The Gospel Of John

August 18, 2013 First Baptist ChurchJackson, Mississippi

USA

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AUGUST MEMORY VERSE:Romans 10:9-10 HCSB9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

Romans 10:9-10 HCSB

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Brandon Opry and Dinner for Baby Boomers Saturday, September 21

Cost: $15.00 per person (includes dinner and Opry ticket)

Young Adult LuncheonSunday, September 22

Tickets: $6.00 adults $5.00 students family maximum $20.00

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Philippians 2:5-8

The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Copyright © Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2007.

Philippians 2:5-8 NASB5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:5-8 NASB

The Son of God emptied Himself of five divine rights.

First, He temporarily divested Himself of His divine glory.

Second, Jesus emptied Himself of independent divine authority. The operation of the Trinity is, of course, a great mystery.

Third, Jesus emptied Himself of the voluntary exercise of some of His divine attributes, though not the essence of His deity.

Fourth, Jesus emptied Himself of His eternal riches. "For your sake He became poor," Paul explains, "so that you through His poverty

might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). Although many commentators have interpreted His "poverty" as a reference to

His earthly economic condition, it has nothing to do with that. The point is not that Christ gave up earth's riches, but that He gave up heaven's

riches.

Fifth, He emptied Himself temporarily of His unique, intimate, and face-to-face relationship with His heavenly Father — even to the point of being forsaken by Him.

Christians obviously cannot empty themselves to the degree that the Lord emptied Himself, because He started so high and Christians start so low.

Believers are obligated to follow their Lord's example by emptying themselves of everything that would hinder their obedience and service to Him.

Just as Jesus' self-giving obedience made Him pleasing to the Father (Matt 3:17), so does believers' self-giving obedience make them pleasing to Him (25:21, 23).

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JOHN 1:14-18

A prologue is: 1) an opening to a story 2) that establishes the setting and 3) gives background details.

Our English word – prolouge comes from the Greek word prologos which is made up of: pro (before) and lógos (word).

The prologue (verses 1-18) to John's gospel is a synopsis or overview of the entire book.

The reality that Jesus is God, introduced in the prologue, is expounded throughout the book by John's careful selection of signs (miracles) and claims that seal the case.

Verses 1-3 of the prologue teach that Jesus is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father;

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verses 4-5 relate the salvation He brought.

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From the first five verses of John's gospel prologue flow evidences of the deity of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ:

1) His preexistence, and 2) His creative power.

The salvation Jesus brought was announced by His herald, John the Baptist in verses 6-8.

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Then verses 9-13 describe the reaction of the human race to Him, either rejection (vv. 10-11) or acceptance (vv. 12-13).

Finally verses 14-18 (today’s text) of chapter 1 summarize the entire prologue.

John 1:14-18 KJV14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

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www.bearcreekchurch.org www.quenchnot.files.wordpress.com 15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John 1:14-18 KJV

THE NATURE OF THE INCARNATIONJohn 1:14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

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Verse 14 is the most concise Biblical statement of the Incarnation, and therefore one of Scripture's most significant verses.

The four words with which it begins, the Word became flesh, express the reality that in the Incarnation, God took on humanity; eternity entered into time; the infinite became finite; the invisible became visible (Colossians 1:15); the Creator entered His creation.

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God revealed Himself to man in:1) the creation (Rom 1:18-21), 2) the Old Testament Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21), www.3bp.blogspot.com 3) supremely and most clearly, in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3).

1) God revealed Himself to man in the creation (Romans 1:18-21):

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Romans 1:18-21 KJV18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 1:18-21 KJV

2) God revealed Himself to man in the Old Testament Scriptures: 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Acts 10:43:

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2 Timothy 3:15-17 KJV 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All scripture (OT & NT) is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 KJV

2 Peter 1:20-21 KJV20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

2 Peter 1:20-21 KJV

Acts 10:43 NIV43 All the prophets (OT) testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.

Acts 10:43 NIV

3) God revealed Himself to man supremely and most clearly, in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3):

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Hebrews 1:1-3 KJV1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets (OT),

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

Hebrews 1:1-3 KJV

The eternal Son not only became man; He also dwelt among men for thirty-three years.

