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.”…
We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Without the salvation of Jesus who died in our place we would all be without hope in this fallen world. Carla
John 1:12-18
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 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.
The phrase believe in His name occurs three times in the Gospel of John (1:12; 2:23; 3:18). Name does not refer to the term by which He is called, but to what His name stands for—the Lord is salvation (Exodus 3:14, 15). In this context, the phrase means to believe that Jesus is the Word, the life, and the Light—that is, He is the Christ, the Son of God (20:31). To them He gave the right refers to the legitimate entitlement to the position of children of God. By believing, undeserving sinners can become full members of God’s family.
This new spiritual birth is not of blood, that is, by physical generation or by parents. Nor is the new birth of the will of the flesh, that is, by personal effort. Neither is the birth of the will of man, that is, something done by another individual. Each person must individually trust Jesus Christ for eternal life. It is a gift to be received (4:10, 14), not a reward achieved through any human effort.
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 (contrast Romans 8:1–11).
Dwelt comes from the Greek word for tent that was used in the Greek OT for the tabernacle, where the presence of God dwelt. In the OT, 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).
Throughout the NT, 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.
God is Spirit (4:24) and is invisible (Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17) unless God chooses to reveal Himself. Humans cannot look at God and live (Exodus 33:20). Abraham, the friend of God, did not see God. Even Moses, the lawgiver, could not look at God’s face (Exodus 33:22, 23). However, the Son is in intimate relationship with the Father, face-to-face with God (1:1; 6:46; 1 John 1:2).
God became visible to human eyes in the man Jesus. It is through seeing the Son that we see God. We cannot see Him today, but we know Him through His word. The bosom, or chest, is used here to designate a close and intimate relationship (13:23; Luke 16:23).
The One who is the Father’s only begotten Son and who knows God intimately came to earth and declared Him. Declared can also mean “explained.” The NKJV Study Bible
John 1:7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
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,
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.
What does mercy look like?
How can I choose to heal, instead of choosing to hurt?
How can I spill grace to those around me, instead of disregard or neglect?
How can I make room for transformation and growth, instead of numbing and detachment?
Mercy is the fruit of compassion in a world where inhumanity and heartlessness is real. Mercy is any compassionate gift given to someone who is suffering.
And raised in a church where verbal affirmation was the key to “passing the test”, I need to take to heart that compassion is more than just a verbal nod, and more than just feeling concerned about someone in distress (or caring about a person’s misfortune); compassion involves action.
And that action, is mercy.
But here’s the good news. Mercy is not an acquirable, attainable trait. Mercy is what flows from an open and vulnerable heart. In our vulnerability and humility, mercy matures, and is spilled.
The healing balm of God’s mercy. Yes. Let us sit, and allow that to percolate. A balm that is healing and replenishing and sustaining for both hope and courage.
And my friends… We can be voices of mercy. “We”, the applicable pronoun, as more than ever the saying is true, “In the shelter of each other the people live.” Sabbath Moments
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