Jesus Full of Grace and Truth

the word became flesh and dwelt among us

we're celebrating god coming down so that he can draw us back up god revealing himself in a whole new way according to a great grace seen in jesus christ so that we can see his glory in a new way, in a better way. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. The exact imprint of the nature of God. He's the radiance of the glory of God.

Key question for us, are we seeking to see God's glory according to his grace? Are we looking for something better? Different? Do we actually believe there's something better? Another question would be what keeps us from growing closer to God to see Him more clearly?

This morning we're going to celebrate the event that changed everything. God came down. The Son of God was born of a virgin. This fulfills the promises of the Old Testament. This establishes the church. The birth of God as a man. The word became flesh. If you're looking for a one-sentence summary of our message this morning, God is with us so we can behold his glory by receiving his grace. God is with us so we can behold his glory by receiving his grace.

Now, my sermon structure is a little different than normal. different than I normally preach. I'm just going to have my outline following verse 14. The outline is just going to follow verse 14, but trust me, I will do my best to preach the entirety of the whole passage. The reason for that is John is establishing four from the fullness, four of the law. He himself is exposing verse 14 in this text. There'll be three points.

God with us

The first point is God with us, God with us. Just that first line.

And the word became flesh and dwelt among us.

This is the primary action of this entire passage. God came down to bring with him the great blessings. Now, if you've been with us the entirety of the text, we began with a declaration of the word of verse one. This is the first time, again, word is used. Earlier, the word was in the beginning, a reference to Genesis 1. The word was with God. There's a relationship within the Godhead. And the word was God. He's fully divine. He is the one who spoke creation to existence.

Now that same word becomes flesh. The same word who was in the beginning, the same word who created all things, is the same word who is also the life of men and the light for the world. The one who gives us the right to become children of God. He created the world and yet they did not know him. He came to his own people, the covenant God, and yet they rejected him, they didn't receive him. As we consider who the word is here, he's the creator. He's life. He's light. He gives new life so we can be born again. He gives us the right to be children of God. Significance here, the word who created us, he becomes flesh. He enters into his creation. He dwelt among us. That declaration, the word became flesh, he's entering into a new mode of existence. He's entering into a new covenant relationship.

Now, there's a way in which God was with man in the garden. God came walking in the cool of the day to be seen by Adam and Eve. God came and was in their presence. But this becoming is a different kind of relationship that God is entering into with man, because he's not just among us. He has added our very nature to himself. The word became flesh. That's incredibly strong language. God, the word who created us in his image, has now added to himself our nature, taking on the image-bearing nature of humanity. Not just a body, not just flesh, but the entirety of our humanity, a body and soul, a full humanity. And he didn't just put it on like a costume. No, he became flesh. This is covenant language. Covenant of marriage is described as the two become one flesh. This is a covenant unity where God, the Son, takes upon himself another nature. In covenant unity, a binding unity, adding our own nature to himself. And in case we missed the covenant aspect of this, he dwelt among us. This is the temple language, again, built upon the very relationship God established in the Old Testament. God's presence with us now in human form. He came to the world as a man.

Now, let's look at verse 15 and see what this, it's not technically in parentheses, so let's just be careful here.

John bore witness about him,

that is, the word became flesh,

and he cried out, this was he of whom I said, he who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me.

All right, there's a lot of before, above, after language here. John the Baptist is the older cousin of Jesus Christ, humanly speaking. Here, John's making it clear, he who came after me in time, is greater than I, because He's His God. He's even saying He was before me. Again, pointing to the eternal nature of the Word. He was in the beginning. John the great prophet, whose only job is the same job as we have, is to point to Jesus. That's Him whom you're looking for. That's him who created us and is the fulfillment of all the promises. He is the true lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world. John the forerunner is declaring he is the word, the eternal word, who came down and took on flesh. Because he is the eternal God, he has come to save us from our death.

