1 John 1.1-2
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us.”
The Lord created mankind with physical characteristics. We are designed to think, reason, feel, and communicate. The Lord also created mankind with spiritual characteristics. We are designed to have a sense of purpose and significance, as well as a conscience and awareness of moral standards.
To limit human life to only the physical is a distortion of man’s true nature. Likewise, to limit human life to primarily the spiritual is also a distortion of man’s true nature. According to God’s design, the true nature of human life is an amazing combination of the spiritual and the physical.
With this in mind, read carefully the opening verses of the Gospel of John:
“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 anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1.1-4)
Do you see what John is saying? The Word he refers to is Jesus, and all things were created through him. Jesus was with God in the very beginning, and in some incredible and inexplicable way, he actually was God. And then John says: “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” This means that the Word shows us the true nature and purpose of life as God designs it to be. Jesus illuminates and demonstrates what real life looks like.
A few verses later, of course, John says that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” thereby demonstrating through the incarnation that human life according to God’s design is the amazing combination of the physical and the spiritual.
John continues with this same theme in the epistle of First John: “The life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us.” (1 John 1.2).
The message is that Jesus reveals the nature of true life. If you want fulfillment, if you want a life of purpose and significance, do not look to rationalism or subjectivism. Those are distortions of life. If you want true life—that is, the life for which you were designed and created—look to Jesus.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ” (Colossians 1.15-17)