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Dwelt translates a form of the verb skenoo, which literally means “to live in a tent.”

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He took on all the essential attributes of humanity and was “made in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:7).

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Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV14 Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power over death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV

As the writer of Hebrews goes on to explain,

Hebrews 2:1717 He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 2:17

Jesus pitched His tent among us.

The Son of God became the Son of Man in order that the sons of men might become the sons of God!

God gave One Son and got billions in return!

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In the Old Testament, God tented with Israel through His glorious presence in the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35).

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Exodus 40:33-38 KJV33 And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.

34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

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35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:

37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.

38 For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Exodus 40:33-38 KJV

In the Old Testament, God also dwelt with Israel through His glorious presence later in the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11).

1 Kings 8:10-11 KJV10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,

11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

1 Kings 8:10-11 KJV

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1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (and wants to fill you?)

1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV

In his classic book, Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis states that God wants to occupy every room of His temple.

You are the temple of God’s Holy Spirit and He deserves total access to every cubic inch of your life.

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Don’t attempt to deny Him access to certain areas of your life - His temple.

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Don’t listen to Satan’s lies that it is OK to keep this one little area of your life, this one dark closet, that God is not allowed to enter.

If salvation represents entry (the foyer) into the building, God wants to enter your life and not stop there in the foyer.

Nominal, carnal Christians want to limit their experience with God to their salvation (the entry way, the spiritual foyer).

But God wants to sit down and dine with us in the dining room (Revelation 3:20) and relax with us in the den and fellowship with us in the Son room!

When we were saved (past tense - justification) God began a restoration project (present tense -sanctification) and He won’t quit until the job is complete (glorification).

Philippians 1:6 KJV6 Being confident of this very thing, that He Who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (glorification):

Philippians 1:6 KJV

His restoration involves a total makeover, not just cosmetic changes.

When He tears out walls and guts the place, it is uncomfortable!

In the Old Testament, God also revealed Himself in some pre-incarnate appearances of Christ: Genesis 16:7-14; Exodus 3:2; Joshua 5:13-15;

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Exodus 3:2 KJV2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Exodus 3:2 KJV

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And in Judges 2:1-4; 6:11-24; 13:3; Daniel 3:23-25; 10:2-6; and Zech 1:11-21.

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Daniel 3:23-25 KJV23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

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25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Daniel 3:23-25 KJV

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Throughout eternity, God will again tent with His redeemed and glorified people:

Revelation 21:3-43 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell [skenoo] among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:3-4

Though Jesus manifested God's divine glory during His earthly life with a clarity never before seen, it was still veiled by His human flesh.

Peter, James, and John saw a physical manifestation of Jesus' heavenly glory at the transfiguration, when “his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.”(Matt 17:2 & 2 Peter 1:16-18).

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That was a preview of the unveiled glory to be seen at His return (Matthew 24:29-30; 25:31; Revelation 19:11-16) and the fullness of His heavenly glory as the only Light of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:23).

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Revelation 21:16 NASB16 The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal.

Revelation 21:16 NASB

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Revelation 21:1-3 NASB1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

Revelation 21:1-3 NASB

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Revelation 21:23 KJV23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

Revelation 21:23 KJV

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In analyzing this crucial verse of the Prologue it becomes quickly apparent that this verse is like a great jewel with many facets that spreads it rays of implication into the various dimensions of Christology—the theology of Christ.

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It is through Jesus Christ, the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), that God is revealed.

God, Who cannot be known unless He reveals Himself, became most fully known because Jesus explained Him.

Jesus is the explanation of God.

He is the answer to the question, “What is God like?”

Jesus declared that truth to His disciples:

John 14:7-97 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him..”

8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

John 14:7-9

Explained translates a form of the verb exegeomai, from which the English word “exegesis” (the method or practice of interpreting Scripture) derives.

Jesus is the only One qualified to exegete or interpret God to man, since “no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27).

The prologue presents an introductory synopsis of John's entire gospel.

It introduces themes that will be expanded throughout the rest of the book.

