Read John 1:1-18.

Note: Verse 14 literally reads, “The Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us.”

Introduction⤒🔗

Back in 1971, Jan was a young woman in her early twenties. She had been brought up in a Bible-believing Christian home, but had never personally accepted the faith of her parents. Now she found herself heavily involved in the radical lifestyle of the seventies. She wore beads, sandals, a floppy hat over long straight hair, and blue “granny” glasses. She attended outdoor rock concerts where many of the young people smoked pot and some engaged in immoral conduct. Her life was permeated with an attitude of abandonment; she had a job, but most of her free time was spend pursuing fun. Whenever someone mentioned God, she felt an emptiness in her heart, a void; but she was in no hurry to deal with it.

In time she met a young man named Mark. After a few months they were living together. Mark felt an emptiness in his life, too. They were invited to a Transcendental Meditation lecture, and they went, hoping to find peace and a way to become better people. As they became involved with TM, Jan discovered two things. She was not being transformed into a stressless person; furthermore, she and Mark were beginning to have frightening supernatural experiences.

Nine months later, Mark ran into an old navy drinking buddy who had become a Christian. Mark soon rededicated his own life to Christ. After that, Jan saw Mark change; he gave up TM, and he learned to control his temper.

In 1976, Jan agreed to join Mark at a Jesus Rally in Pennsylvania. She testifies concerning the people she met there: Two days of their love was all the Holy Spirit needed to remind me that I was a sinner and that Jesus Christ was the only One who offered true salvation.

Her testimony continues:

I could not deny that Jesus was God’s Son as He had claimed, because I had seen how He had changed Mark. As a result, I accepted Christ as my Savior, too. I came home from the “Jesus ’76 Rally” a joyful person. I no longer had to seek for God.¹

Jan’s story is not only a true personal testimony of what happened in the life of one young lady, it is also a testimony of what has happened to the whole human race: departure from the God of heaven, pursuit of one’s own self-centered existence, the sense of estrangement from God, the failure to find God and be restored to Him by means of the religions and philosophies of the world.

We need to have God reveal Himself to us. If you look to Jesus, you will find the revelation of God: “No man has seen God at any time; the one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known” (Jn. 1:18).

Look to Jesus, and You will Meet the Person of God←⤒🔗

John begins his gospel by stating, “In the beginning was the Word.” “In the beginning” is an unmistakable reference to Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” “The beginning” is the beginning of time, the beginning of the creation. Thus, the Bible is telling us that when God brought the creation into existence, “the Word” was already existing; in other words, “the Word” is eternal. Note: “The Word” is a title for the Son of God whom we know in His incarnate state as Jesus Christ. By means of this title it is being emphasized that just as words reveal to others our inmost thoughts, so the incarnate Son of God communicates and reveals God to us.

John goes on to declare, “the Word was with God.” “The Word” was living in the presence of God throughout eternity. Indeed, “the Word;” (i.e. the second Person of the Trinity), enjoyed the most intimate communion and fellowship with God the Father. He shared in the divine glory of God; note Jesus’ prayer just prior to His return to glory via the cross, resurrection and ascension: “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I shared with you before the world began” (Jn. 17:5). He was the object of the Father’s love: “Father, I desire that those whom you have given me may also be with me where I am, so that they may behold my glory, [the glory] that you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (Jn. 17:24).

Then John declares, “the Word was God.” The Greek text states this truth in the most emphatic way, literally reading, “God [is what] the Word was.” In Philippians 2:6 the Apostle Paul elaborates on the absolute deity of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word, by identifying Him as “existing in the form of God.”

