Fullness

John 1: 14-18

14 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. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me. '") 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon 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 God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

In a few words, John the Beloved speaks incomprehensible wonders: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”, and John’s firsthand perception was that Christ’s flesh incarnation made visible the glory of God. Eternal, infinite, omnipotent God came to live as a human being among human beings!

Today we joke that we “become our parents”. The Middle Eastern worldview at the time saw that one “was” their parents from birth, in terms of inherited character. A son was identified with a father very closely. To say that Jesus’ glory was “as the only Son of the Father” indicated that He bore the character and name of the Father among people for them to see—and it was glorious to those who had eyes to see, glory full of grace and truth.

And from His fullness of grace and truth, John says, we have all received grace upon grace. It is a New Testament literary device to use hyperbole to attempt to describe ineffable mysteries. “Grace upon grace” is like a mathematical equation: ∞ + ∞. Freely given favor bestowed upon freely given favor. When God decided to show up in Person on the earth it was to display His character in terms of grace, not judgment (although that is coming, as He promised); and in truth. God is true in every sense of the word. To lie or deceive is sin because it goes against the character of God, who does not lie (Hebrews 6:18).

But it is “from His fullness we have all received”. Jesus, full of grace, full of truth, gives those attributes. We receive from Him what we do not ourselves possess. He does not only make God known, He gives us of His own attributes. His grace, His truth, become ours—and through these, His own glory!

Son of God, Jesus, full of grace and truth; let Your glory become visible in me, and in Your people. Let Your grace flow abundantly through our lives into others’ lives. Let me be a person of grace, and let me be true. I do not have these qualities in fullness in myself, but Your fullness becomes my own. As You displayed the qualities of Your Father, so let me display Your character. I desperately need grace, and truth, and so does the world. Thank You for becoming human so that we can become like You. Amen.