Jesus Had a Real Human Body

The Apostle John wrote a biblical letter known as 1 John concerning what we can know about God, and about us. And he says we can know that we know God through Jesus Christ.

But false teaching had apparently cropped up where he was ministering. Some said then, and now, that Jesus only appeared to have a body, or that He merely seemed to die on a cross.

That may sound odd that some would question that Jesus had a real human body. But that seed of doubt has been used for centuries to cause people to stumble. So it's important to establish that Jesus did in fact have a real human body. And John clarifies that for his readers, and down through the centuries, for us.

John was trying to get across the idea that if you are a genuine believer, what you believe about Jesus matters. A true believer in Jesus will be marked by certain distinguishing marks: faith, obedience, love. The first that we'll talk about here is the mark of faith. True followers of Jesus will be shown by their faith.

And that faith must be rooted in the God who took on a human body to live perfectly, and then die and rise, in our place, instead of us. To do so, Jesus had to have an actual body, in which He actually died (and rose).

You can trust that Jesus had a real human body.

John says you can believe that. Why? Because he was there. John and his friends were with Jesus. They saw Him, they heard Him, they ate with Him, they touched Him, and they knew that He had a real human body. They were eyewitnesses in these early days of Jesus' ministry:

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life—that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may have fellowship along with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1.1-3, HCSB)

God's word says that Jesus really took on a human body. If you can trust Scripture—and you can—then you can trust that He had a real body. John and his buddies were there, and that's among the most important early facts they reported to us about Jesus.

When Jesus came back from death and showed up in the locked, fearful room the disciples had created, He joined them in their room and wanted to reassure them. "Peace to you!" He said. And then "He showed them His hands and His side" (John 20.20, HCSB). He was real.

Then a little later when Thomas kept having doubts, which were normal, Jesus wanted to reassure him also, and said:

Put your finger here and observe My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Don't be an unbeliever, but a believer. (John 20.27, HCSB)

Thomas saw and believed. Jesus said those who hadn't seen and still believed are blessed, but He knew that these close friends would soon attest to the fact that His body was indeed real. He really died. He really rose from death.

This is the incarnation. He put on flesh. He put on bones. Specifically this is what we celebrate at Christmas each year. Born into this world, He put on a body.

If He didn't, or hadn't, we would be hopeless. But He did. And we have certainty, and we believe. And our lives are marked by faith.

The Marks of a Genuine Believer

Do you have a prominent, distinguishing birthmark? Or perhaps you have other markings like tattoos?

I've always thought it to be pretty interesting when a local news alert comes across the airwaves and a reporter says that police have offered a description of the suspect. They will tell the obvious details, such as height, weight, ethnicity, and the clothes they were wearing when they were last seen. But once in a while they will say something like, "…and the suspect has a large tattoo on his left arm with the words, Elvira Forever, prominently displayed." Bet they can't find that guy.

So do you have any marks?

The Apostle John wrote a letter in the New Testament that is all about what we can know about God, and about us. And he says we can know that we know God, through Jesus Christ.

These categories are nothing new with me, but over the next few posts, we'll be looking at three distinguishing marks of a true believer, according to John's letter. Genuine followers of Jesus will display:

• The Mark of Faith
• The Mark of Obedience
• The Mark of Love

I hope this brief look into John's letter will provide the clarity and assurance that John intended.

I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5.13, HCSB)

What Some People Don't Know

On the blog this week we looked at what the Apostle John says we know that we know. There are several spiritual truths that we can know with certainty. Most importantly, God's word says that we can know that we know God.

Interestingly, though, John also speaks about a few things that some people don't know. After each unknown, see John's words of concern from the letter of 1 John.

Those who hate their brothers or sisters in Christ don't know the direction they are going.

But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn't know where he's going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1 John 2.11, HCSB)

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. (1 John 3.15, HCSB)

Those who haven’t looked to God as their Father don't know or understand His children.

Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God's children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn't know Him. (1 John 3.1, HCSB)

Those who continue in a life of sin don't know God.

Everyone who remains in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him. (1 John 3.6, HCSB)

As you can see, this is a devastating list of unknown unknowns—things they don't know that they don't know. How can they know unless someone tells them?

I hope that you and I will take the time today to let others know all that is available in Christ.

