Bible Study series: John 1:14-18. This doctrine is the profoundest of them all. Yet it is more than a doctrine. It is God’s finest and ultimate outreach to us humans. It provides us with a saving relationship and an intimate friendship with him.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together how to apply these truths to our lives.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
For the Greek text, click here:
At that link, I provide a lot more commentary.
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: John 1:14-18
14 The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as the only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testified about him and cried out, saying, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me outranks me because he was ahead of me!’ 16 For out of his fulness, all of us have received grace instead of grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only Begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father—that one has made him known. (John 1:14-18)
Commentary
Let’s go verse by verse, to savor each profound truth.
14:
This verse introduces the theme of the Gospel that Jesus was sent from God and came down from heaven. It carried on the thought of vv. 1-2. “Tabernacled” is a verb that could be translated as “pitched his tent” among us. He incarnated among us. (“Incarnation” literally means the “act of changing into flesh”: -ion = “act of” and “carn” = “flesh” and “in” with a change = “into”).
“Flesh is the most vulnerable, the most corruptible, the most easily destructible part of the human body—in a word, the most impermanent. ‘The Logos is Eternal … They are literally poles apart ….’ Yet, and here is the paradox, in becoming ‘flesh’ the Word does not cease to be God. The Word is the God-man” (Klink, comment on v. 14, quoting another commentator).
Jesus was full of grace, which can mean God’s power and his graciousness, but he was also full of truth.
See v. 17 for a definition of truth.
Please see these posts for a systematic theological overview of Jesus’s life before, during, and after the incarnation.
1. Do I Really Know Jesus? His Entire Existence in One Image
2. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Was the Preincarnate God
3. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Was God Incarnate
4. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Took the Form of a Servant
5. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Came Down from Heaven
6. Do I Really Know Jesus? Why Did He Become a Man?
7. Do I Really Know Jesus? Thirty Truths about His Life
There are many more parts in that series. Part 7 is an easy-to-read summary.
“only Begotten”: Son should be supplied because of the noun monogenēs. The term monogenēs is not about birth, but about existence (Klink, comment on v. 14). This means that the term just describes the Father-Son relationship that has existed from eternity past. We should not over-complicate the wonderful term here in this verse. Let the professional theologians do that. Here are links for further study:
Titles of Jesus: The Son of God
When Did Jesus “Become” the Son of God?
The Trinity: What Does ‘Only Begotten Son’ Mean in John 3:16?
On the term monogenēs, Mounce writes: “John is saying that the Son is unique, the only one of a kind. God has as sons all who have been adopted into his family on the basis of personal faith, but Jesus is the Son of God sui generis (unique). He came from the Father ‘full of grace and truth … these two great Christian terms reflect the unmerited favor of God, who, true to his essential character, gives of himself for the eternal benefit of humanity” (comment on v. 14).
However, some scholars see monogenēs as “only begotten.” So it seems change is in the air. I now translate it as “only Begotten.”
Here is Paul’s early statement on the glory and coming of Jesus from heaven.
6 [Christ Jesus] Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:6-11, NIV)
Do not let any professional religion teacher at a community college or a university tell you that John’s Christology is high because it is a late Gospel. No, the early church saw the truth. Jesus was God incarnate.
4. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Took the Form of a Servant
“glory” means, in many contexts, the light of God, shining to all the world. In saying that “we” beheld or saw Christ’s glory, John is probably referring to this passage about the Mount of Transfiguration:
1 Then after six days, Jesus took along Peter, James, and his brother John and brought them up into a high mountain privately. 2 He was changed before them, and his face shone as the sun, and his clothes became white like light. 3 Then look! Moses and Elijah appeared before them and were talking with him. 4 But in response, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here! If you want, I’ll make here three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah!” 5 While he was talking, look! A bright cloud covered them. And then listen! A voice from heaven from the cloud speaking: “This one is my beloved Son, in whom I have been well pleased. Listen to him.” (Matt. 17:1-5)
This brightness is the glory of God.
1. The Glory of God in the Old Testament
2. What Is the Glory of God in the New Testament?
3. What Does the Glory of God Mean to Us?
Moses experienced the glory of God:
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” 21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” (Exod. 33:18-22, NIV).
Commentator Bruce also saw this connection between the glory which Moses saw and the surpassing glory of Jesus. Further, he connects the glory of the old tabernacle with God pitching his tabernacle through his Son (comment on v. 14). “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them” (Exod. 25:8, NIV). When the tabernacle was completed, we read: “34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exod. 40:34-35, NIV).
But Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Spirit, says that the glory which Moses experienced, soon faded away.
7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! (2 Cor. 3:7-11, NIV)
The glory of the New Covenant, initiated by Jesus, will last forever.