None are more important than this: Jesus, Who existed in intimate fellowship with the Father from all eternity (v. 1), became flesh (v. 14), brought the full expression of grace and truth to mankind (v. 17), and revealed God to man (v. 18).

How He did so will be seen in the remainder of John's gospel.

John clearly defined the purpose in writing his gospel in John 20:31—that his readers “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing they may have life in His name.”

The Believer’s Prayer Life

by

Andrew Murray

Our culture is grieving God’s Spirit.

Our sin of prayerlessness is one of the deepest roots of evil.

Prayer is the pulse of the spiritual life.

The sin of prayerlessness should concern us.

It is much more than a weakness, it is a sin.

God invites us to come to Him, He wants to dwell in us!

How dare we refuse the invitation to that banquet, to refuse to fellowship with Him!

To reject Him!

He gave His Son for us, we should never snub Him, grieve Him nor quench His Spirit. He wants us on fire for Him and we should be the last to quench that fire. We have time for everything that interests us.

Prayerlessness is a sign that we are still under the power of the flesh.

Prayer is the pulse of life; by it the doctor can diagnose the condition of the heart – that our spiritual lives are sick and weak.

Prayerlessness is a root of evil and prevents us from going on with God.

The cause of our prayerlessness is unbelief.

Matthew 17:19-21 KJV19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.Matthew 17:19-21 KJV

If life is not one of self-denial, of fasting (letting the world go out) and of prayer (letting Heaven come in), then faith cannot be exercised.

When we live according to the flesh – we won’t pray.

STEP TWOPhilippians 2:7 but emptied Himself, (2:7 a)(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Copyright © Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2007.)

In the next step downward, Jesus continued to not cling to His divine prerogatives. Instead, He emptied Himself. The Greek conjunction alla (but) means "not this but that," indicating a clear contrast of ideas. Although He was absolutely "full" of deity, as it were, He emptied Himself of all of its prerogatives. Emptied is from kenoo, which means to empty completely. It is translated "nullified" in Rom 4:14 and "made void" in 1 Cor 1:17. Jesus Christ emptied Himself completely of every vestige of advantage and privilege, refusing to assert any divine right on His own behalf. He who created and owned everything forsook everything.(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Copyright © Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2007.)

It must always be kept in mind that Jesus emptied Himself only of certain aspects of His prerogatives of deity, not of His deity itself. He was never anything, and never will be anything, but fully and eternally God, as Paul was careful to state in the previous verse. All four gospels make it clear that He did not forsake His divine power to perform miracles, to forgive sins, or to know the minds and hearts of people. Had He stopped being God (an impossibility), He could not have died for the sins of the world. He would have perished on the cross and remained in the grave, with no power to conquer sin or death. As R. C. H. Lenski comments, "Even in the midst of his death, he had to be the mighty God in order by his death to conquer death" (The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, and to the Philippians [Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1961], 782). Another scholar, Bishop Handley C. G. Moule, writes,(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Copyright © Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2007.)

Whatever is meant by the "made Himself void" [emptied Himself], eauton ekenosen, which describes His Incarnation here, one thing it could never possibly mean — a "kenosis" which could hurt or distort His absolute fitness to guide and bless us whom He came to save. That [emptying] placed Him indeed on the creaturely level in regard of the reality of human experience of growth, and human capacity for suffering. But never for one moment did it, could it, make Him other than the absolute and infallible Master and Guide of His redeemed. (Philippian Studies [London: Pickering & Inglis, n.d.], 99)

(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Copyright © Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2007.)

The Son of God emptied Himself of five divine rights.

First, He temporarily divested Himself of His divine glory.

Shortly before His arrest, Jesus lifted "up His eyes to heaven" and implored: "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You. . . . Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was" (John 17:1,5; cf. v. 24).

The Son of God forsook the worship of the saints and angels in heaven and submitted to misunderstanding, denials, unbelief, false accusations, and every sort of reviling and persecution by sinful men. He gave up all the shining brilliance of heaven to suffer an agonizing and ignominious death on the cross.

It was not that He forfeited His divine glory but rather that it was veiled, hidden in His humanity (John 7:5, 24; 2 Cor 4:4-6) from men's view.