Knowing What You Know

Yesterday we considered that although there are a vast number of things we don't know, when it comes to the most important things in life, we can have more certainty than we might initially think.

The Bible says that we can be sure that we know God through Jesus. We can have real certainty about who He is and who we are because of Him. We can know that we know God. For the believer, it is a known known.

And there are lots of other spiritual truths that John the Apostle says that we can know. In teaching through the letter of 1 John, it struck me how many things the Apostle says that we can know. By my count, he uses a form of one of the two main Greek words for know at least 40 times in 32 verses, throughout this five-chapter letter.

Below are six categories of items that John says we can know with certainty. The verses of Scripture that follow each statement are indicative of the ways that John speaks with conviction.

We know that the end of days could happen anytime.

Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard, “Antichrist  is coming,” even now many antichrists have come. We know from this that it is the last hour. (1 John 2.18, HCSB)

We know that we have the truth about God.

I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. (1 John 2.21, HCSB)

We know what genuine love is, and how to show it.

This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3.16, HCSB)

And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. (1 John 4.16, HCSB)

We know that we have been given real life, escaping death.

We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. (1 John 3.14, HCSB)

We know that God abides in us, and we in Him.

The one who keeps His commands remains in Him, and He in him. And the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He has given us. (1 John 3.24, HCSB)

This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given assurance to us from His Spirit. (1 John 4.13, HCSB)

We know that we have a saving relationship with God.

This is how we are sure that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands. (1 John 2.3, HCSB)

I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5.13, HCSB)

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true One. We are in the true One—that is, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5.20, HCSB)

Remember, this is just a sampling of the 40 instances of what John's first letter says that we know. If we followers of Jesus lived our lives in the certainty and gracious boldness that is possible, we would make a much greater impact on our world.

I'm so thankful for the confidence that is available in Christ.

Knowing That You Know Him

How much do you really know?

You know more than you think you do. Or at least you can.

I can still remember the press conference in 2002 when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made a statement that later became established in pop culture. A reporter had asked him a question by stating that there were "reports that there is no evidence" of something. Rumsfeld's response was classic Rumsfeld.

Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.

—Donald Rumsfeld, February 12, 2002

There are certainly thousands of things you don't know. More like billions. But even when it comes to the most important concerns we have, we often have no certainty as to what the outcome will be. We have no idea if our loved ones will still be with us next year, or whether we will be healthy next month, or whether we will lose our jobs next week. When it comes to knowledge with certainty, it seems we don't know much.

So how about God, and spiritual things? That seems like an area where we might not know much. After all, that's the very definition of faith, isn't it? Believing without seeing?

We might be surprised to see just how much the Bible says we can know with certainty when it comes to our faith. The Apostle John, the same one who through amazing experiences had matured into a great man of God (see these posts), wrote in a letter about what we can know with certainty concerning God and ourselves, when we are in Christ. And he even says that we can know that we know God. Take a look at these remarkable words:

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. (1 John 2.3, ESV)

He actually uses the primary Greek root word for know twice in this sentence. I used to hear pastors ask, "Do you know that you know Him?" And I used to think it was funny that they would word it that way. But the fact is, John the Apostle essentially does just that.

We'll cover later what John is saying in 1 John 2.3, about doing what God says to do. But one thing is certain. He says you can know that you know God through Jesus Christ. And that's real certainty. Some translations even word it that way: "And by this we are certain…". 

God's word says that you can know that you know Him. That's profound. Do you know Him?

Next time, we'll look at more of what we know.

What Changes Us?, Part 3

In studying the biblical letter, 1 John, I began wondering how the Apostle John turned from what appears to be a rather immature guy into a godly man who would write a powerful Gospel account, key letters, and a phenomenal Revelation, all while being a key leader in his early, local church. Through his ministry and Scriptures, John still speaks and still leads.

So what changed him? We looked at some key events here and here. Although many things happened to John that changed him, this final part includes the last two that I'll mention for now.

John observed the agony of Jesus.

John witnessed the suffering of Jesus. He was actually there. When we view movies that depict Christ's death, few even come close to showing what that kind of deep agony must have been. We sometimes forget that Jesus suffered even in the garden of Gethsemane. He suffered as He talked with his Father about what would soon happen. So much so that it was as if He were sweating blood. It was intense. And John was there.

Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and horrified. Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow—to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake.” (Mark 14.32-34, HCSB)

They were so exhausted that they eventually fell asleep. But they would not forget this dramatic event that changed them. Don't you think that would have changed you?

John took responsibility for the family of Jesus.

In a sweet gesture just before His death, Jesus wanted to ensure care for His widowed mother. So in one act of love, He took care of His mom and at the same time brought John into the family. Jesus was of course the firstborn among His brothers. Why He did not at some point assign the care of His mother to the next oldest brother is a mystery to me. Perhaps it was because John was maturing. He was changing. And Jesus trusted him. In this remarkable move, from the cross, He accomplished so much. Here is the story:

Standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing there, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (John 19.25-27, HCSB)

That final sentence says so much. John completed his assignment well. From that day forward, he knew that Jesus had entrusted the care of His mom to him, and he faithfully provided care. Don't you think that would have changed you?

In both of these instances, and all of the others we have seen, it is a sweet reminder for me to see all that happened to John the Apostle in changing him.

But then I remember that in various ways, these things have happened to you and me as well. I've come to a point of belief in Jesus through a personal encounter. I've seen, in some ways, the supernatural power of God at work. I've been appointed by Jesus in a special connection. I've come to appreciate the approval of Jesus by God the Father. I've come to understand the suffering of Jesus. And Jesus has brought me into His family. In a spiritual way, I've experienced these episodes just like John.

And so have you.

And when it's real, it changes us.

What Changes Us?, Part 2

Last time, we asked the question, essentially: What does it take for a man to change from a selfish, perhaps wimpy guy into an influential leader among Christians in the first century and beyond? John the Apostle was such a man. He became a great leader who wrote Scripture and helped lead the church into a new era.

So what changed him? We looked at two events previously. Here are two more life-changing episodes.

John was appointed in a special connection with Jesus.

The Gospel writers give lists of the Twelve Apostles, but Mark's list includes something interesting. It lists two examples of the nicknames that Jesus gave among the specially appointed team:

He appointed the Twelve:
To Simon, He gave the name Peter;
and to James the son of Zebedee,
and to his brother John,
He gave the name “Boanerges”
(that is, “Sons of Thunder”)…
(Mark 3.16-17, HCSB)

Perhaps we shouldn't read too much into this. But over the years, the folks who have chosen to give me a nickname are often those who have known me best, or worked with me the closest. I have many times done the same. A nickname is often a term of endearment, or a way to show a special connection. We know that Jesus began calling Simon by the name of Peter because of a special connection. And that's just what John the Apostle also had with Jesus. No one knows (now) exactly what Jesus meant by calling Zebedee's sons the Sons of Thunder—or however we should translate that! But my guess: it was a loving term of closeness.

I think, That sure would have changed me.

John's was certainly a special connection, but have you realized how special a connection you have with God? God knows your name, He knows your days, and even the number of hairs on your head. He may even have a nickname for you (okay, I made that part up, but it sounds just like His loving self to do something like that).

John witnessed the approval of Jesus by God the Father.

In one of the intriguing stories of the unfolding revelation of who Jesus really was and is, He allowed three of the Apostles to come to a very unique mountaintop prayer service. We call it the Transfiguration because Jesus' body and even clothes apparently began to glow! He was glorified right in front of them.

About eight days after these words, He took along Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became dazzling white. (Luke 9.28-29, HCSB)

He spoke with Moses and Elijah, and then a cloud overshadowed them and the voice of God the Father said, "This is My Son, the Chosen One; listen to Him!" (v. 35). John and the others were able to be there when God the Father personally spoke on behalf of His Son to say that they should listen to Him. It's as though He was saying: The Law and the Prophets (represented by Moses and Elijah) are good, but this One—He is My Son! Be sure to pay attention to Him! Others had seen something similar at Jesus' baptism, but not this. This was a special revelation from God reserved for Peter, James and you guessed it—John.

I think, That sure would have changed me.

We may not have seen this transfiguration live, but what was once kept to themselves (v. 36) has now been told to the world through the Scriptures. And many of us have experienced God the Father's most significant approval…that of Jesus' sacrifice in our place.

More next time.