The Incarnation
TRANSLATION
(14) And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (15) John testified concerning him crying out, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.’” (16) For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. (17) For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (18) No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son who is at the Father’s side has made him known.
OBSERVATIONS
Repeated words in this paragraph include “glory” (twice in vs. 14), “Father” (vss. 14 & 18), “full/fullness” (vss. 14 & 16), “grace and truth” (vss. 14 & 17), “grace upon grace” (vs. 16), and “before me” (twice in vs. 15). Each verse in this second part of John’s prologue reveals a significant theological truth and is worthy of our meditation:
vs. 14 – The Incarnation by which God’s glory is revealed
vs. 15 – John’s testimony of Christ’s superiority based on the words “before me”
vs. 16 – The overwhelming abundance of his incarnation, his fullness giving us grace upon grace
vs. 17 – The contrast between the law given by Moses and grace/truth made known through Jesus
vs. 18 – The revelation of the unseen God, the Father, by the manifestation of God, the Son
OUTLINE
I. The incarnation revealed God’s glory. (14)
II. John’s testimony revealed the glory of Jesus. (15)
III. The fullness of the grace of Jesus Christ revealed the inadequacy of the Mosaic Law. (16 & 17)
IV. The Son has revealed the glory of the Father. (18)
IDEA STATEMENT
The Incarnation, according to John’s testimony and by which the glory of the triune God is manifested, is the means by which the fullness of God’s grace has been revealed to all who receive the Son.
APPLICATION
The relationship between the Father and the Son, one of the major themes in John’s Gospel, was powerfully introduced in this paragraph, giving us insight into the nature of our Triune God. First, we see that the Son uniquely manifested the Father’s glory (vs. 14). Then we see that the “grace upon grace” revealed in Christ far surpassed the Law of Moses which, in itself, manifested God’s character (vss. 16 & 17). Finally, we come to understand that the invisible God whom no one has ever seen was made visible in the person of the incarnate Son.
In the Upper Room, Philip made an untimely request: “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” To this Jesus responded with great patience, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14:8 & 9). Paul put it this way in his second letter to the Corinthians: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). What a great privilege is ours in Christ! In the Son, by the enablement of the Holy Spirit, we are brought face to face with the Father! In essence, we are welcomed into the intimacy of the Triune God.