“Grace and Truth” (John 1:14-18)
John the son of Zebedee was one of the three disciples closest to Jesus, the other two being James, his brother, and Peter. He is the author of the gospel which bears his name which he wrote when he was already an old man. Looking back in his years an active disciple — along with his brother (James) and Peter — who was always with Jesus in His travels and ministry, there is one remarkable thing that he can never forget no matter how his very-advanced age may diminish some of his brain functions: Jesus had this glory that only a Son of God, or God, could have. He and his fellow disciples saw this as they beheld Him. Jesus was full of grace and truth.
The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he, of whom, I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’ “ From his fullness, we all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him (John 1:14-18).
As we read this passage, we can find two keywords, a pair of words which John reiterates. And you can already guess what that is: grace and truth. We will study those two words separately.
First, grace. How did Jesus bring grace? Jesus brought grace when:
The Word became flesh (14a).
Jesus was not originally Man. He was God. That’s the very-first statement which John asserts as he begins his gospel. If we will go up to verse one of this passage, we will read:
In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God; and the Word was God (John 1:1).
So why would God have to come down to earth to become a human just like us? Why won’t He just be content being God, being comfortable and all in His throne in heaven, and just act like God? There must be a compelling reason for that. And yes, there is: That compelling reason is our sins. He has to save us from our sins. Otherwise, He can’t have anything to do with us because He is holy and perfect, while we are sinful and very far from perfect. And why did God have to wait 4,000 years before He came down on earth? Paul calls this “the fullness of time”. God has a perfect time for everything that He does. He has a set time for His incarnation as a baby and for His return as a conquering King. We may think of it as lots of years; but for God, it may only be a split second.
But don’t forget this one thing, beloved: that one day is, with the Lord, as a thousand years; and a thousand years, as one day (II Peter 3:8).
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts yet so that man can’t find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out His Son, born to a woman, born under the law, that He might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children (Galatians 4:4–5).
John says here that that the God who became a Man chose to be an ordinary, everyday person; live as an ordinary, everyday person; and be friends with ordinary, everyday persons like himself — John — and his fellow disciples. Jesus spent a lot of time with them: precious moments, serious moments, and even light moments. We can also say in this verse that, in general, God chose to live with the people He created.
No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him (18).
God is Spirit and therefore invisible and cannot be perceived by our five senses. Yet He is almighty.
He said, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20).
Since it is impossible for us to see God in His true form, God has to go out of His way to make it possible for us. He did this in the following instances:
- when He first appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush;
- when He sheltered the people in their travels in the form of a pillar of fire and cloud;
- when He handed down the law to Moses in the form of cloud, thunder and lightning, and the sound of trumpets;
- when He wrestled with Jacob as a wandering wrestling angel;
- when He appeared to Joshua before they crossed the river as the captain of the Lord’s hosts;
- when He shooed away and redirected the steps of a talking donkey;
- when He comforted the depressed Elijah in the form of a still, small voice;
- and, finally and most importantly, in the person of Jesus.
As we can notice, God reveals Himself to us in a way that our human minds would understand and that we won’t die for seeing Him. He strictly prohibits us to make an image of Him, like a golden calf. We must simply allow Him to reveal Himself to us in a way that He sees fit.
For people to understand each other, they have to use some sort of signs, symbols, language, words, that both of them understand in order to communicate. How can someone know what we are about if we don’t put that into words or at least express it nonverbally? That is exactly what God made Jesus to be for us: His Word, His expression of how He feels about us. He loves us, and He wants us to claim us back to Himself because we have been separated from Him by our sins. We can reclaim that lost relationship with God through Jesus. We can get to know God truly and fully through Jesus. We can see God — and clearly — through Jesus because He is the image of the invisible God.
…who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15).
For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (17).
