The Word Dwells Among Us
Following the Father’s dwelling purpose through Scripture
Begin by reading John 1:1–18; 2:13–22; 14:1–11,23–24; and 17:1–8,20–26.
How does the Father make Himself known through His Son?
The prophets have spoken of gathering, forgiveness, renewed hearts, and the LORD’s dwelling among His people. As we enter the Gospel of John, we encounter the person at the centre of its witness: Yeshua, called Jesus in our KJV quotations.
A Gospel tells of His life, works, teaching, death, and resurrection. John invites us to attend to who He is and to the Father He makes known. The title Christ means Messiah, the anointed One.
The opening reaches back to the beginning, then brings us to an astonishing declaration: the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us.
John begins before the human journey
Read John 1:1–5 slowly. The Word is with God, the Word is God, and all things are made through Him. Life and light belong to this opening description.
The language brings creation back into view. We began our search for home in Genesis, where God made the world and prepared a place for human life. John introduces the Word in relation to that beginning before speaking of His coming among people.
He also introduces John the Baptist, a man sent to bear witness to the light. This John is the witness described within the account. He directs attention away from himself to the One people are invited to believe in (verses 6–8).
The opening does not assume everyone recognises the One who comes. It describes both rejection and reception. Those who receive Him are given the right to become God’s children, with their birth attributed to God (verses 10–13).
Belonging to God is already part of the account’s invitation.
The Word becomes flesh
John then declares:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” — John 1:14
Flesh here concerns His real human life. The Word whom John has described in relation to God and creation comes among people in a life they can encounter.
The rest of the verse speaks of His glory as the Father’s only begotten Son, full of grace and truth. Verse 17 names Jesus Christ, identifying the person to whom this opening witness leads.
We can now look back at the dwelling language in Exodus and the prophets. There the LORD declared His purpose to dwell among His people. Here John announces the Word dwelling among us and speaks of glory beheld.
John now directs our attention to the One through whom God is made known.
The Son declares the Father
Verse 18 explains the direction of this revelation:
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” — John 1:18
The phrase “in the bosom of the Father” expresses the Son’s intimate relationship with Him. To declare Him is to make Him known.
John has mentioned Moses in the preceding verse. We have already encountered the Father’s care, holiness, mercy, and instruction in the accounts associated with Moses. Now the Son makes the Father known through His own presence and life. Yeshua reveals the same Father whose character we have been learning to recognise throughout Scripture.
We should read what follows with that direction in mind. As we encounter Yeshua, the question is not only what He does for people, but what His words and works reveal about the Father.
Listen to how He speaks about the temple
John 2 brings Yeshua to Jerusalem’s temple during Passover. This is a later temple, after the destruction described in the account of exile.
He finds commerce within its precincts and acts against it, calling the temple “my Father’s house” (John 2:16). His words express His relationship with the Father and His concern for the house bearing the Father’s name.
When challenged to give a sign, He speaks of destroying “this temple” and raising it in three days. The people answering Him understand a building. John explains that He is speaking of His body (verses 18–21).
Then verse 22 tells us when the disciples understood: after He rose from the dead, they remembered His words and believed.
The disciples’ understanding grows as events unfold. John lets us hear the words first, then tells us how the resurrection brought them into focus.
The sanctuary theme now includes Yeshua’s own body, His death, and His resurrection. We follow that development because the account explicitly identifies it.
The way to the Father
Much later in John, Yeshua addresses His disciples as His departure approaches. They are troubled, and He speaks of the Father’s house, preparing a place, and receiving them to Himself so that they may be where He is (John 14:1–3).
Thomas asks about the way. Yeshua answers:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” — John 14:6
Notice the destination He names: the Father. His promise of being with Him belongs within that relationship.
Philip then asks to be shown the Father. Yeshua answers by directing him to what he has already encountered in Him. He speaks of the Father dwelling in Him and doing the works, and of His own words as coming from the Father (verses 8–11).
The Father whom He reveals is the One who sent Him. Yeshua’s words and works express that relationship; He leads His disciples toward knowing the Father through Him.
Making an abode with those who love Him
Within the same conversation, Yeshua speaks of loving Him and keeping His word:
“And my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” — John 14:23
Abode means a dwelling place. Attend to the whole sentence. Love, receiving His word in obedience, and this promised dwelling appear together.
We have encountered the relationship between presence and faithfulness before: at Sinai, in the sanctuary, and in the prophets’ promises of renewed hearts. Here Yeshua speaks of the Father and Himself making their dwelling with the person who loves Him and keeps His word.
The dwelling question reaches into the believer’s life. His presence calls for a response that touches what we hear and how we live.
His prayer makes the purpose clear
John 17 allows us to hear Yeshua praying to the Father. He speaks of glorifying Him on earth, completing the work given to Him, and making His name known to the disciples (verses 1–8).
The prayer places eternal life within knowing the Father and Jesus Christ whom He sent. Yeshua’s mission honours the Father and brings people into knowledge of Him.
Later, He prays for those who will believe through the disciples’ witness. He asks for their unity in the Father and Son, so that the world may believe the Father sent Him (verses 20–23).
He also desires that those given to Him be with Him and behold His glory. At the prayer’s close, He speaks again of declaring the Father’s name, so that the Father’s love may be in them and He Himself in them (verses 24–26).
Being with Him, knowing the Father, receiving His love, and living in unity belong together in this prayer. It gives our search for home a deeply personal centre.
What has become clearer?
John’s witness brings us to the Son through whom the Father is made known. The Word dwells among people; Yeshua directs them to the Father; He promises an abode with those who love Him; and He prays for shared life and unity in that relationship.
The Father’s dwelling purpose has become visible in the life and words of His Son. We can now look back at the earlier witness with this encounter before us, while continuing to ask how the promised shared life will take shape among His followers.
For someone beginning to seek, the invitation is approachable: read Yeshua’s words, attend to His works, and ask what they reveal about the Father. You can bring your questions into that reading, as Thomas and Philip did.
Search the passages yourself
- What does John say about the Word before describing His coming among people?
- What does John 1:18 say the Son makes known?
- How does John explain the temple saying, and when do the disciples understand it?
- Where does Yeshua say He leads people in John 14:6?
- What does His prayer in John 17 reveal about knowing, loving, and being together?
Continue reading: John 20:19–22; Acts 2:1–18,32–47; and Ephesians 2:13–22. Notice the Spirit, the shared life of believers, and the language of a dwelling for God.
Scripture quotations: King James Version.