Today’s Passage: John 1:14-15
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14
There are four incredible truths found in verse 14.
“The Word became flesh.” Jesus humbled Himself by putting on humanity. The God that created the universe and everything in it became like us. Before the foundation of the world, Jesus had been with the Father experiencing and delighting in His love. Jesus put on flesh so that we could experience that love. Jesus knew how great that love was and He came to pave a way for us to experience it.
Jesus “dwelt among us.” Jesus put on flesh and lived with and for us. Jesus dwelt among us so that we could be near to Him. In the Old Testament, the temple is where the Lord dwelt. The people had so profaned the temple system that God actually asked for someone to close the doors (Malachi 1:10). People had messed it up, but God didn’t give up. He dwelt among us so that we could dwell with Him.
“We have seen his glory.” The glory that we see in Jesus is the same glory seen throughout the Old Testament. This is no cheap imitation glory; this is the glory of God. At no time while Jesus was dwelling among us did He cease to be God. Let that sink in. Maybe this will cause us to go back and be filled with wonder that God put on flesh and dwelt among us.
The glory of the Lord is filled with “grace and truth.” This glory reveals the truth to us. It shows us that we are sinners and our sin is an abomination to God. God’s glory reveals to us that it is our sin that separates us from Him. Jesus drew near to us, our sin keeps us from Him. But that glory is also full of grace. It is that grace that allows us to draw near to Jesus. The truth of grace allows us to draw near to the one who became flesh and dwelt among us.
Just as Jesus drew near to us, let us draw near to Him this Advent season. As we draw near, let us celebrate the truth of grace found in the gospel.
Prayer
Father, thank You for sending your Son in human form and revealing Your glory full of truth and grace. In Jesus’s name, amen.