John 1:14-18
Full of Grace and Truth
Woodlawn Baptist Church
December 3, 2006
Introduction
Read John 1:14-18.
In last week’s message, we looked at John 1:1-14 and briefly considered the Incarnation, the enfleshment of God in the person of Jesus Christ. It was my hope that you know the great love of God by His willingness to leave the glories of heaven to dwell among us. John 1:14 says that…
“The Word became flesh and dwelled among us (we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten), full of grace and truth.”
The word dwelled means to tabernacle. In other words, the Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us. He pitched His tent and set up camp right in the middle of us all. He’s not the God who works from far off, nor is He the God who is distant and aloof. Rather, He is the God described by the writer of Hebrews as one who “took on flesh and blood, to be made like unto His brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” He is the God who became flesh, and “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Today as we consider Jesus in verses 14-18, I want to point out three things Jesus did in the Incarnation.
He fully embodied the grace and truth of God for all of humanity.
John said that the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” The phrase “full of grace and truth” means the sum total of divine revelation. Grace has to do with the revelation of God as a God of love. His truth corresponds with the revelation of God as a God of light. He was fully a God of love, grace and mercy; but He was also a God of truth, righteousness and holiness.
God had demonstrated all of that to the world over and over. He demonstrated that He was a God of righteousness when He held Adam responsible for his actions. But He also demonstrated great grace in providing for Him a sacrifice. He demonstrated His demand for holiness when He judged the world with a flood, but He demonstrated His grace in saving those in the ark. Over and over the Old Testament told the story of this holy and righteous God who was offended by the sins of man, but whose grace and mercy kept Him from destroying man altogether.
I think one of the greatest pictures of the grace and truth of God in the Old Testament was the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was actually two different pieces of furniture. The first was the box that contained the Law - righteous demands of God that were expressed in the various commands. But atop the box was a lid called the Mercy Seat. In that one piece of furniture sitting in the tabernacle of God were both the truth and mercy of God.
Jesus fully embodied all of that. The gospels tell the story of the man “who came into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Jesus declared that He was truth, and in Him was no falsehood. You see, the truth reveals the sinful condition of the woman at the well who had been married five times and was now living with a man who was not her husband. But His grace kept Him in her presence two more days, and many more believed because of His word.
It was Jesus, “full of grace and truth” who said to the paralyzed man brought by four friends, “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee.” When the multitude had sat all day listening to His teaching, it was Jesus, “full of grace and truth” who said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat.” It was Jesus, “full of grace and truth” who said of the widow woman, “this poor widow has cast in more than they all.” And it was Jesus, “full of grace and truth” who hung on the cruel cross of Calvary and could still utter the words, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
It is important that Jesus fully embodied both grace and truth. Were He only a God of truth then we would all stand condemned, and were He only a God of grace then He would be some sort of cosmic pushover. Truth reveals our sin, but grace forgives it. Jesus fully embodied all of that.
He freely extended that fullness to all of humanity
It would have been one thing for God incarnate to show up and show off, but He didn’t. Verses 16-17 say,
“of his fullness have we all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
Every one of us is the recipient of the grace and truth of God. To each of us God has extended His fullness in the person of Jesus Christ. And that phrase in verse 16, grace for grace has the idea of God heaping favor upon favor on us. It’s a way of saying, “we all have received God’s fullness, and blessing on top of blessing.” He’s not a stingy God! God so loved the world! That whosoever believes!
In the incarnation of Jesus Christ did for us what the Law could not do. Verse 17 gives us a contrast between the law and Christ. The law could only make demands. It gave no life, but Jesus “came that we might have life and have it more abundantly!” That’s why Paul wrote in Galatians 3:21,
“if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture has concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ…”
Turn with me to Colossians 1:19 and watch how Paul demonstrates that it was through the incarnation that we were offered salvation.
“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell (there’s the fullness John wrote about in John 1); and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh (the incarnation) through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.”
Your salvation and mine was purchased with the rich, royal blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary, blood that was offered as the payment for our sins, blood that was only made possible because of the incarnation. And what is the ultimate purpose of the incarnation? To present you and me holy, unblameable and unreproveable before God. That’s only going to happen if you continue to grow in Christ. And even that’s only possible because Jesus freely extended His grace and truth to you.