Carson says that Jesus’s glory was displayed in his signs (2:11; 11:4, 40); he was supremely glorified in his death and exaltation (7:39: 12:16, 23: 13:31-32), Yes, he also had glory before he began his public ministry, for in fact he enjoyed glory with his Father before his incarnation and returned to his Father to receive the fulness of glory (15:5, 24). While other men seek their own glory, Jesus’s relationship with his Father meant that he did not need to seek his own glory; he was secure in his relationship with his Father. He sought only God’s glory (5:41; 7:18; 8:50). (comment on v. 14).
Keener also brings focus to John’s definition of glory:
Jesus, in contrast to his opponents, accepts this only from the Father (5:41, 33; 7:18; 8:50, 54; 9:24; 12:41, 43; 16:14; 17:12). The Fourth Gospel applies Jesus’ “glory” to various acts of self-revelation (his signs–2:11; 11:4, 40), but the ultimate expression of glory is the complex including Jesus’ death (12:16, 23, 28; 13:31-32; cf. 21:9), resurrection and exaltation (cf. 7:39; 12:16; 17:1, 5). This glory thus becomes the ultimate revelation of “grace and truth”: where the world’s hatred for God comes to its ultimate expression, so also does God’s love for the world (3:16). If the Johannine [adjective for John] community’s opponents regarded the cross as proof that Jesus was not the Messiah, John regards Jesus’ humiliation as the very revelation of God; his whole enfleshment, and especially his mortality and death, continue the ultimate revelation of God’s grace and truth revealed to Moses (p. 411)
In that excerpt, “Johannine” is the adjective for John.
Once again, here are posts about the Incarnation:
3. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Was God Incarnate
4. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Took the Form of a Servant
5. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Came Down from Heaven
6. Do I Really Know Jesus? Why Did He Become a Man?
7. Do I Really Know Jesus? Thirty Truths about His Life
Other verses that exalt Christ to the highest level:
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. (Heb. 1:2-3, NIV)
I really like Borchert here:
In analyzing this crucial verse of the Prologue it becomes quickly apparent that this verse is like a great jewel with many facets that spreads its rays of implication into the various dimensions of Christology—the theology of Christ. As a summary of this verse it may be said that the evangelist recognized and bore witness to the fact that the characteristics ascribed only to God by the Old Testament were present in the incarnate Logos, God’s unique messenger to the world, who not only epitomized in person the awesome sense of God’s presence in their midst as a pilgrim people but also evidenced those stabilizing divine qualities God’s people had experienced repeatedly. (comment on v. 14, emphasis original)
One Decisive Difference Between Sinai Covenant and New Covenant
15:
We now end the Prologue of John. The major themes have been introduced.
John picks up his message and his testimony. The Evangelist (John, the author of the fourth Gospel) interweaves John’s beginnings with Jesus’ beginnings and contrasts them. Now the Evangelist introduces Moses for the purpose of contrast.
John said that Jesus outranked him because Jesus was first or ahead of him. Jesus came down from heaven, while John was sent by God. Even though John began his ministry before Jesus did, John will decrease or even fade away (3:27-30). “ahead” of me could be translated as “prior” to me.
Bruce translates the key clause in v. 15 as follows: “He who is coming after me has taken precedence over me, for he existed before me.” I like it because it is much more theological than “outranks me.”
16:
“grace instead of grace”: this phrase depends on “his fullness.” Jesus was the Word, the fullest expression of God, while the law of Moses, though it was thundered down from on high beginning in Exod. 19, was a set of rules to lead to right (righteous) behavior and the temple religion.
Professional grammarian Novakovic says that “grace upon grace” is possible, and it is grace that comes in waves, one after the other, on the shore (p. 16). I like the image, but the context tells me that it is a contrast with the limited grace Moses offered through the law. But now this grace has been replaced with a greater grace.
Carson is right: “The law, i.e. the law-covenant, was given by grace, and anticipated the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ; now that he has come, that same prophetic law-covenant is necessarily superseded by that which it prophesied would come. The thought is not dissimilar to Matthew 5:17-20 … It is the prophecy / fulfillment motif that explains why the two displays of grace are not precisely identical. The flow of the passage and the burden of the book as a whole magnify the fresh ‘grace’ that has come in Jesus Christ” (p. 133). Bottom line: the best translation is “grace instead of grace.” Or an expanded translation: “grace in Christ instead of grace in the law of Moses.” So I prefer Klink’s and Carson’s interpretation.
A prominent TV hyper-grace teacher, who obsesses over the one biblical theme of grace, says that the Greek allows for saying “Jesus is grace.” However, his statement to his vast mega-church says too much. The teacher needs to cool his jets and not allow his extra-enthusiasm to distort his interpretation of a simple verse. “Grace and truth” came or became through Jesus. His full identity is not limited to those two Scriptural themes—two themes among dozens of others.