If you think about the other gospel stories, the Virgin Mary, she conceived by the Holy Spirit. That is, God added humanity to God. The Holy Spirit is the one who added Mary's human nature to the Son. It's important because that is how he's protected from inheriting original sin. And this is why we confess Mary is the God-bearer. A woman gave birth to God. The virgin conception shows the miraculous nature. But just imagine, it's kind of astounding to think God humbled himself to be dependent upon a womb. That's how he entered into his creation. The gospel depends upon her, because the gospel depends upon God himself taking on a full humanity, our own humanity like us, to save us. The Word became flesh in a covenant union to save us.

There's a couple mantras we've been thinking about. We looked at one previously. If the Son is not fully God, we're not fully saved. That was from John 1. 1. He must be fully God in order for us to be fully saved. Well, the mantra for this text would be

what he does not assume is not redeemed.

He must take on a full humanity, our humanity. He must become like us, yet without sin, in order to save us from all of our sin. He must be fully God. He must be fully man for our salvation.

This is why we confess the Chalcedonian Creed. Just to take a short section of it.

as regards his Godhead begotten of the Father before all ages,

eternally begotten by the Father,

and yet regards his manhood begotten for us men in our salvation of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer. One and the same Jesus, Son, Lord, only begotten, recognized in two natures.

The one Son now has two natures, and the key text, the key line,

Without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. The distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved.

Fully God, fully man, one person.

But I want to draw your attention to the key little phrase there.

For us men and for our salvation.

That's why the word became flesh. That's why God came to be with us. For us men and our salvation. This is the grace of God. He who created us has come to recreate us. He who came to us after we sinned and asked, where are you? Has now come to restore us into a better position. With the purpose now again to know God and make him known.

We celebrate God's salvation for us because he restores us to being the image-bearers we're supposed to be. In the Athanasian main thesis of his great work on the Incarnation,

God became man so man could become God.

And what he means by that, he restores us back to the image-bearing nature we originally had. He restores us again to be rightfully near God, but even better, we're children. Kind of the danger of Adam desired something better than what God gave him and lost it all. Jesus has come to restore it.

Church, this is why we talk about we're a new humanity. We have a new beginning. Why the body of Christ, his church is so significant. We're supposed to be a new kind of humanity following the new Adam who brings a new birth and new life. It's supposed to be restored humanity as we live together under the headship of Jesus Christ together. God is with you. God is for you is what that language really carries with it.

The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

One of the things to make sure we remember, because the word became flesh and dwelt among us and experienced the fullness of human life, he's able to sympathize with every problem we have. He's not a distant God who doesn't understand what you're going through. He came to sympathize with us, to endure the temptation we endure, to endure the suffering we endure. He is not distant. He is not disinterested. He is near and experienced our humanity, and he came to save us with his perfect humanity.

An important thing here. We never lose hope as Christians. There's one thing Christianity declares at Christmas. A new beginning is always available by God's grace because Christ came to show us grace. Hope means there's always the invitation to repent and have a new beginning in the life of God.

Behold his glory

The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

so that we may behold his glory. Our second point is, gonna look at that next line.

And we have seen his glory, glory as the only begotten son from the father.

We have seen his glory, glory as the only, your text says son, I'll explain that later, from the father. What a bold statement to open up this gospel. We've seen his glory. In a few chapters, Jesus will call God his father and they'll want to pick up stones because they know what that means. It's either true and he's God or it's blasphemous. Here to say we've seen his glory, John is making it very clear over and over again, he's God.

Now, it's a bold declaration. We've seen his glory, glory as the only son, but we need to consider this statement in the bigger picture and how it stands out. I mean, just look at our own text. Look at verse 18.

No one's ever seen God.

Well, which is it, John? Did you see his glory or can you see God? Well, John works that out with the very next statement of verse 18.

