The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John 1:14-18
Jesus, who is God, came among us and showed us his glory. Jesus has shown us the truth and his grace.
In verse 15 John’s testimony repeats to us that Jesus is the Messiah and that he is God.
Jesus was born after John, but John claims that Jesus existed before him. John is claiming that Jesus is God and is eternal because he existed before he was born as a man.
Verse 16 speaks of the kingdom of heaven, which God has prepared for us. The moment we accept the grace of Jesus Christ, God has already prepared that place for us.
Just as the law given to Moses condemns us, so the grace of Jesus ensures that this place can be reserved for us when have received this grace through Jesus.
As said in the Old Testament no man can see the Father and live, Jesus made it possible for every man to see God through him.
In ancient culture, the prophecy of the Messiah was expected to speak of some kind of ‘Superman’. But verse 14 tells us that God came in the form of an ‘ordinary’ man. The verb ‘to dwell’ reflects a temporary stay, in fact, Jesus remained in this world for 33 years old. For the Jews, holding back was synonymous with putting up a tent. Jesus, as a high priest, represents the tent of the Tabernacle, that is, a meeting point with God. We can meet God in Jesus. The message is clear, it is not we who have to seek God. God has come to us.
In verse 17, the name of the Word is finally revealed: Jesus. If we think about verse 17, referring to the law given to Moses, and the events of the Old Testament, we might expect God to come and be angry with us. But this verse tells us that instead, he came full of grace. In verse 18 we see that Jesus is the revelation of who God is. Looking at Jesus, we see God the Father. It is not possible to see the Father, because of his immense glory, but we can see him through Jesus. Knowing Jesus in the gospels and scriptures, we know God, his character and his nature. Many may wonder, how is it possible that Jesus is God and they could see it? Because Jesus, the Word, became flesh.
In the message of all this first part and of verse 14, it is that God: being perfect, omnipotent, omniscient, creator of everything, became flesh and was among us as a man. This is the most important doctrine in the Christian faith. This information is extremely important because whoever believes in it has salvation: Jesus is God. This message is repeated many times in a few verses because John wants us to understand that it is important. This is the main message of John in all his works. In fact, even the epistles begin with a discourse parallel to this one.
Jesus has divine glory. John tells us that he has seen his glory. What is glory? Let’s go back to the Old Testament. God’s glory is the sum of his attributes. God manifests his glory in two ways: symbolic and in reality.
The glory of God is manifested in a visible way, through the light. In Exodus 33, Moses asks God to show him his glory. God warns him that he cannot show him all the glory of him, because no man can see the glory of God and live. God is invisible, but his glory is manifested through a strong light. God’s glory cannot be seen by men because of sin. If we saw it, we’d be incinerated. In the Old Testament, the glory of God was seen several times in the form of light. The Apocalypse tells us that when Jesus returns, he will show his glory, the sky will be dark and we will see his glory in the form of light. Those who have not been saved will try to hide from this glory. In various passages of the gospels, we see Jesus manifesting his glory through the light.
The glory of God is also manifested in an invisible way. The apostles saw the glory of him through the behaviour of Jesus, for example through his wisdom, love, compassion, holiness, etc.
For this reason, for John, the fact that he saw this glory is proof that Jesus is God. In verse 14 John speaks to us of a full, that is, complete grace. Grace and truth are together in this passage because the only way to experience grace is to believe in the truth. John the Apostle uses the testimony of John the Baptist, because for the Jews, Deuteronomy says that to be accepted, testimony must be confirmed by at least two witnesses. Jesus forgives sins, this is proof for John, of his deity. Jesus gives us grace continuously. We live in his grace. His grace has no end. Because we have believed in the gospel, we receive a grace that has no limit. Grace had already been promised in the Old Testament, but it had never been fully realized except with the arrival of Jesus. Jesus, who is God, explained God to us. Jesus is the one who is closest to the Father who is invisible.