For God loved the world and mankind, made in His image, that He gave us the only salvation that redeems us through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
1 Corinthians 1:21-25 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Romans 8:5-11 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Ephesians 1:9-12 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 3:9-12 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
Colossians 1:9-14 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
John 1:14-17 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
God is sovereign! It is His right to keep things to Himself but when the eyes of our souls are enlightened to the truth of Jesus, Holy Spirit, who raised Christ from the dead will raise us also to abide with Him forever. In the work of the Cross of Jesus the Christ it was finished! We are no longer under the Law but in the newness of Holy Spirit united in the freedom that only Jesus Christ can give. Holy Spirit agrees with our spirit that we are children of the most high God. Carla
This depiction of the logos as a personal being in human flesh is a reversal of the philosophical concept of the logos as an impersonal principle or force. The emphasis on the “flesh” could be an attempt to correct misunderstandings about the humanity of Jesus present in the early church. One of the earliest christological heresies from the second century ad was Docetism, which held that Jesus was fully divine and only appeared human and only appeared to die on the cross. The idea that divine beings could appear in human form was common in the ancient world, so John seems to take extra care to emphasize that Jesus was human, not that He merely appeared in human form. The later christological heresy of Arianism emphasized Jesus’ humanity at the expense of His divinity, claiming He was a created being. The Greek verb used here for took up residence literally means “to dwell in a tent” and likely alludes to the Old Testament tabernacle as God’s dwelling among His people (Exododus 33:7–11).
Through His Son, God is taking up a post among His people just as He had done for ancient Israel. His glory alludes to the manifestations of divine glory in the Old Testament. Yahweh’s presence could be found in the tabernacle or temple (Exodus 40:34–38; Numbers 14:10; 1 Kings 8:10–11; Isaiah 6:1).
Glory as of the one and only from the Father emphasized that the glory of Jesus, the Word, is the same as the glory of God the Father. The Greek term monogenēs, meaning “one and only” carries the sense of uniqueness and special beloved status (Hebrews 11:17). John’s use of monogenēs foreshadows the emphasis on the intimate relationship between Jesus and God the Father. Jesus is the unique and beloved Son of God, sent from God (3:16–17) to fully represent the Father on earth (14:9–10) and reveal the Father and His plan for salvation in a previously unparalleled way (3:16–17).
The Son reflects the Father perfectly and perfectly carries out His will (5:17–18). The close relationship of Father and Son means their works and will are in perfect unity (5:19; 10:30).
Grace and truth are alluding to two central attributes of the divine character used throughout the Old Testament: steadfast love and faithfulness. Jesus embodies the ultimate expression of God’s covenant loyalty and unmerited favor toward the world that rejected Him.
John contrasts Moses with Jesus, emphasizing the superiority of the gospel of Christ to the law of Moses. Throughout his Gospel, John presents Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament expectations. Faithlife Study Bible
The Son of God who was from eternity became human, with limitations in time and space (Philippians 2:5–8).
This is the doctrine of the incarnation: God became human.
Nothing of the essential nature of deity was lost in this event; we might rephrase became as “took to Himself.” John uses the word flesh to refer to the physical nature of humans, not to our sinful disposition. Dwelt comes from the Greek word for tent that was used in the Greek Old Testament for the tabernacle, where the presence of God dwelt. In the Old Testament, glory refers to the divine presence (Exodus 33:18). As God manifested His glory in the tabernacle, so Jesus displayed His divine presence before the apostles (18:6; 20:26, 27).
Only begotten (3:16, 18) means unique, one of a kind. The same term is used of Isaac (.Hebrews 11:17), who was not the only physical son of Abraham, but was the unique son of promise. All who trust Christ are born of God. In the Gospel of John, these “born ones” are called children of God (verses 12, 13), but Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God. He is the only Son who is fully God. He is also full of grace and truth.
When God revealed Himself to Moses, He proclaimed Himself to be “abounding in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). As applied to Jesus Christ, this phrase marks Him as the author of perfect redemption and perfect revelation.
Jesus was born after John the Baptist (Luke 1:36) and began His ministry later than John the Baptist. Yet John the Baptist said Jesus was before him, meaning that Jesus’ existence is from eternity past (verse 30).
Grace for grace means grace piled upon grace. The background of this doubled term, as well as the use of the term in verse 17, is found in Exodus 32–34. Moses and the people had received grace, but they were in tremendous need of more grace (Exodus 33:13).
Throughout the New Testament, grace is God’s favor expressed to sinful humankind apart from any human works or worth. Though there was abundant grace and truth expressed by God through the Law He gave Moses, it is in the person of Jesus Christ that grace and truth are realized to the fullest. The NKJV Study Bible
John 14:6–9 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”…
John 1:30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’
Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
1 John 1:1–2 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—
Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
But what if?
…God is not waiting until we have it all figured out.
The gift of life is in this present moment.
Yes. That’s it. We can choose.
This is an invitation to participate in this life.
This invitation to bring all that I am to the table of this moment.
This invitation to invest my heart.
This invitation to spill light where I can. What Barbara Kingsolver calls a “conspiracy with life”.
Do not get lost in a sea of despair,” John Lewis tweeted almost exactly a year before his death. “Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way.” Excerpt from “Sabbath Moments” Terry Hershey
