^{John 1:10-14}

¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

 ¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Gnostic heresy that became prevalent after Jesus' ascension preached that there was a stark division between spirit and body. The spirit, or soul, was eternally good and free from stain. The body, however, was a source of evil and carnality. The two were polar opposites, like oil and water. Yet John shatters that misconception with verse 14: "The Word (Greek logos, the abstract, thought-world) became flesh (Greek sarx, body, earthly dwelling) and made his dwelling among us." This phrasing echoes the Old Testament title of God as "The Holy One of Israel among you. (Isaiah 12:6)." Being among us does not negate God's holiness. Our soil and filth does not make Him any less holy. Rather, the life of Jesus, lived as full-God and full-humanity, elevates to holiness everything that the Gnostics considered evil. Our bodies can actually be used for good -whether it is exercising, working hard with our hands, dancing, or whatever else can be done for God's glory. The whole world "was made through him" - and God called it all good. Let us also avoid the wrong thinking that says the world is only evil, and that we have to continually fight against the material things we see. For "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but...against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)" Let us remember that God so loved the world - the whole world, every atom and molecule - that he became flesh and dwelt among us.