Daily Verse August 24, 2010

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

(John 1: 1-5, NIV)

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1: 1-2, NIV)

The trinity has been at work since the beginning. In the book of Genesis we read about God’s creation, we notice the Spirit was present and hovering over the water. The book of John starts by saying the Word was around in the beginning and was with God. In this John is talking about Jesus. The trinity is the core of the true Christian faith, because others may believe in God and Jesus, but they differ in their understanding of the trinity.

The Trinity is the basis of the truth in which God and Jesus work. They are three people but one God: (1) God the Father, (2) God the Son, and (3) God the Holy Spirit. The proof is in the words of Jesus …“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” (John 5:17, NIV) Jesus refers to God as his Father, yet Jesus was God.

Pastor Greg Laurie summarized it this way:

1. Jesus is God. (John 1:1) makes this crystal clear. Jesus is God, has always been God, and will always be God. He has been there since the beginning of time as part of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the Creator of all things and Lord over all, and yet . . .

2. Jesus became a man. (John 1:14) tells us, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” In essence, God came down from His throne in heaven and lived among us—the God-man (Philippians 2:6-8). He became one of us without ceasing to be Himself. In the description of Jesus in (Isaiah 9:6), His deity is made clear: “the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

3. Jesus veiled His deity, but did not void it. Scripture reveals nothing about Jesus’ appearance, other than that He was ordinary looking (Isaiah 53:2). He experienced all the limitations of humanity, from hunger and thirst to anger and sadness, but without our sinful nature. A good illustration is the story of Jesus calming the waves—He was human enough to need sleep, but divine enough to command the wind and sea.

(Pastor Greg Laurie is the Senior Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship Church in California and the Notes are from "A New Beginning" a daily radio and podcast. Referenced Jesus Christ: God with Us, http://www.harvest.org/get_pdf.php/1098.pdf)