John 1:14-18 - The Word Became Flesh - The Mysteries of God's Word

“The Word became flesh” is either the boldest claim in the Gospel of John or the most comforting one. We open John 1:14-18 and take our time with the paradoxes John stacks on purpose: the eternal God stepping into a temporal life, the Creator entering creation, the invisible becoming visible, and the all-powerful choosing real human frailty while remaining fully God.

From there, we dig into John’s phrase “dwelt among us,” the tabernacle image that stretches back to Eden, the wilderness, and the Holy of Holies. That background turns a familiar Christmas line into something richer: God doesn’t merely send help, he comes near. We also explore what it means to “behold his glory,” not only as a mountaintop moment like the transfiguration, but as a revelation of God’s character “full of grace and truth” all the way to the crucifixion.

We then follow the flow of the text: John the Baptist’s witness that Jesus outranks him because Jesus existed before him, the promise of “grace upon grace” from Christ’s fullness, and the contrast between the law given through Moses and grace and truth coming through Jesus Christ. Finally, we land on the claim that no one has seen God, yet the Son at the Father’s side makes him known, tying in key cross-references like Exodus 34, Romans 3, John 4, 1 Timothy 1, and Colossians 1. If you want a clear, Scripture-rooted view of the incarnation, the Trinity, and why Jesus is the full revelation of God, press play, then subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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SPEAKER_00 0:14

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is another beautiful spring day here in Wisconsin, USA. I've just brewed my pot

Welcome And Reading John 1:14

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of coffee for the day and I'm excited to share the gospel of John with you. Today we continue in verse fourteen, which reads 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. I'm going to stop right there because verse fourteen is packed. The Word became flesh. John is emphasizing how the eternal God took upon

The Mystery Of The Incarnation

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a temporal existence. The creator became part of his creation. He who is infinite took upon a finite existence. He who was invisible became visible. He who is all powerful humbled himself to a point of frailty, one hundred percent God, one hundred percent man. While still being fully God in his spirit, he intentionally limited himself to the flesh of a man. These paradoxes are so profound, yet so simple. God came to teach us and to save us, to reach us at our level, and to pay a penalty that we owed, but in only a way that he could. And he dwelt among us. That word dwelt means to pitch a tent, or to tabernacle. This is such a rich picture. It actually goes all the way back to the Garden of

Tabernacling And Seeing His Glory

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Eden where God dwelt with man. But it's even more significant than that because it talks about tabernacling as God tabernacled in the wilderness with Israel, and then later in the temple, or hovering over the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. And now the Son of God is tabernacling in the flesh of man. And John says, We beheld his glory. This too is an amazing statement. The context seems to signify beholding the glory of God's character, being full of grace and truth. Yet the glory of Jesus was shown to John when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain. And John himself heard the words of the Father say, This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased. The Apostle John was also the only disciple to be at the cross, which is where Jesus describes the Father glorifying him. In John 12, 23, Jesus said, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified, speaking of his crucifixion. Perhaps what John is describing here is all of these aspects, when he says that we have seen the glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. The Messiah was the full expression of grace and truth, so full. He came to find that which was lost. He met mankind at our level, and he spoke truth into humanity at every level. His life, his ministry, his death and resurrection are all testimonies of his grace and his truth. And it's so much deeper than that, but it testifies to his character and our need for eternal life. Verse fifteen. John bore witness about him and cried out This was he of whom I said he who comes after me ranks before me, because

John The Baptist Points To Jesus

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he was before me. This is actually an incredible statement that the apostle John is documenting of John the Baptist. If you are familiar with the story of Jesus' birth, you would know that John the Baptist's mother, Elizabeth, was in her sixth month of pregnancy when Mary became pregnant with Jesus. That's in Luke 1, 25 through 27. When John the Baptist makes the statement that he was before me, he is declaring that Jesus existed as God even before he was conceived. Furthermore, John the Baptist said he ranks before me. In relation to Jesus the Messiah, John the Baptist considered himself lower than even a servant, totally unworthy to touch the sandals of the Messiah. sixteen for from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. Jesus Christ is the fullness of God, and when he dwelt upon the earth, the

Grace Upon Grace From Fullness

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fullness of God flowed from him. The phrase grace upon grace means maximized grace or one gracious gift right after the other. John is describing how Jesus never lacked in anything. He had completeness beyond what you could imagine. Superabundance flowed from Christ. All people benefit from Jesus Christ, even those who don't believe, but more so those who do. Christ has given us everything we need, and He has all that we will ever need. Believers need not look anywhere else other than Christ, because He is the source of all spiritual power. He does not lack in anything when he gives, and he can never be diminished. Verse seventeen, for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Much like the Apostle Paul will do later in the book of Romans, the Apostle John

Law Through Moses Grace Through Christ

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is doing here. He is juxtaposing the power of the gospel and the purpose of the law. He says the law came through Moses. The Apostle Paul does an amazing job in the book of Romans to teach us that the purpose of the law is to show us our sinfulness. Romans three twenty says, By the works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes the knowledge of sin. It is not possible to be righteous through the law. Rather, the law of God, which is good, was given to us to show us God's holiness and how we fall short. The ultimate purpose for the law is to show man our sinful condition and our need to repent and turn to Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. It is the mercy and kindness of God that leads to forgiveness. It is the grace of God that offers this freely. God has always been faithful to both give His grace in the context of truth. And He did this both in the old and the New Covenants. Let me just give you one example from the Old Covenant. The Lord passed before Moses. Here's a verse from Exodus thirty four six which reads The Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Our God has never changed. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. However, now in the new covenant and through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God's grace and truth will be manifested in the life of the Messiah, and mankind will get a very clear picture of what grace and truth looks like through the sinless Savior that will give his life for those he loves. No one has ever seen God, God the only Son, who is at the Father's side, He has made him known. In God's true form, God

Jesus Makes The Invisible God Known

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is spirit, and he lives in unapproachable light. John four twenty four reads God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. Timothy sixteen reads, Who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see to him be honor and eternal dominion. God is invisible to us, and it's by faith that we believe in him. Only God the Son has seen God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. The apostle emphasizes that the Son of God, Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, who is one with the Father and at His side, is the only one who's seen him and who can make Him known. Jesus Himself told us this in John six forty six, when Jesus said, Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God, he has seen the Father. The Son of God is the expression, the exact expression and revelation of the Father. Colossians one hundred fifteen tells us this, and it says He, speaking of Jesus, is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Thank you for joining me this week, and God bless you.