“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). John opened this first chapter with the Word, the one who is God and also Creator. He was with God in the beginning, showing that He, being divine, was still separate from God. This idea opens the door to the trinity, which John will unfold over time in his gospel.
With this verse, John gives us a surprising twist–that the Word that was God and was with God, the Creator of all things back in the beginning of space, time, and matter–this Word visited us in a human body and lived among us for a time.
This was unthinkable to the Greek and Jew. The Greek thought spirit was good and flesh was evil. No way could they go hand in hand. The Jews had no conception that God would become a man, even though their Scriptures left many hints. How could He who filled all things dwell in the narrow confines of a man?
“and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). John tells us that he saw His glory, the glory of God in this person, the only begotten Son. By interacting with Him and seeing how He responded to the things and situations in this world He had made, John saw something powerful and deeply meaningful about this person. Seeing this one from God helped him to see God’s greatness and love. To see the Son was to see the Father. Jesus will plainly state this fact several times in this gospel. As a matter of fact, in this opening chapter, John is stating up front the themes he will revisit throughout his gospel:
He was in the beginning (John 1:1-2)–Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).
He was God and with God (John 1:1)–Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
In Him was life (John 1:4)–Jesus said, “I came that you may have life, and that more abundantly” (John 10:10).
He is the light (John 1:4)–Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).
People did not accept Him (John 1:11)–John wrote, “the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him” (John 5:16).
Those who believe in His name (John 1:12)–the Samaritans said, “this One is truly Savior of the world” (John 4:42).
He is truth (John 1:14)–Jesus said, “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37).
To grasp hold of these truths is to see Him as He really is–to see His glory and be in awe. Each of these statements is worth meditating on. This gospel is the result of John’s own pondering.
“and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). What stood out about this person? John saw His glory, that the Word was full of grace and truth. Full of grace in the sense of someone who not only bore no ill will to anyone, but gave everything He had to help and rescue others generously and extravagantly. While we are without mercy, He loved mercy and forgiveness. Where we are without love for others, He laid down His life for sinners. Where we steal time, money, and goods from those who have not harmed us, Jesus gives eternal life to all sinners who believe in Him. John sums this up as “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” in 1 John 1:5.
He is full of truth in the sense that John saw God in Him clearly, whereas he saw only pretenders with the Pharisees. The disciple John’s preconceptions of God were stripped away, and he saw who God really was in the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
“the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). Perhaps the most important aspect that struck John was the relationship between the Son and the Father. To grasp who Jesus is will be to grasp the relationship to God the Father we can enjoy.
With Christ, we see our fallen state more clearly–“I’m not like Him.” Yet the Holy Spirit, partnering with the Scriptures, is always working to shape us so we have this relationship to the Father Jesus had. Who has developed absolute trust in their earthly father? Who can say of their relationship with dad, “I and My Father are one”?
The Pharisees were so far gone, nitpicking on Jesus and His violating the laws they had created, while Jesus wanted them to focus on good character that is founded on a relationship of love for the holy Father.
We too make the mistake in our Christian lives of focusing on doing good deeds, criticizing those who do it differently, and miss the glory John saw, the love story between the Father and the Son. This we ought to have been focusing on while not neglecting the good deeds. The Pharisees never connected the good deeds with a strong love for the Father like Jesus did.
I know the difference in me between being the hard worker and being the one who pleases Jesus. Between looking for the next thing to do versus basing my work on the character of Jesus and His revealed will for me. We need to learn more of how to live as children of God who are team players with Him.
That was the glory John saw in these members of the Godhead. All the work of the Spirit is to bring our outward works to conform to this partnership with God, works that reveal a deep heart of love to a perfect Father God and for His imperfect people.
At one point with Jesus, John in anger wanted to set a town on fire. But as we read his gospel and epistles, his writings show that he has become more like Jesus. No longer a disciple of fury, but an apostle of love.
Paul the apostle summed it up as, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). Our goal is to personally ponder the portraits of Jesus revealed in the gospels, comparing our lives with His. Then by His grace let Him guide us into the truths that conform us into the image of Christ as He did with John. Then His life becomes a light to us on our spiritual journey. Then our own relationship to the Father will be a relationship of love in truth.
