The Fullness of God

The fullness, grace, and truth of God are found only in the Word made Flesh, namely, Jesus Christ of Nazareth – John 1:14-18.

The Gospel of John begins by introducing key themes that are expanded in the book - Life, Light, Witness, Truth, and Grace.  Jesus is the Light of the world, the source of Grace and Truth, the True Tabernacle and Temple where God dwells, and the only born Son of God who dwells in the “bosom of the Father.” The Prologue concludes by declaring that Christ is qualified to interpret the unseen God since he alone has seen the Living God.

[Japan sunrise - Photo by S. Tsuchiya on Unsplash]

As incomprehensible as it is to the “wisdom of this world,” the lowly man from Nazareth who was executed by the mighty Roman Empire is the “way, the truth, and the life. No comes to the Father except through him!” Christ Crucified in God’s “wisdom and power” - (John 14:6, 1 Corinthians 1:24).

• “I am the vine. You are the branches. He that abides in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” – (John 15:4-5).

• “There is no other name under heaven by which we may be saved” – (Acts 4:12).

As incomprehensible as it is to the “wisdom of this world,” the lowly man from Nazareth who was executed by the mighty Roman Empire is the “way, the truth, and the life. No comes to the Father except through him!”- (John 14:6).

The introduction of John concludes with a significant contrast. Rather than Moses, Jesus is the only one who interprets the Father. John presents Christ as the one who reveals the unseen God who made all things.

• (John 1:14-18) – “And the Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us, and we gazed upon his glory, glory as an only-born from his Father, full of grace and truth <...> Because from his fullness we all received, even grace over against grace. Because the law was given through Moses, grace and truth through Jesus Christ came to be. No one has seen God at any time. The only born, the One who is in the bosom of the Father, He has interpreted…”

“Grace and truth came to be through Jesus,” in contrast to Moses, who gave Israel the Law. This declaration challenged beliefs about the Law held by many Jews of the first century. God did not create all things through the Mosaic Law, but through the Logos, which is now embodied in Jesus. The “loving-kindness of Yahweh” is found in Jesus of Nazareth, not the Torah.

The term translated by the passage as “interpreted” represents a Greek verb that means to “lead out, explain, interpret.” In the final sentence of John’s Prologue, it has no object in the Greek clause. There is no “him” after the verb “interpreted.” The clause is open-ended since Jesus is the interpreter of all things related to his Father.

The phrase “only born Son” expands on verse 14: “We beheld his glory, a glory as of an only born from a father, full of grace and truth.” He is the one who unveils and provides “grace and truth” to men and women, and throughout the Gospel of John, Christ “interprets” and reveals the “unseen God” to anyone who responds positively to him with faith - (John 6:46, 8:38, 14:7-9, 15:24).

THE EXPRESSION OF GOD

Christ is not another in a long line of prophets. He is the ultimate expression of God, His “word made flesh,” and the Father can be understood only in and through His Son.

The Gospel of John does not present a Messiah who is identical to the Father, but one who knows and reveals the Living-Giving God; therefore, anyone who has “seen” Jesus has “seen” the Father in the truest sense, and he therefore receives “Grace and Truth.”

The Mosaic Law certainly had its place in God’s redemptive plan, but it has been superseded by the “Word made flesh,” the one in whom God’s “glory” is revealed to His children.

In the Book of Exodus, Moses was only permitted to see the “backside,” the afterglow of God’s glory while He covered Moses with His “hand” and placed him in the hollow of a rock as Yahweh passed by - “You cannot see my face, for no son of earth can see me and live” – (Exodus 33:17-22, 34:6-7).

In contrast, Jesus dwells in God’s very “bosom.” He has seen the Father face to face; therefore, he is the only one who can “declare” and represent the invisible God to the world - (“No man has seen God at any time.” John 1:18, Exodus 33:17-22).

John’s purpose is not to disrespect Moses or the Torah but to highlight the full and final revelation of God that now and forevermore is found in Christ, the loving-kindness of God manifested for the sake of all men only in the Son.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Divine Glory - (Since the Word became flesh, the Divine Glory has been manifested in Jesus of Nazareth and all who follow him behold it – John 1:14.)

• Jesus, the Key - (Jesus is the key that unlocks the Hebrew Scriptures and reveals the nature and redemptive purposes of the God of Israel)

• Humanity's only Hope - (Jesus is the true Light of the World, the expression of God, and the only source of truth, life, and salvation)

• La Plénitude de Dieu - (La plénitude, la grâce et la vérité de Dieu ne se trouvent que dans la Parole faite Chair, à savoir Jésus-Christ de Nazareth - Jean 1:14-18)

{Originally published on the Kingdom Disciples blog}