The rules and regulations God set forth through Moses was meant to educate us in His standards of holiness and bring us up in it so that His ideals would be our way of life and that we would be able to shine as God’s light in the midst of a sinful world and may even persuade the world to worship and follow our God. But we tend more to disobey rather than obey God’s will because we are naturally sinful. This sinfulness of mankind dates from the first human beings — Adam and Eve — when they chose to disobey the express will of God. The set rules and regulations can only tame this sinfulness but can never put it away.
Since we are naturally sinful, we are not qualified to save ourselves. We will never be able to, no matter how hard we try. The only-qualified person to save us is a human being just like us but one who has no sin. But humans are naturally sinful; so, that human who is to save us has to be God at the same time for him to be without sin. And that is why God has to come down from heaven to be a human just like us.
The law of Moses was a temporary arrangement. Its purpose was to school us and prepare us for the coming of its ultimate fulfillment: Jesus. When God has finished His saving work in Jesus, the law of Moses has reached its expiry date and has become obsolete. A new law has taken effect: the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death (Romans 8:2).
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh. “I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh.’ For they shall all know Me from the least of them to the greatest of them,” says Yahweh. “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:33-34).
Now the law of Moses doesn’t have to be imposed on us. We who have come to love the Lord through our faith in Jesus would just obey it of our own accord, spontaneously, naturally. And we won’t have the heart to despise or discard it although it is already obsolete, but we will get to love it more and more. Why, no other set of laws is as beautiful as the law of Moses! It’s awesome. It’s perfect, as David says.
Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s testimony is sure, making wise the simple. Yahweh’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart. Yahweh’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Our love for God, borne by our faith in Jesus, is the overarching thing that makes us want to obey God’s law. Even before Jesus came to earth, the men of God in the Old Testament received total forgiveness and were assured of a place in heaven because of their faith in God. They trusted Him wholeheartedly, in every step of the way. They obeyed God’s will — or law — not out of compulsion but out of love for Him. Therefore, if, before, the law of Moses was, for us, a curse and a burden; now, through our faith in Jesus, it has become a delight for us to follow.
It is wonderful to observe the special days that God instituted, and more so because the Person whom all those foreshadowed has embodied and fulfilled them. Although God will no longer hold us accountable for forgetting or failing to observe them, why don’t we just do so out of devotion to our God so that we’ll feel closer to Him? It if wouldn’t hurt us much or our schedule, why don’t we do so?
For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (17).
That sounds like a shift from the law to grace and truth. But, of course, as we have pointed out, the two things don’t go against each other but go well together. By giving them His laws though His servant Moses, God established a covenant with the people whom He had just freed from slavery. He set His expectations before them which, if they will meet, will be for their good, success, and prosperity. However, in the fullness of time, God established a new covenant, one that perfects and brings into completion the earlier one.
From his fullness, we all received grace upon grace (16).
God has filled those who have put their faith in His Son, Jesus, with every good thing from His inexhaustible riches in heaven. That includes a new life that is now devoted to Him, a new spirit that now communes with Him, a new mindset that now sees life from a broader perspective and no longer gets easily swayed by the cares of the world, and a proportionate measure of spiritual gifts that is to be used for His glory, among other things.
From his fullness, we all received grace upon grace (16).
God has totally forgiven us of our sins and gladly welcomed us into His family when we put our faith in Jesus. He no longer sees us as sinners because He already sees the righteousness of His Son in us.
For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one: Jesus Christ. Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom, we also have our access, by faith, into this grace, in which, we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:17,1–2).
All we had to do with all of this is to receive it by faith. So, we see that we actually owe everything to God. It is by this grace that we now stand; and it is something that we don’t want to abuse, no, not in a million years.
Second is truth. How did Jesus bring truth?
We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father (14c).
When John and the other disciples saw Jesus’ glory, they saw the glory of God. One perfect instance of this is the transfiguration:
After six days, Jesus took, with him, Peter, James, and John his brother and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him. Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom, I am well pleased. Listen to him.” When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were very afraid. Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up and don’t be afraid.” Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus alone (Matthew 17:1–8).
That was a concrete sign that would no longer require faith; but the Lord calls blessed those who, though they didn’t see, believe.