The Greek word translated “form” (µορφrl) was a philosophical term, not referring to the external appearance of a thing, as we would be inclined to use the term, but to the essence, or better, the specific character, of the thing or person. The New Testament commentator, Jac. J. Muller, writes, “by ‘form of God’ is meant...His divine nature, which is inseparable from His person and in which the Divine Being realizes Himself [i.e. knows and expresses Himself] in His...inherent, divine glory and godly attributes.”²

The New Testament scholar, John Murray, concurs, “the form of God would refer to the sum of those characterizing qualities that mark God off as specifically God.”³ By way of illustration: the “form” (µορφrl) of an apple is not merely the shape of the apple, it includes all those qualities that make an apple an apple and distinguish it from every other fruit and every other thing in all of creation. Thus, “the form of God” includes all those attributes and qualities and characteristics that make God what He is, and that distinguish Him from everyone and everything else. Thus, when the Apostle Paul informs us that our Lord Jesus Christ was “existing in the form of God” he is telling us in the strongest possible terms that the Lord Jesus Christ possesses all the attributes and the very identity of God; all that defines God defines Christ Jesus, as the Lord Jesus Himself declared, “whoever has seen me, has seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9).

The Apostle John rounds off his opening statement regarding the person of the divine Word by repeating, “He was in the beginning with God.” Taken together, verses 1-2 form a great pyramid-type literary structure with the statement, “the Word was God,” found at the very apex of the pyramid: the Word was with God, the Word was God, the Word was with God.

Then, in verse fourteen, John further describes and defines the divine Word by declaring, “The Word became flesh.” Here is the wonder of the incarnation: God, the Creator, came into His creation, came into history, and identified Himself with those whom He had created in His own image: He became one of us. “The Word became flesh (σαρξ).” The use of this Greek word (σαρξ) presents the incarnation in the strongest possible terms. To the readers of John’s day, his choice of words would almost have sounded crude or vulgar when he says that the divine Word became “flesh.” John does not politely write, “the Word took on a human body,” or “the Word became a man;” he bluntly asserts, “the Word became flesh.”

In becoming “flesh,” in becoming truly God incarnate, the Word “lived among us.” The Greek text literally reads, “the Word tabernacled (σκηνοω) among us.” In the beginning, God walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Then, when He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, He lived among them in the wilderness in the tabernacle. In the Person of Jesus Christ, God lives among us in human form. We read in Matthew 1:23, “the virgin will be pregnant, and she will give birth to a son; and they shall call him Immanuel; which, being interpreted, means, God with us.” Contrast the biblical testimony of Matthew 1:23 with the pagan testimony recorded in Daniel 2:11. When asked to interpret the king’s dream without first being told of the content of that dream, the frustrated Babylonian astrologers replied, “It is an extraordinary thing that the king requests, and no one can fulfill it for the king except the gods, but they do not dwell with men.”

Look to Jesus, and you will meet the Person of God: “No man has seen God...the one and only Son...he has made him known” (Jn. 1:18).

Look to Jesus, and You will See the Life Required by God←⤒🔗

Writing of the incarnate Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle John declares, “In him was life” (vs. 4a). Note that life is not merely spoken of as being created by God; rather, life is spoken of as existing in God and in His Son. Life does not exist apart from God and independent of God; note Acts 17:28, a passage in which the Apostle Paul testifies, “in [God] we live, and move, and have our being.” Life is the exclusive possession of God, it is inseparably related to who God is; it is part of His identity: “And God said to Moses, ‘I AM THAT I AM,’” (Ex. 3:14); meaning, I am who I am and because I am. God is the One who is self-existent, the One who has life in Himself and the One from who life comes. The Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Second Person of the Trinity, declares, “just as the Father has life in himself, so also has he granted the Son to have life in himself” (Jn. 5:26).

God is the only Source and Sustainer of life. What does this mean for us in practical terms? It means that our life is totally dependent upon God; He bestows life and He terminates life as He sees fit: “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me. I put to death, and I bring to life; I have wounded, and I will heal. And there is no one who can deliver out of my hand” (Deut. 32:39). It means that life is sacred: we may not arbitrarily take life by murder, abortion, euthanasia, or suicide.

The Apostle John now goes on to declare, “the Life was the light of men.” In verse 4a John spoke about life in general terms, now he is speaking about one specific life: the life of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God. This Life was “the light of men.” In Scripture “light” is often used in the sense of knowledge, understanding, and illumination: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psl. 119:130). In biblical terms, to give light is to impart understanding, to illuminate; and to be light is to be an example. Because the Son of God is the Source of life, He is, therefore, the true Illuminator and Interpreter of life.

