FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture References: John 1:1-18

We Beheld His Glory

Despite the fact that Jesus Christ was clothed in our flesh, having our frail and fragile form and dwelling in the midst of our common life, people saw glory in Him. John says, “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (John 1:14).

Glory means splendor, brilliance, excellence. Phillips’ translation reads like this: “We saw his glory (the glory like that of a father’s only son).” Yet His splendor did not overwhelm people, His brilliance did not blind them, and His excellence did not demean them. His splendor was robed in the coarse garment of human nature; His brilliance shone through the prism of human flesh; and His excellence was seen in the light of our common day.

Glory also meant the presence of God in His life. The glory of God in the Bible means the presence of God. God was present in Jesus the way He has never been present in anybody else. Jesus said to His disciples one day, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). It was such a radical and startling thing to say, they must have wondered. In His face they had seen the light that has its source in God. In His love they had experienced the love of God. In His voice they had heard God speak. And in His touch they had felt God’s healing.

William Barclay has remarked about this glory:

The glory of the Lord means quite simply the presence of God . . . when Jesus came to earth men saw the wonder of God, and the wonder was love. When Jesus came men saw that God’s glory and God’s love were one and the same thing. The glory of God is not the glory of a despotic eastern tyrant, but that splendor of love before which we fall, not in abject terror, but lost in wonder, love and praise. ¹

Full of Grace

In beholding His glory, people also saw that Jesus was “full of grace and truth.” His glory was the reflection of this grace and truth.

“Grace” has two meanings. It is that which is completely unmerited. You could never earn it, buy it, or prove yourself worthy of it. Also, grace implies beauty, graciousness, charm, comeliness. There was a rare beauty and graciousness about Jesus. The finest literary artist, painter, and sculptor can never fully capture and express it.

Jesus was full of grace. John goes on to say: “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). It was grace heaped upon grace. It is grace that is inexhaustible. It never runs out because it is fed by unfailing springs of love. It is always replenished. We do not therefore have to come to Him bearing gifts or meritorious achievement. We dare come in our moral poverty and with our empty hands. From His abundance of grace He accepts and forgives us. Though we come in our moral rags, He treats us as if we were kings, making us the sons of God.

To Be Continued

¹ William Barclay, John, Volume I
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture References: John 1:1-18

God Identified With Us

By taking our human form, God identified with us. He looked out upon our world through human eyes. It is one thing to look at our world from above and outside it. It is another thing to look at it from the inside.

Our astronauts, orbiting the moon at Christmas of 1968, looked at our earth from beyond it and saw it as a beautiful blue disc floating in space. But from there they were unable to see it as it really is, as they had known it when living within its space and time. It was one thing to see our planet from beyond it, another thing to see it from the inside. The incarnation allowed God to see our world from the inside, and it must have looked different even to Him.

God has looked at dawns, sunsets, and starry nights as well as parched fields, wildernesses, and lighted cities through human eyes. He has seen its beauty and its ugliness. He has felt its joy and pain. He has gotten beneath the terrible load of our shame and guilt. God has been hurt. He has been wounded.

We say to God: “I am so lonely,” and He replies: “I know. I felt the most terrible loneliness in My Son when He was forsaken by friends, denied by a follower, and betrayed by a disciple.”

“But I am so sad and depressed,” we say. And God responds: “I have known the depression of Gethsemane.”

“But I am afraid to die,” we continue. “I understand,” He answers. “I endured the shameful and agonizing death of the cross.”

But on a better day when we exclaim, “I am so happy and elated!” God is still identified with us: “I have known human ecstasy and joy through My Son.”

When God took upon Himself our flesh, He didn’t dwell above us, or beneath us, or away from us, but with us. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). He was not vaguely present everywhere but nowhere in particular. His taking upon Himself our limitations forbade that. He lived in familiar places among familiar people.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, worked out of Capernaum along the Sea of Galilee, and was crucified outside Jerusalem. He belonged to a family, grew normally, and played with little friends in the streets of Nazareth. He went to school and was faithful in the worship at the synagogue. He attended weddings and funerals. He worked with His father, Joseph in his carpenter’s shop where he acquired the skills and used the tools of the trade. He lived with people in their hopes and dreams, in their pain and despair. He never denied nor sought to escape the tragedy of life. No one has ever been more in touch with the common life we live. No one has ever been closer to the human situation, both in its heights and in its depths, than Jesus.

A Chinese man once told why he became a Christian. He dreamed he fell into a deep pit and, try as hard as he might, he could not get out. Just when he thought he was about to escape he would lose his grip and fall to the bottom again. Over and over again he tried, but always with the same results. A Confucian came by and seeing his plight, leaned over and said, “Let me give you some advice, my friend. If you get out of your trouble, don’t make the same foolish mistake again.” And he was on his way. Later on a Buddhist came by, looked down upon him in the pit, and said: “If you can manage to climb up so I can reach you, I will help you out.”

“Finally Christ came along,” the man said, “and without a moment’s hesitation, climbed down into the pit, gently picked me up, and carried me out. Now I know what the word ‘Immanuel’ means.”

God in Christ did not dwell aloof from us. He lived with us and among us. There is no depth into which He will not descend to rescue us. He is willing to get down into the deepest pits of our despair and lift us out.

To Be Continued Christmas Day

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.