The Word Became Flesh

[!NOTE] Podcast Transcript
This is a transcript of The Anchor Podcast. You can watch the full video above or listen on Spotify.

Advent Week 4: Love
Scripture: John 1:14

…and that’s when it hit me.

I was walking past a store window the other day—plastic nativity sets, inflatable Santas, all of it. And I realized: we’ve made the Incarnation safe. Comfortable. Cute.

But there’s nothing safe about God becoming flesh.

The God who spoke galaxies into existence… became a baby who couldn’t speak at all.

The One who holds all things together… was held in Mary’s arms.

John 1:14: “The Word became flesh.”

That’s it. That’s the whole thing. God. Became. Flesh.

Christmas Eve is in two days. The world is rushing—last-minute shopping, wrapping presents, prepping meals. But I need you to pause here. Just for a moment.

Because there’s one verse that contains everything. One sentence that, if you really let it land, will ruin you for shallow Christmas celebrations forever.

John 1:14:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Read it again. Slowly this time.

“The Word became flesh.”

THE MOST PROFOUND STATEMENT EVER MADE

This is not mythology. This is not metaphor. This is history.

The eternal God—the One through whom all things were made, the One who was in the beginning with God and was God—took on skin and bones.

He didn’t just appear as a man, like some Greek god playing dress-up. He became flesh. Real flesh. The kind that gets hungry. The kind that gets tired. The kind that bleeds.

All the limitations of humanity—exhaustion after a long day, thirst in the desert heat, temptation in the wilderness—He took them all. Yet without sin.

Think about that. The infinite became finite. The eternal entered time. The Creator became a creature.

And He did it willingly.

GOD MOVED INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD

“Made his dwelling among us.”

The Greek word there is skenoo (skay-NAH-oh)—it literally means “to pitch a tent” or “to tabernacle.”

If you know your Old Testament, alarm bells should be going off right now.

Back in Exodus 25, God told Moses, “Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” So they built the Tabernacle—a tent where God’s presence would live. And when it was finished, the glory of the Lord filled it. The Shekinah glory—the visible, radiant presence of God—settled there.

But here’s what John is saying: That glory, that presence, that dwelling of God… is now in a tent of flesh.

Not a tent of fabric and gold. A tent of skin and bone.

God didn’t stay distant. He didn’t shout instructions from heaven. He moved in. He became our neighbor.

Bethlehem. Nazareth. The dusty roads of Galilee. The crowded streets of Jerusalem.

He walked where we walk. He ate with sinners. He touched lepers. He wept at graves.

Emmanuel. God with us. Not just “God for us” or “God above us.” God with us.

GLORY WRAPPED IN SKIN

“We have seen his glory.”

The disciples saw it. Not in a burning bush or a pillar of fire, but in a man.

They saw it on the Mount of Transfiguration when His face shone like the sun.

They saw it in the miracles—water into wine, blind eyes opened, dead men walking.

They saw it in His resurrection—death defeated, the grave emptied.

But here’s what gets me: They also saw it in His character.

“Full of grace and truth.”

Not grace without truth—that’s permissiveness.

Not truth without grace—that’s harshness.

But grace and truth, perfectly balanced. The perfect revelation of the Father.

When you see Jesus, you see God. Not a watered-down version. Not a distant echo. The real thing.

THE CEASEFIRE

This is love.

Not the sentimental, Hallmark-card kind of love. The kind that costs nothing and demands nothing.

This is the love that left heaven. The love that took on flesh. The love that chose weakness.

As Christmas approaches, don’t rush past this.

The One who needs nothing became dependent on everything.

The One who was worshiped became a servant.

The One who created time entered time.

This is the Incarnation.

Think about this:

The God who spoke galaxies into existence… became a baby who couldn’t speak at all.

That’s not cute. That’s cosmic.

Pause. Marvel. Worship.

GO DEEPER

We’ve talked about what happened—God became flesh. But there’s so much more to this story. Why did it have to happen this way? What does it mean for your life today?

I’ve put together a full Member Deep Dive over on Substack that goes into the Greek word studies, the Church Father insights, and the tactical application for your soul.

⚓️ Read the Full Deep Dive on Substack

STAY ANCHORED

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• Join: Subscribe on Substack for Monday Momentum & Friday Depth.

Until next time… stay in the fight. Stay anchored. ⚓️