“The Word Became Flesh” (6)

[John 1:1-4, 9-14]

The second purpose for which the Son of God, who is the “Word,” became “flesh” (a human) was to be the mediator between God and us.

Originally, there was no need for a mediator between God and us. God originally had fellowship with Adam. Genesis 2:7 says:

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

God formed man (Adam) from the dust and breathed life into his nostrils, so that he became a living being. In other words, Adam was created to have fellowship with God. God also made a garden eastward in Eden and placed Adam there to have fellowship with him (verse 8). Furthermore, God made a covenant with Adam. Genesis 2:16-17 says:

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

God made a covenant with Adam, the first man, commanding him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The reason was that God desired to continue fellowship with Adam. In other words, if Adam had obeyed God’s command and not eaten from that tree, he could have continued in fellowship with God.

God also gave Adam a family. Genesis 2:18-24 says:

“And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him... And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man... Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

God created a suitable helper for Adam so that he could establish a family. Thus, when we look at Genesis 2, there was no need for a mediator between God and Adam.

However, in Genesis chapter 3, a mediator became necessary between God and Adam. This was because the woman was deceived by the serpent and saw that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was “good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise,” so she took and ate the fruit and also gave some to her husband Adam, who also ate (Genesis 3:6). As a result, their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked and made themselves loincloths from fig leaves. That same day, they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden and hid themselves among the trees from the presence of the LORD God (verses 7-8).

Adam was cursed:

“And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life... Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (verses 17-19)

Therefore, God and Adam became enemies:

“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son...” (Romans 5:10)

God regards us as enemies, is angry with us, and opposes us. This is why we need a mediator.

A mediator must not act for only one side but must be for both sides and be worthy. The Son of God, who is the Mediator, possesses the nature of God and is able to do all that God can do. And the Son of God, who is the Mediator, became a man [“The Word became flesh…” (John 1:14)] and is a perfect man. The Son of God, who is the Mediator, is without sin. If He had sin, He could not be a mediator. The reason is that God is holy. Romans 8:3 says:
“For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.”

If Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, had come in “sinful flesh,” He could not be a mediator. But the Bible says He came “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” This means that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came with a weak body (He hungered, thirsted, and grew tired). This in itself is not sin. At that time, Satan tempted Jesus, but Jesus overcame by the word of God, so it was not sin. Jesus was tempted in every way but overcame all, so He is without sin. Therefore, Jesus is truly the one who can be the mediator between God and us.

The only mediator between God and people is Christ Jesus, who is a man. As it says in 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, has the ability to mediate well. 1 Timothy 2:6 says: “Who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.” He gave Himself as a ransom to atone for our sins. He is an excellent mediator.

Jesus Christ reconciled us to God by dying on the cross when we were enemies of God (Romans 5:10). Therefore, now we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, who reconciled us (verse 11). Ephesians 2:11-13 says:
“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Here, “at that time” (verses 11 and 12) refers to when we were enemies of God. It was when we were sinners and our sin problem had not been resolved. At that time, we did not know Christ and were outside of Christ (verse 12). We were without God (verse 13). We were God’s enemies and had no hope (verse 12). But “now” (verse 13) — with emphasis — those of us who were “far away” have been brought near in Christ Jesus by the blood of Christ (verse 13). That is, through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, the wall of hostility that separated us from God was torn down, and peace was made with God (verses 14-15).

The veil of the temple that separated the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place was torn in two (Matthew 27:51), allowing people to enter the Most Holy Place, and since God who was in the Most Holy Place was now also in the Holy Place, He dwelled with people, sharing fellowship and making peace. Ephesians 2:16-19 says:
“And who himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.”

By Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, the hostility between us and God was destroyed, and we were reconciled to God. Therefore, from now on, we are no longer foreigners or strangers but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. Here, “members of God’s household” means that we have become family members of God’s household.

Now Jesus is our elder brother (Romans 8:29), and the elder brother Jesus is not ashamed to call us “brothers” (Hebrews 2:11). Having been enemies of God, we have now been reconciled to God by the death of Jesus Christ, the Mediator and Son of God, becoming God’s family, with Jesus as our elder brother and we as His younger brothers. How glorious we have become! We must always be thankful for this great grace and come to God the Father relying solely on the merit of the cross of Jesus Christ, the Mediator.