Look at the life of the Lord Jesus Christ and we will discover the meaning of life, and we will see the way life was meant to be lived. First, what we see is that life was meant to be lived in fellowship with God, a fellowship based upon obedience and submission to God. Jesus testifies, “The One who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone; because I always do the things that are pleasing to him” (Jn. 8:29). Life was not meant to be lived for self-gratification. Furthermore, life was meant to be lived for the glory of God. Again, Jesus testifies, “I have glorified you on the earth, by accomplishing the work that you have given me to do” (Jn. 17:4). Life was not meant to be lived for self-glorification.

“The Light shines in the darkness” (vs. 5a). That is to say, the life and witness of the Lord Jesus Christ enlightens us as to the true meaning of life, in distinction to the false interpretation of life presented by the devil:

But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die; ⁵for God knows that in the day you eat [the fruit of the forbidden tree] your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like God, knowing good and evil. ⁶And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired [or, coveted] as a means of making one wise, she took of its fruit, and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it. Gen. 3:4-6

The devil sought to convince Adam and Eve that their life was independent of God (Gen. 3:4): God might threaten them, but He could not touch their lives, He could not carry out His warning that in the day they disobeyed they would surely die, as He had stated in Genesis 2:16-17, “in the day that you eat of [the forbidden tree] you shall surely die.”

The devil then sought to convince Adam and Eve that they could attain the life of God, they could become like God: “God knows that in the day you eat [the fruit of the forbidden tree] your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5): they should strive for self-glorification. Next, the devil sought to convince Adam and Eve that they should live their lives for themselves (Gen. 3:6): they should pursue the course of self-gratification.

Adam and Eve, and the entire human race in Adam and after him, followed the course suggested by the devil and, consequently, suffered the judgment of God and became slaves to sin. The Lord Jesus testifies, “I tell you the truth, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (Jn. 8:34). Thus, by heeding the lies of the devil, all mankind in Adam and descending from Adam, were plunged into spiritual darkness, became estranged from God, and were made liable to the righteous judgment of God.

Not only does “the Light shines in the darkness,” but “the darkness did not overcome it,” or, “extinguish it” (vs. 5b). Here John is declaring the victory of the Light over the darkness: By His life, climaxing in His crucifixion, Jesus conquered the devil by resisting his false interpretation of life, and by remaining faithful to God His Father. Now the risen Lord Jesus invites each of us to personally trust in Him and receive the benefits of His atoning work; namely, the forgiveness of our sins, reconciliation to God, and everlasting life in the kingdom of God: “this is my Father’s will; [namely], that everyone who looks upon the Son, and believes on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day” (Jn. 6:40).

Look to Jesus, and You will Find the Grace Offered by God←⤒🔗

In verse 14c Jesus is described as being “full of grace and truth.” In the Lord Jesus Christ there is found a superabundant supply of divine mercy, compassion, and blessing.

In verse sixteen John testifies, “From his fullness we all received, grace upon grace.” Of whom is John speaking when he writes, “we all received”? As verse twelve indicates, he is referring to all those who receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and who entrust their lives to Him: “to all who did receive him, to those who are believing on his name, to them he gave the right to become children of God.”

What do such people receive from the Lord Jesus Christ? Literally, they receive “grace against [αντι] grace,” or, “grace upon grace.” In other words, a superabundant experience and supply of divine grace that is renewed day by day, but shall only be experienced in its full dimension in the heavenly kingdom of God. By way of illustration, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ bestowed upon those who believe in Him is comparable to the waves of the ocean at high tide as they pour themselves out upon the shore, constantly replacing and replenishing each other as they cover the beach.

