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’s so much we could talk about with John 1:14, according to this first picture of who Jesus is, God in the flesh came to dwell among us. How we’ve seen the glory of God.
We rejoice that Christ came to us full of grace and truth to seek and save the lost. Lord, make us to be a people full of grace and truth.
God Is Full Of Glory And Grace
People say, “God, show me your glory.” God has shown his glory in coming to us, coming to the world in Jesus. Glory as of the only son from the Father. But I want to focus on these last five words and pray according to them. “The word became flesh, dwelt among us. We’ve seen his glory. Glory as of the only son from the father full of grace and truth.”
Is that not beautiful? Full of grace. Jesus is full of grace. Aren’t you glad Jesus is full of grace? I need God’s grace. I need grace from Jesus every single day. Love, mercy, help, strength, that I don’t deserve. That I would not have, do not have on my own, but he gives it freely. That’s what grace is. Full of grace and, and truth.
So, not some kind of soft ambiguous, flimsy, undefinable grace, but grace that is coupled with truth. That, which is right. That which is accurate, that which you can bank your life on, truth. Jesus has both. He’s full of both. He’s full of grace and he’s full of truth.
Aren’t we thankful that Jesus is full of grace and truth? Then when we follow Jesus, we’re not following a lie. When we trust in Jesus, we’re not trusting in that upon which we cannot depend. We can totally depend on him. So don’t you praise Jesus because he’s full of grace and truth? And don’t you want to be like Jesus in this way?
John 1:14 Praises God For His Attributes
Are we gracious people to those around us? And do we hold on to truth and not one without the other, not gracious or loving and merciful while sacrificing the truth, but not holding on to truth while neglecting to show grace. Oh God, we praise you for these attributes in you. Jesus, we exalt you as the one who is full of grace and full of truth.
All glory be to your name. We praise you for your grace in our lives. We praise you for dying on the cross for our sins. Praise you for new mercy every single morning, new grace from your hand. We praise you for your truth. Praise you for your word. We bank our lives on it. Depend on it. We glorify you as the savior full of grace and truth. And we pray God help us to reflect your character in this way.
John 1:14 Prays That God Makes Us People In Our Relationships
We pray that today, tomorrow in our interactions with everyone, in our interactions with other brothers and sisters in Christ, in our interaction with people who are part from Christ, God, we pray, you make us people. In our marriages, in our parenting, in every relationship we have, make us people we pray, who are full of grace and full of truth. God, help us to exemplify both, we pray. Even as we praise you God, for the way you perfectly exemplify both. In Jesus’ name and the name of the one who is full of grace and truth, 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.
