Full of Grace & Truth
John 1:14
Main Idea: Christmas is the good news that God has come to us full of grace and truth.
I. God Has Come
Christianity tells us that the ‘Word’ (‘logos’; see John 1:1) has come as a person. Christmas tells us that God is not content being studied as a concept or being theorized about from a distance; He has gone to great lengths so that we might know him personally,
The “word became flesh” tells us the glorious, mysterious reality of the incarnation; Jesus, “the only Son from the Father” is both fully man and fully God.
“The birth of Christ was the incarnation of God: it was God taking upon himself humanity— a mystery, a wondrous mystery, to be believed in rather than to be defined… Infinite, and an infant — eternal, and yet born of a woman — Almighty, supporting the universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms — King of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph — Heir of all things and yet the carpenter’s despised son.”
~ Charles Spurgeon, “His Name – Wonderful!”
“Dwelt among us” lit. means “pitched his tent” or “tabernacled” among us. The tabernacle helps us understand some key things about Christ:
God’s Presence: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14, The Message)
God’s Glory: An encounter with God’s glory is dangerous in the Bible, but in Christ we have “seen his glory.”
God’s Forgiveness: The tabernacle was the place where atoning sacrifices for sin were made. “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
II. Full of Grace & Truth
Jesus comes full of both grace and truth; he does not “balance” these two attributes out, but embodies both of them fully, at all times, essentially and inseparably.
God’s glory, grace, and truth come together in a cosmic way at the crucifixion of Christ. Jesus is “glorified” on the cross (cf. John 13:31-32), where we are simultaneously told the truth about our sin and offered “grace upon grace” (John 1:16) We must look to the cross to appreciate the meaning of Christmas.
“The crucial significance of the cradle at Bethlehem lies in its place in the sequence of steps that led the Son of God to the cross of Calvary… the Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity – hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory – because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard or will hear.”
~ J.I. Packer, Knowing God
