Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
John 1:1 (NIV)
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 5:24 (NIV)
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
John 17:6-8 (NIV)
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
John 20:30-31 (NIV)
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
When Jesus came, he was actually God’s Word (the power of God that created all things) coming to earth in the form of a person. Jesus is God’s Word lived out in the flesh. When we know Jesus, we know God’s Word. And when we know God’s Word, we know Jesus. The Word and Christ are two forms of the same thing, and this is how God saves us. That’s why Jesus prays the way he does in John 17. This prayer occurred at the Last Supper, just before Jesus was going to the cross. He knew that after he returned to the Father, we would need help. The Father gave Jesus words, that Jesus gave to us. These are powerful words which create faith, so that we will have life.