John 1:1–14
The Word Became Flesh
The big idea
The eternal Word through whom everything was made moved into the neighbourhood.
Context you need before you preach it
John deliberately opens with the words of Genesis 1 — "in the beginning" — signalling a new creation account. Everything in the prologue is doing double duty as an echo.
"Dwelt among us" in verse 14 is literally "tabernacled" or "pitched his tent". The vocabulary is drawn from Exodus and the tent of meeting, where God's presence rested among a travelling people.
The outline
In the beginning was the Word
vv. 1–3With God and was God, and the agent of all creation. John establishes deity before he establishes humanity.
Light the darkness has not overcome
vv. 4–9The verb can mean both "understood" and "overcome", and the ambiguity is probably deliberate.
He came to his own and was not received
vv. 10–13The tragedy stated plainly, then the exception — as many as received him were given the right to become children of God.
The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us
v. 14Flesh is a shocking word to attach to the Word. Full of grace and truth, which John will not let us separate.
Application
- The incarnation is not God visiting; it is God moving in. The tent imagery implies staying.
- Grace and truth arrive together in verse 14. Churches that specialise in one at the expense of the other are not being like him.
- Being a child of God is described as a right that is given, not a status achieved.
Where preachers go wrong on this text
- Preaching it as abstract Christology with no pastoral weight. John is writing so that people believe.
- Missing the Genesis and Exodus echoes, which carry a great deal of the meaning.
- Softening "flesh". The word was offensive to Greek sensibilities and it should still land as startling.
Other ways to structure it
The outline above is one defensible reading, not the only one. If it does not fit the congregation in front of you, these are legitimate alternatives:
- Preach it as a Christmas sermon that avoids the nativity entirely, which is bracing and effective.
- Preach the Genesis echoes as the structure, running John 1 against Genesis 1 verse by verse.
- Preach verse 14 alone, unpacking "tabernacled" and "grace and truth".
Illustrations that fit this text
Frequently asked questions
What does "the Word" mean in John 1?
John uses logos, a term loaded for both Jewish and Greek readers — the creative word of God in Genesis and the prophets, and the rational ordering principle of the cosmos in Greek thought. He takes a term both audiences valued and identifies it with a particular man.
You have preached this passage before
Probably more than once, and the earlier version had a line in it you would want back. Transcribe your sermons and every text you have ever preached becomes searchable by reference — $19/month for as many as you preach, and the first one is free.
More from John
Preaching resources for John — themes, famous chapters, and background for the whole book.