Glimpses of it were seen in His many miracles, in His gracious words, in the humble attitude that Paul here calls His followers to emulate, and certainly in His ultimate sacrifice for sin on the cross.

It was briefly and partially manifested to Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:31-32; cf. 2 Peter 1:16-18).

But it was not witnessed again until His resurrection and ascension, and then only by those who belonged to Him.

Second, Jesus emptied Himself of independent divine authority.

The operation of the Trinity is, of course, a great mystery.

Within the Godhead there is perfect harmony and agreement in every possible way and to every possible degree.

Jesus unambiguously stated His full equality with the Father when He declared, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30; cf. 17:11, 21).

Yet He just as clearly declared during His incarnation that "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me" (John 5:30), and "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me" (John 6:38). While teaching in the temple, Jesus said, "You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, Whom you do not know. I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me" (John 7:28-29).

In the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal and arrest, He pleaded three times: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me"; yet He followed each request with the submissive, "yet not as I will, but as You will" (Matt 26:39-44).

The writer of Hebrews notes that, "although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered" (Heb 5:8).

Third, Jesus emptied Himself of the voluntary exercise of some of His divine attributes, though not the essence of His deity.

He did not stop being omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, or immutable; He chose not to exercise the full limit of those attributes during His earthly life and ministry.

He did, however, exercise some of them selectively and partially.

Without having met him, Jesus knew omnisciently that Nathanael was "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit, . . . because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man" (John 1:47; 2:25).

Through His omnipresence, He knew where Nathanael was even before He saw him (1:48).

Yet He confessed that, as to the exact time of His return, "of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Matt 24:36).

Fourth, Jesus emptied Himself of His eternal riches.

"For your sake He became poor," Paul explains, "so that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Cor 8:9).

Although many commentators have interpreted His "poverty" as a reference to His earthly economic condition, it has nothing to do with that.

The point is not that Christ gave up earth's riches, but that He gave up heaven's riches.

As already noted, He forsook the adoration, worship, and service of angels and the redeemed in heaven, because "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matt 20:28).

Fifth, He emptied Himself temporarily of His unique, intimate, and face-to-face relationship with His heavenly Father — even to the point of being forsaken by Him.

To fulfill the divine plan of redemption, the Father "made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor 5:21).

That was the Father's will, which Jesus came to fulfill and prayed would be done.

Yet even the brief separation from His Father caused by His sinbearing caused Him to cry "out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?'" (Matt 27:46).

It was the unbelievably horrible prospect of being alienated from His Father and bearing sin that had caused Him earlier to sweat drops of blood in great agony, being "deeply grieved, to the point of death" (Luke 22:44; Matt 26:38).

Christians obviously cannot empty themselves to the degree that the Lord emptied Himself, because He started so high and Christians start so low.

Believers have infinitely less to empty themselves of.

Even what they have is given to them by His grace.

Believers are obligated to follow their Lord's example by emptying themselves of everything that would hinder their obedience and service to Him.

Just as Jesus did not cease to be God when He emptied Himself, neither do Christians cease to be His children when they empty themselves as He did (cf. Eph 5:1-2).

Just as Jesus' self-giving obedience made Him pleasing to the Father (Matt 3:17), so does believers' self-giving obedience make them pleasing to Him(25:21, 23).

The humble believer is aware of his rights and privileges as a child of God but refuses to cling to them.

The Christian empties himself of all claims to any earthly benefits that those rights and privileges might seem to merit.

End John MacArthur

J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible

We come now to one of the great theological statements in the Scripture.

Some consider it the greatest doctrinal statement in the New Testament relative to the person of Christ, and it is know as the kenosis, the "emptying."

This passage will make it clear that He did not empty Himself of His deity.

It will give us the seven steps of humiliation which Christ took.

I wish I were capable of sketching for you the magnitude of what is being said in these next few verses.

I wish we could grasp how high He was and how low He came.

The billions of light years across known space are nothing compared to the distance He came.

THE WITNESSES TO THE INCARNATION

John 1:15-1615 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of Whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

John 1:15-16

John the Baptist had died long before this gospel was written.

