John 1:14-18

John 1:14-18

And the Word became flesh and dwelt in us, and we saw His glory – a glory as one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.  John testified regarding Him and has cried out while saying, “This one was about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me has become before me because He was earlier than me.’”  For even we all received grace upon grace out of His fullness.  For the law was being given through Moses; grace and truth became through Jesus Christ.  Nobody has seen God at any time; the one and only God – who is in the bosom of the Father – He has made Him known.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

It is in this passage that John first identifies the Word of God as Jesus Christ.  It is here in these verses that John tells us that the Word became flesh in order to dwell among us.  We know that God’s Word is life to us.  We know that we were created through God’s Word – literally through His breath.  Now we can identify God’s Word as Jesus Christ, Word made flesh.  John has waited this long to solidify his teaching that Jesus is our life.  John begins this story reminding us that this truth is found as early in the Bible as the first chapter of Genesis.  At the end of this story, we’ll get another example of how it is that Jesus is our life.

What does it really mean to claim that Jesus is God?  What does it mean to say that Jesus is the Word of God, God made flesh?

Second Thought:

Look at the words that are associated with respect to Jesus.  Glory.  One and Only.  Grace.  Truth.  Fullness.  All of these words bring us to the realization that God is in Christ and Christ is complete.  It is through Jesus that grace and truth comes to us.  This will be the theme of John’s Gospel.  It will be a story of God’s unfolding grace and truth in every miracle that Jesus performs and every teaching that Jesus gives His disciples.

What is your favorite story about how Christ puts God’s grace on display?  How would you describe Christ’s fullness to others?

Third Thought:

John 1:18 is a little confusing, but it contains a really neat truth.  Nobody has seen God.  We know this truth.  In fact, at times this is the most frustrating truth that God’s followers face.  How many times do we assert that life would be easier if we could just see God?  Yet we cannot see God.  However, John’s point in this verse is that while we cannot see God, Jesus has made God known.  We can see God through Jesus.  Jesus came so that we can actually visibly see the behavior of a God that we cannot otherwise see with our eyes.

Do you think about Jesus’ coming to the world as putting God on display?  In what specific stories can you see the character of God in Jesus Christ?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 1:19-28