In verse seventeen, John testifies, “The law was given through Moses; the grace and the truth came through Jesus Christ.” John is not saying that the Old Testament religion was characterized by a covenant of law, which required the people of God to personally produce a righteousness of their own based on their keeping of the law. When John here speaks about “the law” given by Moses, he is referring to the entire Mosaic Covenant made at Mt. Sinai, which was a covenant of grace and included the means for atoning for the sins of the people. However, the Mosaic Covenant was a provisional covenant, it was not an end in itself, for its fulfillment it looked forward to the coming of the Messiah and His work of redemption. Thus, when John writes, “the grace and the truth came through Jesus Christ,” he is declaring that Jesus is the promised Messiah to whom the Mosaic Covenant pointed for its fulfillment. In other words, in the Lord Jesus Christ there is the fulfillment of all the covenantal promises of God; all who believe in Him receive and come to experience the blessing of those great and precious promises.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

Look to the Lord Jesus Christ and you will find the revelation of God: You will meet the Person of God; you will see the life required by God; and by believing in Him you will experience the grace and the promises offered by God.

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. What do we learn about the Word, (which is Jesus Christ)? What is His relationship to God? See Jn. 1:1-2; note, also, Jn. 17:5. If we want to meet God and know God, where do we need to look? See Jn. 1:18; Jn. 14:8-9a,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. Jn. 1:1-2

And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I shared with you before the world began. Jn. 17:5

No man has seen God at any time; the one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known. Jn. 1:18

Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. ⁹Jesus replied, I have been with you for such a long time, and you still do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me, has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us the Father? Jn. 14:8-9

2. What else do we learn about the Word? See Jn. 1:3-4a. Since God is the Creator of all things, and the Source of life, what does this tell us about our lives? Do you realize that your life is derived from God (cf. Gen. 2:7), is dependent upon God (cf. Acts 17:28a), and you are accountable to God (cf. Heb. 4:13)?

All things were made through him; and without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life; and the Life was the light of men. Jn. 1:3-4

And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Gen. 2:7

...in him we live and move and have our being... Acts 17:28

And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we must give an account. Acts 4:13

5. What next does the Apostle John tell us about the Word? See Jn. 1:4b. What does this mean? Cp. Psl. 119:130. Where do you look to find meaning to life? Do you look to the Person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as He reveals Himself in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments?

In him was life; and the Life was the light of men. Jn. 1:4

The unfolding of your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. Psl. 119:130

In Scripture “light” is often used in the sense of knowledge, understanding, and illumination (Psl. 119:130). In biblical terms, to give light is to impart understanding, to illuminate; and to be light is to be an example. Because the Son of God is the Source of life, He is, therefore, the true Illuminator and Interpreter of life.

4. When you look to Christ, what does His life reveal to us about the meaning and purpose of life? How is life meant to be lived? See Jn. 8:29 and Jn. 7:4. Is your life God-centered: Are you living in obedience to God and for the glory of God? Or is your life self-centered? What is required if we are to be received into God’s kingdom? See Psl. 24:3-4a. Can any of us honestly say meet those qualifications? Can any of us say that our life matches Christ’s life? What do we need? See Tit. 3:5-6. Have you acknowledged your sinfulness before God and placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and new spiritual life?

The One who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone; because I always do the things that are pleasing to him. Jn. 8:29

I have glorified you on the earth, by accomplishing the work that you have given me to do. Jn. 17:4

Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? ⁴He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. Psl. 24:3-4

...according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he abundantly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Tit. 3:5­-6

5. What are we told about the Word in John 1:14? On what occasion in particular did the apostles witness Christ Jesus’ divine glory? Note 2 Pet. 1:16-18. Why did Godsend His Son into the world? See Jn. 3:16-18a. How must we respond to God’s gracious gift of His Son, Jesus Christ? See Jn. 1:12,

The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, his glory as the one and only [Son who came] from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jn. 1:14

We were not following cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and [glorious] appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ; on the contrary, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷He received honor and glory from God the Father when such a word as this was spoken to him by the Majestic Glory: 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.' ¹⁸And we heard this word coming out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 2 Pet. 1:16-18

The Apostle Peter is referring to Christ’s transfiguration, which he and James and John personally witnessed.

...for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world; but [rather], that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned; whoever does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.Jn. 3:16-18

...to all who did receive him, to those who are believing on his name, to them he gave the right to become children of God... Jn. 1:12