Grace And Truth

Jan 17, 2023

Since January 1, I’ve been reading three chapters a day in the Gospel of John.

I know what you’re thinking - if you’re reading through the Gospels, shouldn’t you start in Matthew? Maybe. But I love the Apostle John. After all, he was the disciple that Jesus loved according to the words He penned in his Gospel. The very first words read::

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

- John 1:1

In ancient times, “word” was a term used by theologians and philosophers, both Jews and Greeks. In the Hebrew scriptures, it meant “agent of creation.” In Greek philosophy, “word” was “the principle of thought that governed the world.”

In John 1:14, John says:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

- John 1:14

The Jewish audience would have thought John, saying Jesus was God, was blasphemous. Greeks would have said that God becoming flesh was unthinkable. And yet that is exactly what John was saying.

Today, I want to look closer at the words “grace and truth” in John 1:14.

I love how The Message Bible translates part of this verse. Instead of “made his dwelling among us”, it says Jesus “moved into our neighborhood!”

Wow! Jesus moved into OUR neighborhood, full of grace and truth. Grace that saves us through faith and truth that frees us from being slaves to sin!

Jesus was full of both. Truth AND grace.

If there are only rules without a relationship, people will rebel. If there are only relationships without rules, people will believe what they want, adapting to many other kinds of religion, or no religion at all. We need to have both! Sounds very similar to the role of a parent.

Jesus, as our heavenly Father, is the model parent. I was reminded, at Christmas, with all of our family being together, how well our children are following His parenting methods. When our oldest grandson didn’t want to participate in a family activity, he lost his “screen” privilege for the rest of the trip. His parents explained that it is more important to be with family than playing games on your phone. Our middle grandchild received a timeout, and as his parents told him it was going to happen, they added, “I love you!”

Our grandchildren are learning what it means to experience grace and truth, but more importantly to understand the kind of grace and truth not only their parents, but Jesus gives!