“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.”
My Notes
What Does John 1:14 Mean?
John delivers the most staggering claim of his Gospel: the Word — the eternal, divine Logos of John 1:1 — was made flesh. The God who existed before time entered a human body. The infinite became finite. The creator became a creature.
"Dwelt among us" is literally "tabernacled among us" — the same word used for God is dwelling in the wilderness tabernacle. God did not visit. He moved in. He pitched his tent in the human neighborhood.
"We beheld his glory" — John is an eyewitness. He saw it. The glory of God, packaged in a human body, walking through Galilee, eating meals, getting tired, sweating and bleeding. Glory in flesh.
"Full of grace and truth" are the final descriptors. Not full of judgment and power (though he has both). Grace and truth. The two things that are hardest to hold together — radical kindness and unflinching honesty — coexist perfectly in Jesus. He is full of both.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does it mean to you that the Word became flesh — that God chose to inhabit a human body?
- 2.How do you hold grace and truth together? Which one do you lean toward?
- 3.What does God tabernacling among us say about his desire to be close to people?
- 4.How does the incarnation change your view of your own physical, embodied life?
Devotional
The Word was made flesh. God became a human being. Not a vision, not a hologram, not a temporary disguise. Flesh. Real, physical, breakable human flesh.
He dwelt among us. Tabernacled. Set up camp. Moved into the neighborhood. The God of the universe chose to live where you live — in a body that gets hungry, tired, cold, and hurt.
Full of grace and truth. Those two rarely coexist in the same person. People who are full of truth tend to be harsh. People who are full of grace tend to be soft on truth. Jesus held both completely, without one diminishing the other.
That is what God looks like in a human body. Not the God of your fears — distant, disappointed, ready to condemn. The God who moves in. The God who carries grace in one hand and truth in the other and refuses to drop either one.
When you picture God, do you see grace and truth in equal measure? Or has one eclipsed the other? John says: in Jesus, they are perfectly, beautifully full.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And the word was made flesh,.... The same word, of whom so many things are said in the preceding verses; and is no other…
And the Word was made flesh - The word “flesh,” here, is evidently used to denote “human nature” or “man.” See Mat…
And the Word was made flesh - That very person who was in the beginning - who was with God - and who was God, Joh 1:1,…
The evangelist designs to bring in John Baptist bearing an honourable testimony to Jesus Christ, Now in these verses,…
The Incarnate Word's revelation of the Father
14. And the Word was made flesh Or, became flesh. This is the gulf which…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture