; 
Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-20)
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who 
are you? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked Him What then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you that prophet? And he answered, No. 
22 Then said they unto him, Who are you? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What do you say about yourself? 23 He said, I [am] the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah.

24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said to him, Why do you baptize then, if you are not that Christ, nor Elijah neither that prophet?

26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: 
but there stands one among you, who you do not know; 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to 
unloose. 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Behold, the Lamb of God
(Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. 30 This is He of whom I said, After me comes a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew Him not : but but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew Him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

Jesus Calls His First Disciples
(Matthew 4:18-22; Matthew 13:47-52; 
Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11)
35 Again the next day after John stood and two of His disciples; 36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God! 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, What do you seek? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted,Master, ) where do you live? 39 He saith to them, Come and see. They came and saw where he lived and stayed with Him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two which heard John [speak], and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which is interpreted the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus looked on him, he said, you are Simon the son of Jonah: you shalt be called Cephas, which is interpreted A stone.

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The day following, Jesus would go into Galilee and found Philip, and said to him, Follow Me.    44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael, and said to him We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael 
coming to him, and said, Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile! 48 Nathanael said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.                                                         
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.  50 Jesus answered and said to him Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, you believe? You shall see greater things than these. 51 And he said to him, Verily, verily, I say to you, From now on you shall see heaven open,and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.