The only begotten son who's at the father's side, he's made him known.

that no one has ever seen God as a past tense reference. But now the sun has made him known. Now we can see his glory. Let's paint out one more layer, all the way back to creation. God designed us to see him. Again, Adam heard something moving in the garden that was God, and he recognized the noise. And he would see God. They would communicate face to face, the creator and the image bearer. God gave us minds, hearts, eyes, ears to recognize him, to receive him, to rejoice in him, to reflect him. Designed by God to behold his glory, but we ruined our eyes and our hearts and our minds.

Remember back in Genesis three, Satan promised if you eat that fruit, the one thing God said not to eat, your eyes will be open, and you'll see better than what God's given you. Their eyes were open, but they didn't see anything better. They saw nothing but shame. Satan promised you can see better, and that's impossible, because there's nothing more glorious and great than God. Our sin is that we think we can see something better than what God has promised, who God is. By seeking to see better than God, they lost their ability to see God.

And I believe the rationale through scripture is pretty clear. He who is most holy, pure, true, and good cannot be seen with the impurity and disgust and gross twistedness of our own hearts and eyes. He cannot be seen with the impure hearts and dull minds and blinded eyes. But thanks be to God, he continued to speak words of grace and promise that he would restore us. This is why the story of Moses is so important that we read earlier. On the Mount, on Mount Sinai, what a bold, confident question. God, can I see your glory?

Now just before this, we didn't read this section, Moses is described as speaking to God as if face-to-face like a friend. Very unique way in which Moses is described on the mountain in these great moments of revelation of God are on mountains. He's described as seeing him face-to-face, but now Moses recognizes there's something more he wants to see. He wants to see his glory. Let me behold your glory because you've shown me such grace. God responds, man cannot see my glory because man is now born in sin and his eyes are too sinful to behold his glory. God, like I said, you cannot see my face, but I'll show you my backside. Meaning not his fullness, but a shadow, not immediate or direct, but a distance in order to protect man.

And now we have this claim in John 1 14. what Moses longed to see, they've seen. The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That is one of the great newnesses of the new covenant. Last week, we looked at how we're adopted as children. That's a new way of relating to God as father, as sons to father. This week, it's renewed image bearers with hearts and minds and eyes. that are renewed and restored to see God's glory. Specifically, he makes it clear. How do we see the glory? We've seen his glory as the only son from the father. We now transition into another way we're gonna talk about the same person. The word, the light, the life, now the son. And you can't speak of the son without speaking of the father. I think these are the two identities that are most true of God. The word is tied to him as creator. God spoke things into existence. But the father-son, those names relate to his eternal relationship. They're eternal forever identities.

We're adopted as children because he is the son. The glory he has always had as the only son has now been seen because he came to live and dwell in our creation. The glory we have seen has been manifested. The glory revealed is in the grace of God. The son who is glorious in his nature added to himself human nature, which was designed initially and originally to glorify God. He who is God's glory is reflecting that glory in our actual human nature. The glory is seen again because Jesus took on flesh.

Now, this is where it gets a little wild. In order to do that, we know from Philippians, he set aside many of the trappings of his glory. He set aside the brightness of the way his glory is revealed in heaven and took upon a humble nature. He went somewhat incognito, but they saw his glory with the words of truth and wisdom he spoke. They saw his glory with the miracles he performed. They saw his glory in the face of Christ, who is kind and compassionate and caring and loving. His glory shone as light to make God known.

This prologue, he's building up this picture of who Christ is. He's the creator God. He's a covenant God Yahweh. He's the word who made all things. He is light, he is life. He's the only son from the father. The son who comes to make the father known. The son who comes again make God's glory known, the son who comes and gives us the right to become children of God.

Now, earlier I read only begotten son, and your text will say only son, and I want you to trust your translation. And if you look at most translations of the history of the Christian church, it would be only begotten son. And for some reason, so-called scholars decided they knew better than those who actually spoke Greek. So it is only begotten. And the reason I want to emphasize that begotten is tying that very nature of father-son. What else is there of a son than someone who has been begotten? The father has eternally begotten his only son. That is the relationship.

