The Word Became Flesh, And We Have Seen His Glory

A study of John 1:14

“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 ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Word: “logos”, “λόγος”; masculine noun — In several passages in the writings of John “ὁ λόγος” denotes the essential Word of God, i. e. the personal (hypostatic) wisdom and power in union with God, his minister in the creation and government of the universe, the cause of all the world’s life both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of man’s salvation put on human nature in the person of Jesus the Messiah and shone forth conspicuously from his words and deeds.

-Flesh: “sarx”, “σάρξ”; feminine noun — entered into participation with human nature.

-Dwelt: “skēnoō”, “σκηνόω”; verb — “to fix one’s tabernacle, have one’s tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent); universally equivalent to “dwell”, i.e. in John 1:14 to “dwell” or “tabernacle” among us. “To dwell in a tent,” “To tabernacle.”

-We Have Seen: “the Somali”, “θεάομαι”; verb — to behold, look upon, view attentively, contemplate; of august things and persons that are looked upon with admiration.

-Glory: “doxa”, “δόξα”; feminine noun — the absolutely perfect inward or personal excellence of Christ: 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 4:4; in which he excels by virtue of his nature.

-Of The Only Son: “monogenēs”, “μονογενής”; adjective — used of Christ, denotes the only begotten son of God.

-The Father: “patēr”, “πατήρ”; masculine noun — God is called the Father; the Father of Jesus Christ, as one whom God has united to himself in the closest bond of love and intimacy, made acquainted with his purposes, appointed to explain and carry out among men the plan of salvation, and made to share also in his own divine nature.

-Full: “plērēs”, “πλήρης”; adjective — of the soul, thoroughly permeated with.

-Grace: “charis”, “χάρις”; feminine noun — the grace of Christ,’ in that through pity for sinful men Christ left his state of blessedness with God in heaven, and voluntarily underwent the hardships and miseries of human life, and by his sufferings and death procured salvation for mankind.

-Truth: “alētheia”, “ἀλήθεια”; feminine noun — the truth, as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man; the truth which is the gospel or which the gospel presents.

Observation/Summary(short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

The Word, who is Jesus Christ, the uncreated One who created all things, added the fullness of humanity to His nature while retaining the fullness of His deity and lived among us on this earth. John tells us “we,” meaning he and the many other eyewitnesses, saw Jesus and His glory. The glory they witnessed in the Word who became flesh was the glory of the only Son of God sent by God the Father. And He in His glory was and is full of grace and truth.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

In the 13 verses leading to this one, John has presented the idea of the “Word” or “Logos” which ancient Jewish Rabbis and Greek philosophers had discussed and pontificated about for centuries, as the uncreated, preexistent God who created and gave life to all things. He told us about how the Word, Jesus, came into the world, the world did not know Him, and His own people did not receive Him, which was shocking and sad. But then He told us that actually there were some who did receive and believe in Him, and those who did were given the right and ability to become children of God. These statements on their own would have been shocking enough, but John goes even further here in verse 14 when he says the “Word became flesh.”

In saying the Word became flesh John is saying God Himself became human. This is a critical component of the gospel and it is a point still denied by many non-Christian faiths today for different reasons. For the Greeks this concept challenged their low view of God. They viewed their gods, such as Zeus and others, as kind of super-men, who were separate from and not equal with the impersonal, all creating “Word” or “Logos.” In writing this John is telling the Greek reader that the all creating Word they have sought knowledge of for so long did come near to us and“become flesh”.

The Jews had a much higher view of God and they believed God was too great and holy to ever condescend to take the form of a human. To them John is saying, Yahweh, the same God of the Old Testament, “became flesh”. He is not far, He has come near in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. God is not far from any of us. He is able to identify with us in every way because He is also a man. He has experienced the same pain and suffering we do, and even more in bearing the punishment for the sins of the whole world on the cross. We do not have to climb up a lofty mountain peak or embark on some grand spiritual quest to reach God. No matter how high you climb, you still cannot touch the sky. We could never reach God because of our sin, but He, in His love and grace, has come to us.

