Three Strands

John 1:14 - "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."

Jesus was the Incarnate Word of God, the gospel in the flesh. A number of years ago the renowned church consultant Herb Miller, commenting on this verse from the Fourth Gospel, noted that John doesn't say the Word was made language. "That is what we try to accomplish with preaching, teaching, or writing. God sent his Son, who conveyed the message more clearly. The Word will never be incarnated in us as it was in Christ, but our contact with other people is still God's primary method of touching them with his love."

Miller spoke of the three "golden threads" of evangelism (being, doing and saying the Word), observing that Jesus didn't split the disciples into three departments and assign a section of faith-sharing to each. "He sent his disciples out to do the Word by healing the sick, cleansing lepers, raising the dead, and casting out demons. They were to be the Word by keeping in contact with his Spirit through a strong prayer life. They were to say the Word by verbally proclaiming God's ever-present kingdom and inviting people to enter it."

Herb Miller, Evangelism's Open Secrets, CBP Press, 1989