Now, now, let's just be really clear. There's some folks in here who are fathers to sons. Is it just like you're begotten? No, because yours was in time and has material. The eternal father has begotten and only begotten his one eternal son. It's important because that is a real relationship that is eternal that we're invited into. The only begotten son.

Look at verse 18. Where is he? He's at the father's side. That isn't saving language or grace language. That's telling you who the Son is in relationship with the Father forever. Very much like Genesis or John 1.1. The Word was with God, near Him, towards Him. Here we see that same idea picked up with the Father-Son language. The Son is at the Father's side. He's near Him. The Word actually there is, He's in the Father's bosom. He's that near to Him. That is his position forever, but he's come down to draw us back up to be that near to God. It's important we get this full picture. The God who made us, to know us and to be known by us. We once had a true and good relation with God, we rebelled against him. We thought we could see something better than him. But Jesus the son came so that we would know God as father. Jesus the word took on flesh so that we could be recreated and behold him again with new eyes.

Again, this is tied to adoption because he is then by nature his son. We are adopted by his grace. The news of the new covenant, you can behold the glory of God. You can see better than whatever Moses saw on Mount Sinai. You're invited in to draw near to God, enter into his presence boldly, because Christ came, he died, he rose again, and he's ascended, and where is he now? At the right hand of the Father, near him. He draws you near the Father. He came to die and rise again in his sin so that you would enter into his presence and behold him and delight in him and enjoy him.

Question for you today, Christian. Do you delight in seeing the glory of God? Is that your heart's desire? What keeps you from seeing God? What's distracting you from pursuing a clear vision of God's glory that he provides for you in his grace? Are you participating in sin that keeps you from enjoying the blessings of Christ? Most pointed application, Matthew 5, 8.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall.

It's available by God's grace. in Christ alone by the Holy Spirit that indwells you. What do you keep looking at that keeps you from seeing God? You cannot seek to be entertained with your eyes the things of filth and then want to see God. By his grace, he can forgive you, wash you, provide all that you need. But we can't think we're gonna curse man and bless God. We can't think we're gonna look at filth and then behold his glory. Do you delight to see the glory of God by the grace he provides? Jesus has come to make him known. Delight in knowing him.

Full of grace and truth

Our third point is from that very short phrase, The end of verse 14.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen His glory, glory of the only begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word came. He became flesh. We've seen Him as the Son who became flesh. He's in the world. He's making God known in the world. And I want to make sure that the key operative word here is Full. He has come from the Father, full, to give from his fullness. Look at verse 16.

For from his fullness, we've received.

He is full, and from his fullness, we receive.

So what does full mean? You know, when you get that new tube of toothpaste that's full, you just, fill up all the bristles on that toothbrush. You pour out abundantly from the fullness, and that's partially because your hand is so used to squeezing as tight as possible that empty tube of toothpaste. Now maybe you're civilized and you roll it up, or maybe you're like me, you're a barbarian, you just squeeze it. But when it's empty, you're just hopeful to get like a couple centimeters of toothpaste in the brush.

You're that full one. You're generous. Full. God has come down full. There's no tube. There's no limitation. Eternally, infinitely full of grace and truth. So why do we treat him like he's like an empty stupid toothpaste that we've got to squeeze grace out of? Why do we pretend we've got to squeeze some kind of grace out of him when he's full of grace? He cannot run out. Why do we pretend he's stingy when over and over again God has shown himself to be full and generous?

Christ has come full of all we need. Full means completely full and overflowing. He's come with full grace and truth. He has come with full grace and truth.

Grace, this is God giving us the opposite of what we deserve in order to restore us according to his design. Grace is love and action that shows kindness. Grace forgives us of sin. Gives us a new record, debts paid. Grace gives life, eternal new life to enjoy. Grace draws us near, provides peace with God and a nearness and a loving relationship with God. Grace came down to save us at great cost.