He fabulously expanded man’s view of God.
Verse 18 of our text says that…
“No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
I remember one time I was watching TV with a preacher friend. As we were channel surfing we caught an episode of Highway to Heaven. You may remember Michael Landon playing an angel who had been sent down to earth from heaven. In this particular episode a teacher had her class draw or paint pictures of God, or of what they thought God must look like. As the camera panned the room, it showed a young black boy drawing a picture of God, and in his picture God was black. I’ll never forget that preacher turning off the TV with disgust at the idea that God might be black.
I want to tell you something today that I hope you understand. It’s not about God being white or black or brown or red or yellow. He’s not any of those things. If you think He’s white or black or red or brown then what you have is a limited and faulty view of God. Many people read the Old Testament and come away with an image of a distant, demanding God who is harsh and cold. He’s the God who stands ready to smack somebody down, the God who seemed to have forsaken His people.
The Pharisees forced people to live in fear of God. Do this and that because God’s gonna get you. Many lived with such a fear, but many others just did what they wanted to do. God had given up on them so they gave up on God. When Jesus pitched His tent in our midst though He fabulously, dramatically expanded man’s view of God. He revealed to humanity a God who not only was demanding and who could be harsh, but He also showed us a God who was personal and loving, and the primary method Jesus used was by bringing people to a crisis of belief.
The Pharisees constantly demanded strict adherence to the Law, so Jesus healed on the Sabbath, picked grain on the Sabbath, didn’t follow the hand washing ceremonies, spent time with people who were unclean and all the while challenged conventional thinking about the image of God.
How do we know what God is like? We need look no further than Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus Himself said, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” A man by the name of James Hewett tells the following story that might help you understand how the incarnation served to expand our view of God.
“A grandfather found his grandson jumping up and down in his playpen, crying at the top of his voice. When the child saw his grandfather, he reached up his little chubby hands and said, ‘Out Gramps. Out.’ It was only natural for the grandfather to reach down to lift him out of his predicament, but as he did the mother of the child stepped in and said, ‘No, son, you are being punished – so you must stay in.’ The grandfather was at a loss to know what to do. The child’s tears and chubby hands reached deep into his heart. But the mother’s firmness in correcting her son must not be taken lightly. But love found a way. The grandfather could not take the grandson out of the playpen, so he climbed in with him.”
God is a God of truth. He could not turn His head on our sin. It had terribly offended Him and was cause for us to be punished. But God’s love for us tugged at His heart so to speak, and in that one great act of grace He sent His only begotten Son into the world. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” Folk, God climbed into the playpen with us for just a while.
Conclusion
I want to tell you this morning that I have read John 1:14-18 many times since I became a Christian, but I have never noticed that little phrase, “full of grace and truth” until Monday. How I ever missed it is a mystery to me, but I am thankful that I didn’t have to catch it to receive it. In August of 1990, just 16 years ago the Lord spoke His Word into my heart and made me see that I was a sinner. It was the truth of God that made me realize that my sin was offensive to Him and that because of my sin I had no hope of ever going to heaven.
God could have left me there with that truth. But He didn’t. He didn’t because He’s not only the God of truth, but He’s full of grace too. He showed me that I was a sinner, but that His death on the cross paid for my sin and if I would repent of my sin and trust Him I could be saved. And I was. Because of Jesus I don’t have to hope for heaven. I don’t have to hope that my goodness outweighs by badness. Because of Jesus I can rest assured that my salvation is settled for eternity.
In 1 John 5:11, John would write this,
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Do you have eternal life? You don’t have to wonder or guess. You can know. But there’s more to all of this than just being saved. Jesus is more than fire insurance. Don’t forget what Paul said in Colossians. The incarnation made possible your salvation all right, but one of these days you’re going to be presented before the Father. Will Christ be able to present you to the Father as holy? Will you stand before Him without blame? Without the need for rebuke? Only you can determine that – and that is a day by day, moment by moment decision we each make to live for the glory of God.
What do you need to do today? Perhaps it is time for you to be saved. Don’t delay any longer. It may be time for you to take a step closer, to surrender just a little more. Don’t wait any longer. Perhaps today beholding Jesus, full of grace and truth simply gives you cause for praise and adoration. Express that to God today.
