Category: John

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. — John 1:16 (ESV).

We saw in verse 14 how Jesus was “full of grace and truth”. Now we see that one way Jesus demonstrates this fullness is through pouring out to His followers “grace upon grace”. This means literally that He pours out his blessings to us again and again and again, in ways we never expected or anticipated. This speaks not only of sufficiency but of abundance.

Grace can mean “unmerited favor”, and one way to understand “grace upon grace” is that Jesus has given us incredible favor with God. Whereas before Jesus came, we were distant from God, because of the gifts emanating from fullness of Jesus, we are brought to incredible closeness to God. As it says elsewhere in the New Testament, we are invited right up to His throne to be with Him, and we don’t have to be ashamed of ourselves when we are there. Indeed, we are told to be bold in going there, and are told that we are welcome to even sit on the throne with Jesus, not just in the future age, but now.

Continue reading “Grace Upon Grace (John 1:16)”

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14 (ESV).

The mysterious “Word” that the Apostle John has been writing about so far in the introduction to his Gospel is getting closer to being revealed. We read that the “Word” actually “became flesh” — that is, came into the world as a human being — and lived among people rather than held Himself aloof and isolated. Furthermore, John and others (“we”) actually knew Him and observed Him to the extent that they saw His “glory”. Glory is an outward manifestation of honor or magnificence, and it was such that John says that it demonstrated that He was the one and only Son of God — though we do not know from this passage specifically how that appeared to people that saw it. One magnificent example is given in Mark 9:2-10, where Jesus was transfigured into a dazzling white before the eyes of John, Peter, and James — and where the three heard the voice of the Father proclaim, “This is my Son, listen to Him” (NIV).

What I like most about this verse, however, is that we learn that this Word, this only Son of the Father, was full of grace and truth. When you are getting to know someone, one of the things most people try to discern is the person’s character. Are they trustworthy, honest, of good character, or perhaps dangerous? There is something comforting about the Son of God being full of truth — no treachery, lies, or half-truths. That means that He is trustworthy, because His word — the Word’s word — can be counted on. But even more, it is comforting that He is full of grace. That means that He is not harsh, critical, rigid, or lacking compassion. People who are gracious can see the best in others, and gently overlook or kindly speak to failings and weaknesses they see.

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First posted December 1, 2009