See these links:
Do I Really Know God? He Is Gracious
17:
“grace and truth”: grace is for a sinner to be pardoned, and truth points to all types in the OT, fulfilled in Christ. “It is in this context that John uses the full name ‘Jesus Christ’” (Mounce, comment on v. 17).
People were born into the old Sinai covenant. Now people have to be born again to enter the New Covenant (Bruce, comment on v. 17).
The verses quoted under v. 14 prepares us for this section or pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-koh-pea).
“truth”: It is gained from the world around us. Our beliefs must correspond to the outside world (outside of you and me). But it goes deeper than just the outside world. We must depend on God’s character and his Word. That is the meaning of the first definition. God is true or truthful or dependable, or upright. Everything else flows from him.
Frankness and candor is a synonym of truth. This fits the apostolic preaching in the book of Acts. Maybe we could call it boldness and fearlessness.
18:
“only Begotten”: this is the Greek word monogenēs. It means “begotten,” so the clause could be translated as the “begotten God.” This means that the Son is eternally generated by the Father. See v. 14 for more comments.
Please see these posts:
The Trinity: What Does ‘Only Begotten Son’ Mean in John 3:16?
Here are verses about “seeing” God. Exod. 24:9-11:
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. (Exod. 24:9-11, NIV, emphasis added)
Verse 18 is a strong statement of the equality of the Father and the Son. Indeed, the Son is called the “only begotten God.” We must not believe that we can see the Father, up in heaven, unless God invites him, as Isaiah was invited (see Is. 6), though he did not see God’s face in all his power and glory and purity, in his full essence; otherwise, Isaiah would have died (Exod. 33:20). Only the Son of God, who is from the Father and has lived with the Father has seen God in his glory. The Son is eternal and has always been with the Father. Therefore, you and I have not seen God in his pure essence, who is pure spirit, in his total glory; if we did, we would die—vaporize. So in Exod. 24:9-11, these men saw God as he partly revealed himself in a limited way. I like how they ate and drank. It shows God allows some level of enjoyment in his presence.
However, Jesus, who came from God, has made him known, Moses’s face shone with the glory of God, but even he did not see God in his pure essence. In contrast, Jesus came from the Father’s bosom—which speaks—metaphorically—of intimacy and closeness with the Father John 6:46).
Yes, a bosom, from a human point of view, is a physical thing which humans can relate to.
Moses cannot claim this relationship and heavenly origin. Therefore Moses made God known in his own times and culture through the law, but it was time for the Father to take a gigantic leap forward and send his very best—his Son.
After mentioning Lazarus being in Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:22) and of the Beloved Disciple leaning on Jesus’s bosom at the Last Supper (13:23), Bruce writes: “In those two passages the expression denotes a place of special favour next to the principal person at a banquet; it may have the same meaning here, but there is also a suggestion of the mutual love and understanding of the Father and the Son and of the Son’s dependence on the Father. Only one who fully knows the Father can make him fully known” (comment on v. 18).
This verse reminds me of these verses in Matt. 11:25-27:
25 At that time, Jesus answered and said, “I acknowledge to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the ‘wise’ and ‘understanding’ and revealed them to infants. 26 Yes, Father, because in this way it was well pleasing to you. 27 All these things have been given to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father and anyone to whom the son of Man decides to reveal him.” (Matt. 11:25-27)
And this similar one in Luke 10:21-22:
21 At that very time, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden this from the wise and intelligent and revealed it to children. Yes, Father, because this way is your good will for you. 22 Everything has been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is, except the Son and to whomever the Son wills to reveal him.” (Luke 10:21-22)
These two passages are sometimes called the “Johannine bolt from the blue” John’s Gospel, in comparison with the Synoptics, is not so far off that we do not have the core of Jesus’s teaching in the Fourth Gospel.
To conclude …..
The law and religion of Moses was not the fullest expression of God. However, it did offer some form of grace, because it initiated the call to the nation of Israel, but now, instead of the first kind of legalized grace, we receive the grace that Jesus offers. So that’s why I translate it “grace instead of grace” (Klink, comment on v. 16): grace bound by the law of Moses has been replaced by the grace that became or came through Jesus. Klink goes on to state that there is not one example of in all of Greek literature of the preposition anti (pronounced ahn-tee) means “upon.” It means graces replaces grace. All right, he convinces me. But how is “grace instead of grace,” as noted, means that the legalistic grace in the OT is replaced by the grace of Jesus the Messiah.
Grow App for John 1:14-18
1. What does Jesus “tabernacling” on earth—his coming to us—mean to you personally? Has he come to live in your heart?
2. You have received the ultimate expression of grace in Christ. He revealed God’s favor and love to you. How has this changed your life?
3. How does he lead you to become more like him?
RELATED
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
12. Eyewitness Testimony in John’s Gospel
4. Church Fathers and John’s Gospel
3. Archaeology and John’s Gospel
SOURCES
For the bibliography, click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 