No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him (18).
Jesus did this through His works: teaching, miracles, and concern for the poor and unprivileged. He also showed the will of God the Father, what kind of obedience He really wants from people.
We saw His glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father (14c).
Jesus had been God the Son from the beginning.
I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today, I have become your father” (Psalm 2:7)
He only showed this status when He became a Man. Now here comes the question: God is supposed to be only One, right? But what about Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Doesn’t that make them three? Let’s address this question:
Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one (Deuteronomy 6:4).
The verse explicitly states that there is only one God. And that is so true. No question about it. Because, really, if there is a God, the one who created everything that is, almighty and all-powerful, He can only be one — right? — and doesn’t have to share his power and glory to any other god. Otherwise, if there is more than one God or there is a pantheon of gods, then what we have is mythology. But God is not a mythological figure. He is God, the One true God, the one and only God; and there are no other gods beside Him.
But then we just read from Psalm 2:7 about God begetting a Son. Are we seeing two Gods now? Is God contradicting Himself now? First of all, can we ever quantify God? Can we fallible human beings apply our paradigm to God instead of just allowing God to reveal Himself in any way He pleases? We only see this in human terms, God being two in this instance. But as far as God is concerned, He and the Son He begets is the same God.
When a person begets a child, that child becomes a different person than the parent who begets him or her and may have a different personality, temperament, or abilities. The parent and the child become one and the other. But God is not human like us; so if ever He decides to beget a Son, He does not automatically become two or there arises an all-new God. He and the Son He begets remains the same God, the same One true God. This is just the language that God uses to make us understand how He works or functions, especially with regard to how He is going to redeem us back to Himself. The Bible is just a tiny speck of information about the infinite God, but it is enough for us to know Him in the right way.
The secret things belong to Yahweh, our God. But the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29).
What about God the Holy Spirit? He is the One who put the true words of God in the minds of God’s prophets so that they wrote what we have now as the Bible. He is the one who gave Samson superhuman strength that clearly defies the law of physics and could make a weapon out of a donkey jawbone. He is the one who made King Saul prophesy with the other prophets, the latter dancing like a buffoon in the process, definitely out of the king’s character. He is the Comforter whom Jesus promised to His disciples who eventually came to them during the day of Pentecost. He is the One who now indwells the body of a believer, making it His temple. He is the one who endows him with heavenly wisdom and discernment and other spiritual abilities.
Now does He have to be a separate God, too? Or can He still be the same one true God who only makes Himself known in that particular function? That’s the way we would see it, God being three. But as far as God is concerned, He is but One. It is even for our sake that He reveals Himself in such a mysterious way. But God has stated it plainly: He is the One and only God. Let’s no more complicate it. Let us not make God three when He already says He is one. Okay?
For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (17).
He expounded the law of Moses. He showed to the people how it really should be understood and followed. In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus explained the principles behind some of the laws of Moses and amended them a little bit for the believers of the New Covenant, making them even harder to follow.
For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (17).
By bringing grace and truth, Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses, and the prophets too, and the writings. He is the ultimate fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures. The laws, the symbols, the rituals, the similar or parallel historical events, the psalms, the prophecies all pointed towards Him. The Hebrew Scriptures are actually centered on Him.
John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he, of whom, I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me’ “ (15).
Another fellow who also goes by the name of John, the one who baptizes people, spoke in favor of Jesus. The gospel writer was actually a former disciple of the baptizer. He just transferred school, so to speak. He just transferred to a different dojo and sat under a new sensei, not out of resentment, I suppose. Anyway, John the baptizer was an esteemed prophet of his day. So you can be sure that whatever or whoever he gives a testimonial about is a good one.
For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (17).
If the Bible is truth, how much more God who is the author of it? I consider secular proverbs, idioms, phrases, and sayings to be profound, but still relative; but I consider the maxims from the Word of God to be absolute truth.
That’s how Jesus brought grace and truth.
Passage by Passage: Random Passages
by: Marven T. Baldo