He's full of truth. This relates to him being the light. He is the revelation of God. He's showing us who God is in truth. He's showing us who we are in the according to God's design. He shows us what real glory is, what real life is, who you are supposed to be, the real you. Jesus comes to give us truth about God, ourselves, and life. Jesus come full of grace and truth.

Now, it's important we take a moment here in that the truth we need comes from outside of us. And I've got to just pause there because everything about our culture tells us we need to look inside for truth. And that's where you're going to find deceptive desires. The assumed starting place of our culture is that we need to look inside and trust our feelings. And then we need to make sure we express what's inside. And well, scripture tells us the opposite is true. What's inside needs to be corrected and fixed and cleansed by what comes from outside. God has sent his son, his word, to wash us, to help us out of our deceptive desires, to help us out of our foolishness with his wisdom.

Jesus has come full of grace and truth, and those two must go together so that we can be renewed in his grace and truth. Think about again who we are as his new creation. He came to be the head of us, his body. He comes full of grace and truth so that we will grow up in his grace and truth. And Christian, we participate in this by speaking his truth and love to one another.

He has come full of grace so that we would enjoy his generosity and we would be generous to one another with that grace and truth. Too often grace is removed from truth. They must be Together, truth is gracious and produces grace. Grace is built on truth. This is good news of great joy of all people. Jesus was born to save sinners. The creator has come down full of all that we need. We are fully saved because he is fully God, full of grace and truth, and has fully united himself with our humanity.

Grace upon grace

Now, we need to make sure we see how we receive that, though. Verse 16, we receive grace upon grace from his fullness. And just to make sure we remember from last week, to receive him is to believe in him. If you had a Christian this morning, The way to receive this grace and truth, the way to know God, the way to see real glory is faith. You don't have to clean yourself up. You don't have to work towards something. You just have to believe Christ is the son of God who came to save you. He came and died on the cross to save you from your sins. He came and rose again. You, by confessing his name, can start knowing who God is. But there is no salvation without Christ. It is faith in him alone, but faith in him gives you grace upon grace. Last few verses we'll look at here with that full of grace and truth in mind.

For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. For from his fullness, we have received grace upon grace, for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

The fullness there is the fullness of grace upon grace. In his fullness, he gives us all that we need.

Verse 17, though, introduces this interesting, apparent contrast. And it is a contrast, but it needs to be qualified.

The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

I want to make sure we understand, when God spoke his law, it was an act of grace, and that law was true. The law begins, Yahweh delivered his people out of Egypt, out of slavery, that's grace. For God to give us how to worship him, that's truth.

The contrast isn't saying there's law versus grace and truth, no, it's a different It's a different state, it's a different administration of the covenant. If we were to look at these two, Jesus and Moses, and law, grace, and truth, if we consider what the law represents, it represents worship from a distance. The law represents Sinai, with everyone afraid to go anywhere near God, because their sins had not yet been paid for. Jesus, with grace and truth, represents the nearness with which we can now draw close to God, because the Lamb of God, the true Lamb, has come and taken away our sin.

We want to think about how this apparent contrast, and it's a real contrast, because it's two different covenants. The old covenant was a distant covenant marked by fear. The new covenant is a near covenant marked by love.

has come from the Father's side so that we can draw near in His name and know God. He is full of grace. He is full of truth so that we can behold His glory. We must reject every lie claiming to be truth. We must reject every glory that's seeking our attention. We must reject every gift enticing our desires. Christian, draw near to God because of his grace, according to his truth, to behold his glory.

Will you pray with me? Father, we thank you that you did not leave us alone, but you pursued even Adam and Eve in the garden. And you promised you would reverse this curse, you would crush the evil, that a son would be born to save us. Lord, we thank you that we live on this side of the cross and the resurrection, that we do not worship you from afar. We do not worship you through a human priest. We thank you that we can draw near to you as our father in the name of Jesus Christ, the great high priest. We thank you that the Holy Spirit renews us and restores us. May we see you all the more glorious as we draw near to you by your grace. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.