Next, we read the Word who became flesh “dwelt among us.” The word for “dwelt” is “skēnoō” in ancient Greek, and it is only used a few times in the New Testament in John 1:14, and in passages such as Revelation 7:15, 12:12, 13:6 and 21:3. That might even be all the places it is used, but I am not 100% certain of that fact. It literally means “tabernacle” or “to dwell in a tent.” The “tabernacle” in the Old Testament is where the presence of God dwelt among the people of Israel. This is when God “dwelled as in a tent” with His people, Israel. Given the context, and understanding of this word by John’s contemporaries, it is clear He is linking the Old Testament presence of God among the people in the tent of the tabernacle to Jesus coming to dwell among us on earth in the “tent” or “tabernacle” of human flesh. John is essentially saying in Jesus Christ, the Word became flesh and “tabernacled” among us. Like the tabernacle in the OT, which was basically an elaborate tent, God has chosen to descend in the fullness of His deity, in a form which we can interact with without being consumed and destroyed by His holy perfection.

This connection of Jesus coming to earth as fully God and fully man to the tabernacle in the OT where the “Shechinah” or visible presence of God dwelt is intentional and carries rich meaning. The tabernacle in the OT was at the center of Israel’s camp. It was where the Law given by God to Moses was kept. It was where God dwelled among the people, gave divine revelation, and accepted sacrifices and worship. With all this in mind John is saying the glory of God has come again to dwell with man in the earthly tent of human flesh.

As a side note, many of the references to the word for “dwell” used by John in Revelation point to the future where God will dwell among His people forever. But importantly for us now, we learn God has come again to dwell with mankind in Jesus Christ, and if we want to draw near to Him in worship and adoration we must pitch our tents around Him. We must make Him the center of our camp or “life” on this earth. We must live as if He were near to us, because He is. God is not far off, He has drawn near to dwell with us.

“So in Christ, who by His Incarnation lays His hand upon both, God touches man and man touches God. We who are afar off are made nigh, and in that ‘true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man’ we meet God and are glad.” -Maclaren

John next writes, “we have seen His glory…”. John identifies Himself, and the many others who witnessed the life of Jesus as eyewitnesses to all he has just testified to. The word or phrase translated here as “we have seen”, is “theaomai” in the ancient Greek John wrote in, and it means to do more than simply observe with the eyes. It means to look upon and carefully study or contemplate. John and his fellows were not passing acquaintances of Jesus or casual hearers of His teaching. They spent a lot of time with Him, and they carefully examined and considered everything they literally and physically saw and heard from Him.

Lastly, this glory they witnessed was “glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The glory John references here is specifically the glory of the Son, Jesus Christ. As we ponder the glory John witnessed, we might think of the many miracles John saw, or the transfiguration of Jesus which John witnessed with Peter and James in Matthew 17:2. Certainly all this is included in what John is saying but the emphasis here is that in His glory, Jesus is full of “grace and truth.” John is not presenting the glory of Christ as a spectacular, exciting experience, but rather, as being fully gracious and truthful. This means Jesus, God, is completely, perfectly full of grace and truth. He is grace and truth. In all that He does, God is perfectly gracious and truthful, not lacking in either in any way. He is glorious, and as we follow Him in our day, we should, by the power of His Spirit, endeavor to think, speak and act with both truth and grace in full measure. Truth without grace is mean, but grace without truth is meaningless.

In the first tabernacle in the Old Testament, God revealed His glory, and brought His law to the people. Now, in the tabernacle of human flesh, God brought His glory full of grace and truth, showing the tabernacle of Moses’ day to be a mere shadow of what was to come. And as we look forward to the eternal dwelling or “tabernacle” of God with man in Revelation 21:3, we see the dwelling of God with man on earth in Jesus Christ is a foretaste of greater things to come.

Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

We must think of Jesus as fully God and fully man. He came to earth in the tabernacle of human flesh to “tabernacle” among us. In so doing, He revealed His glory to us and He is full of grace and truth. While the first tabernacle brought the Law, Truth; Jesus brought grace “and” truth. He fulfilled the righteous requirement of the Law on our behalf because of His grace and love. We who have placed our faith in Him should now live in reliance on His grace and truth, never compromising on either.

This passage should cause us to think of Jesus as fully God and man, who is glorious and full of grace and truth. And it should cause us to prayerfully act or live in reliance on and out of the overflow of His grace and truth in us.

Self Reflection:

Do I realize how amazing it is that God became fully human to live among His fallen creation in order to redeem us to Himself?

Does this realization help me to understand more how God can understand and sympathize with what I am going through in my human flesh?

If Jesus is full of grace and truth, and His Spirit is within me as a Christian, how does the grace and truth of Jesus affect my daily life?