But there was still a John the Baptist cult in existence.

The apostle notes John the Baptist's inferiority to Christ—this time in the Baptist's own words.

In contrast to some of his followers, he understood clearly and accepted gladly his subordinate role.

That John cried out speaks of the bold, public nature of his witness to Jesus; he was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!’” (Matt 3:3).

He was the herald, proclaiming the arrival of the Messiah, and calling people to repent and prepare their hearts to receive Him.

Acknowledging Jesus' preeminence John said of Him, “He Who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.”

Jesus, the Expected (lit., “coming”) One (Matt 11:3; Luke 7:19-20; John 6:14) came after John in time; He was born six months later (Luke 1:26) and began His public ministry after John began his.

As John acknowledged, Jesus had a higher rank than he did, for He existed before him.

The reference here, as in verses 1 and 2, is to Jesus' eternal preexistence (John 8:58).

Then John called on the testimony of believers, including himself and all who have received the fullness of blessing from the One Who is “full of grace and truth” (v. 14).

Because in Christ “all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col 2:9), He provides for all His people's needs (Rom 5:2; Eph 4:12-13; Col 1:28; 2:10; 2 Peter 1:3).

That abundant supply will never be exhausted or diminished; grace will continually follow grace in a limitless, never-ending flow (2 Cor 12:9; Eph 2:7).

THE IMPACT OF THE INCARNATION

John 1:17-1817 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

John 1:17-18

Obviously, the impact was monumental.

First, grace triumphed over law.

The Law saves no one it merely convicts sinners of their inability to keep perfectly God's righteous standards, and condemns them to the eternal punishment of divine justice; and thus reveals their need for the grace of forgiveness.

Paul wrote to the Galatians that “the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24).

Second, God was made visible with a clarity never before seen or known.

Not merely because He is a Spirit Who is invisible (Col 1:15; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 11:27), but more importantly because to do so would bring instant death (Ex 33:20; Gen 32:30; Deut 5:26; Judg 13:22), no one has seen God at any time (John 6:46; 1 Tim 6:16; 1 John 4).

It is through Jesus Christ, the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), that God is revealed.

God, Who cannot be known unless He reveals Himself, became most fully known because Jesus explained Him.

Jesus is the explanation of God.

He is the answer to the question, “What is God like?”

In John 14:7-9, Jesus declared that truth to His obtuse disciples: “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

John 14:7-9

Explained translates a form of the verb exegeomai, from which the English word “exegesis” (the method or practice of interpreting Scripture) derives.

Jesus is the only one qualified to exegete or interpret God to man, since “no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27).

The prologue presents an introductory synopsis of John's entire gospel.

It introduces themes that will be expanded throughout the rest of the book.

None are more important than this: Jesus, Who existed in intimate fellowship with the Father from all eternity (v. 1), became flesh (v. 14), brought the full expression of grace and truth to mankind (v. 17), and revealed God to man (v. 18).

How He did so will be seen in the remainder of John's gospel.

John clearly defined the purpose in writing his gospel in John 20:31—that his readers “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing they may have life in His name.”

The disciples saw Jesus manifest God's holy nature primarily by displaying divine attributes, such as love, wisdom, holiness, power, grace and truth.

The two attributes most closely connected with salvation are grace and truth.

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Jesus Christ was and is the full expression of God's grace.

All the necessary truth to save is available in Him and in Him alone!

He was and is the full expression of God's truth, which was only partially revealed in the Old Testament (Colossians 2:16-17).

What was foreshadowed through prophecy, types, and pictures in the OT became substance realized in the person of Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Therefore He could declare,

John 14:6“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

John 14:6

As a summary of this verse it may be said that the evangelist recognized and bore witness to the fact that the characteristics ascribed only to God by the Old Testament were present in the incarnate Logos, God's unique messenger to the world, Who not only epitomized in person the awesome sense of God's presence in their midst as a pilgrim people but also evidenced those stabilizing divine qualities God's people had experienced repeatedly.

(John 1-11, The New American Commentary [Broadman & Holman]).