John 1:16-18 16For from his fullness we all have received also grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God; the only begotten God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
John continues to use packed words with many possible nuances. One of these words is translated as fullness (plērōmatos) was used by the later Gnostics to refer to the essence of deity. Paul used the word to refer specifically to Jesus in Ephesians 1:23; 4:13; Colossians 1:19. The fullness to which John refers here likely refers to the new life that comes through God’s grace available through Jesus since it is something available to us. We cannot become divine but we can be remade into God’s image that was somehow marred in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned.
Another phrase that has been challenging to interpert is grace upon grace. The idea here gives the nuance of abundance. God’s grace, as shown in Jesus, is beyond measure and limitless in its ability to change people and give them a new start. John later records in chapter 3 this newness as “new birth.” We can have a fresh restart through God’s intervening grace. This grace is something to be received as a gift. We cannot earn it but can only receive it in faith.
To illustrate the significance of this, John compares Moses and Jesus. Jews honor Moses as the giver of the law and mouthpiece of God. The law was a tremendous gift of grace to Israel because it revealed God’s will for how they could be holy and live peaceful and fulfilling lives. Sadly, by Jesus’ day, many of the Pharisees had misinterpreted the law given by Moses as a means to be considered righteous before God. They had missed the heart of the law, which is a changed heart, attitude, and thinking, and made their religion into an outward human effort to live by the law. The law was a wonderful gift but could also become a trap of futile human effort because people can never be holy by their obedience alone but only with God’s grace. Moses represents the old way of thinking embodied in many of the Jewish leaders. Jesus brought a new way of thinking that fulfilled what Moses started.
Jesus brought to humanity both grace and truth. Grace came through his life given on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. John the Baptist made that point clear in his proclamation in verse 29 about Jesus being the Lamb of God who takes away the world’s sin. Jesus revealed the truth through his life and teaching. The miracles he did confirmed the power of his words. John does not record parables like the Synoptic Gospels but uses more symbolic metaphors to describe who Jesus is and what he reveals about God the Father and God’s will for people. Jesus’ very life showed grace and truth.
Verse 18 confirms Jesus’ position as the primary revelator of grace and truth. Being at the Father’s side (literally “bossom”) shows the closest possible relationship. The verse returns to the theme of verse 14 and the incarnation. John once again uses the key word only begotten (monogenēs). This word should be interpreted in the earthly realm of history. The Word became human through normal birth at one point in time. Even though John does not recount the birth narratives of Jesus, like Matthew and Luke, the historical birth of Jesus through the virgin Mary is clearly in the background of the opening of his Gospel. The one born of a human mother is the only one who has ever seen God because he is God himself. He is not a separate God but the very God who created the universe. There is only one God, and this God came in human flesh to reveal grace and truth. Jesus revealed the very essence and character of God.
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