The 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...No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only,who is at the Father's side, has made him known. (John 1:14,18)
According to John 1:14 it is in Jesus Christ that we see the epitome of God’s way of dwelling with us. His clearest way of dwelling with us is through his Son, who exegetes the Father. If we want to find God, to see God, to know God, we need look no further than Jesus himself.
...surprisingly, perhaps astoundingly, the apostle who penned John 1:18 also wrote 1 John 4:12. In 1 John 4:12 John tells us that God is revealed in another place as well. In this verse he is answering the question, “Where can God be seen?” We would expect John’s answer to go something like this: “God the Father reveals himself and his love by means of his Son, Jesus Christ. So if you want to see God, look toward Jesus.” But instead, John states, “No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” John teaches here that God the Father reveals himself in the loving community of those who follow Jesus. The churches to which he was writing were scattered and fledgling. Yet that is where God chooses to dwell.
Yes, we believe and know that God revealed himself through our Lord Jesus. But the second aspect of that parallel, that God reveals himself within the local church, would be difficult for us to affirm if we did not have 1 John 4:12, wouldn’t it?
Nevertheless if we do not learn to affirm this parallel truth we miss an opportunity to be encouraged. Our church (work) is vitally important to God and his mission because he has chosen to dwell in our churches. And this is true regardless of their size. So be encouraged that little is big, that even small churches can be significant because God dwells within them and wants to reveal himself there. Continue to dream and work toward the day when the Church will be larger than it is. But in the meantime, remember that small can be significant.
To read the full article and many others like it go to Church Planting and Theology (Dale W. Little Ph.D
