Grace and Truth

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 body of 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 the only born Son of God who dwells in the “bosom of the Father.” The Prologue concludes by declaring that he is qualified to interpret the unseen God since he alone has seen God.

As incomprehensible as it is to the “wisdom of this age,” the lowly man from Nazareth who died on a Roman cross is, in fact, the “way, the truth, and the life. No comes to the Father except through him!” There is no life or knowledge of the one true God apart from Jesus - (John 14:6).

[Multnomah Falls - Photo by Perry Kibler on Unsplash]

The introduction of John concludes with a significant contrast – Rather than Moses, Jesus is the only one who interprets the Father. John presents him as the one who reveals God and makes Him known.

• (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…”

In contrast to Moses, “grace and truth are through Jesus.” This declaration challenged beliefs about the Law held by many Jews of the first century. The “loving-kindness of Yahweh” was and is found in Jesus, not the Torah.

The Greek term translated as “interpreted” represents the verb 'exégeomai', meaning, “lead out, explain, interpret.” In the final sentence of John’s Prologue, it has no direct 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. He alone speaks his Father’s mind. The Greek clause translated as the “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.”

JESUS UNVEILS THE FATHER

Christ is the one who unveils and provides “grace and truth” to men and women, and throughout the Gospel of John, the Son “interprets” and reveals the “unseen God” to anyone who responds to him in faith - (John 6:46, 8:38, 15:24).

• “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him and have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it will satisfy us. Jesus said to him Have I been so long with you, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father” - (John 14:7-9).

Jesus is not another in a long line of prophets but the ultimate expression of God, His “word made flesh,” and the Father can be seen and understood only in and through the 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 and received “Grace and Truth.” All things were made according to the “Word,” the ‘Logos’, and not according to the Torah or anything else.

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.

In the Book of Exodus, Moses was only permitted to see the “backside,” the afterglow of God’s glory while Yahweh covered him with His “hand” in the hollow of a rock as He 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 - (Exodus 33:17-22).

The purpose of John’s statement is not to denigrate Moses or the Torah but to highlight the full and final revelation of God that now and forevermore is found in Jesus Christ. In him alone, is the loving-kindness of the God of Israel manifested, and in a most concrete way.

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SEE ALSO:

• Yea and Amen in Jesus - (The promises of the Hebrew Bible are fulfilled in the Son of God and Messiah of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth, period)

• Revealing the Unseen God - (The fullness, grace, and truth of God are found in the Word made Flesh, Jesus of Nazareth, who alone has seen the unseen God – John 1:14-18)

• Logos - The Living Word - (Jesus is the Word become flesh through whom the glory of God is revealed, the same Word by which God created all things)

• His Mysteries Revealed - (The mysteries of God previously hidden are revealed in Jesus of Nazareth, and especially through his Death and Resurrection)