“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
Oh, there’s like 50 sermons in this one verse. How do you just meditate on one part of it? I mean every word here, every phrase we could soak in for a long time.
So, big picture. I would just encourage you today as we pray and meditate on this verse, particularly in this Advent season, to realize this is the most astounding miracle I would submit in all of the Bible, that God has become flesh. That God has become man. That God has come to us. You think about all the miracles that Jesus did really aren’t that surprising once you realize He’s God in the flesh.
The most astounding reality in the world is that God became flesh and dwelt among us. Praise God that we have glimpsed His glory full of grace and truth in the person of Christ.
John 1:14 Presents the Miracle of the Incarnation
Is it that surprising that he walks on water? Like that, seems pretty miraculous until you realize, well, it is the God who created the water and the water obeys him, so it’s not too startling that he would walk on it. Or is it that startling that he would feed over 5,000 people with just a little bit of bread and fish? Well, I mean, yes, it’s miraculous until you realize, ah, God created the stomachs of the people who are eating that food and the food itself. He’s the one who nourishes us.
So I mean, yes, it’s a miracle, but the miracle that’s even greater than that is this is God in the flesh. Even the resurrection. Is it that startling to believe that Jesus rose from the dead when you realize he’s the Lord of life and death? He rules over it all. This is the most astounding miracle in all the Bible, claim, really in all of scripture and I just want to encourage you not to miss it, especially during this Advent season, the wonder of the reality that God became flesh.
John 1:14 Calls Us to Sing in Awe
Bow in awe. Sing in awe. Like, don’t just sing Christmas carols like we’re singing about just anything, like this is the most astounding, miraculous reality in the world. God became a man. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. So, we pray in awe.
Oh God, we confess our inability to fully comprehend this truth in your word and this truth in history, and yet we praise you for it and we praise you for the wonder of the incarnation, the word made flesh dwelling among us. We praise you for coming to us. We praise you that we have seen your glory in the face of Jesus.
Oh God, we praise you for the glimpse of Your glory we have seen in the revelation of your Son and we praise you Lord Jesus as the one full of grace and truth, the justice of God and the mercy of God exemplified in your life and your death for our sins and your resurrection from the grave.
This Verse Teaches Us that Christ was Begotten of the Father
There is no one like you. You are the unique Son. The only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. We exalt you. So help us, especially during this Advent season, especially here around Christmas. help us not to be casual with this truth. Help us not to think about this lightly, sing about this lightly. Talk about this lightly.
God, we pray that you would help us to feel the wonder of what we’re singing or we’re talking about or we’re thinking about, and God help us to share this with others. Help us to share the great news that you’ve come to save people from their sins. God, we pray that you would bring our family members, our friends, our coworkers, neighbors, people we exercise with, do this or that in the community with God.
We pray that you would bring more and more and more people to know your love as the one who became flesh and dwelt among us so that we might be saved from our sins. God, we praise you. We praise you would help us to proclaim this in the powerful, unique, mind-boggling name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
