{"id":2013,"date":"2015-01-15T23:58:56","date_gmt":"2015-01-15T23:58:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/?p=2013"},"modified":"2023-08-29T11:19:05","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T17:19:05","slug":"viewpoint-grace-and-truth-quest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/viewpoint-grace-and-truth-quest\/","title":{"rendered":"Viewpoint: Grace and Truth Quest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>What does John mean when he says the only begotten Son of the Father is \u201cfull of grace and truth\u201d (1:14)?<\/strong><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>To fully appreciate John\u2019s words, go back to Exodus 33-34. There Moses asked God to reveal His glory (33:18). God honored Moses\u2019 request, passing before him and declaring His attributes, including that He is \u201cabounding in lovingkindess and truth\u201d (34:6, NASB throughout). This is synonymous with John\u2019s description of Jesus being \u201cfull of grace and truth.\u201d It is the centerpiece of John\u2019s claim that when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, the glory of the Father\u2019s only begotten was seen (John 1:14, cf. Exodus 25:8; 40:34) and the unseen God was revealed (John 1:18). It is John\u2019s way of saying what Jesus later told Philip: \u201cHe who has seen Me has seen the Father\u201d (14:9). When John says God\u2019s only begotten Son was \u201cfull of grace and truth,\u201d I believe he restates what he said in the opening line of his Gospel \u2014 that this incarnate Word is God himself.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>What does it mean to receive \u201cof His fullness\u201d (John 1:16)? What does \u201cgrace for grace\u201d in that verse mean? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Again, we are called back to Exodus 33-34, where Moses saw God\u2019s glory, but in <em>limited<\/em> fashion. Moses was hidden in a cave; God didn\u2019t reveal His <em>face<\/em> but covered the cave\u2019s opening with His <em>hand<\/em>, allowing His <em>backside<\/em> to be seen (33:21-23). This language indicates the <em>limited<\/em> nature of God\u2019s revelation to Moses. Conversely, Jesus represents the <em>full<\/em> revelation of God\u2019s glory on earth. \u201cFull of grace and truth,\u201d Jesus is the embodiment of all that God is. As Paul says, \u201cIn Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form\u201d (Colossians 2:9). Unlike the prior messengers and means of God\u2019s <em>partial<\/em> revelation, Jesus is the \u201cradiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature\u201d (Hebrews 1:1-3).<\/p>\n<p>Those who recognize Jesus as the fullness of God in human flesh receive \u201cgrace upon grace\u201d (John 1:16). That is, they receive grace without end from an unlimited supply. New Testament scholar F. F. Bruce compares this to an ocean: \u201cThis plenitude of divine glory and goodness which resides in Christ (cf. Col. 1:19; 2:9) is an ocean from which all his people may draw without ever diminishing its content . . . What the followers of Christ draw from the ocean of divine fulness is grace upon grace \u2014 one wave of grace being constantly replaced by a fresh one. There is no limit to the supply of grace which God has placed at his people\u2019s disposal in Christ\u201d (<em>The Gospel of John<\/em>, p. 43).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>In what way did \u201cgrace and truth come through Jesus Christ\u201d (John 1:17)? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The God who is \u201cabounding in lovingkindness and truth\u201d (Exodus 34:6) only partially revealed Himself in the covenant given through Moses (i.e., the law). This covenant was temporary (as emphasized in Hebrews 8, 9, and 10) and ultimately functioned to lead God\u2019s people to Messiah (Galatians 3:24). When this Messiah arrived, He embodied the full revelation of God\u2019s glory, the full complement of grace and truth. What was only shadowy and dim in the law was now full and radiant in Jesus the Messiah!<\/p>\n<p>By contrasting what came through Moses (the law) with what came through Jesus Christ (grace and truth), John is contrasting the old covenant with the new, the former prophet with the final Prophet. This contrast continues throughout John\u2019s Gospel as Jesus reveals Himself to be the fulfillment of all that God did in the old covenant. John 1:17 cautions us against associating the \u201ctruth\u201d revealed in Jesus with the \u201claw\u201d given through Moses. \u201cTruth\u201d in John\u2019s Gospel never refers to the content of the law, but rather to the Person (e.g., 14:6) and doctrine (e.g., 5:33; 8:40-46; 18:37) of Jesus,* who fully reveals the \u201cgrace and truth\u201d of God. This goes far beyond what was revealed through Moses to a new and better covenant in Christ.<span class=\"ba_end_icon\">BA<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>* On rare occasions in John, <em>truth<\/em> refers generically to factual information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What does John mean when he says the only begotten Son of the Father is \u201cfull of grace and truth\u201d (1:14)?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":240,"featured_media":2014,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Viewpoint: Grace and Truth Quest - 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