“The Word Became Flesh”

[Read John 1:14-18]

There’s something deep inside every one of us that wants to see God. Do you remember the craze a number of years ago when people were seeing “Jesus” in everything? People thought they were seeing Jesus in really obscure places. I still remember the person who believed they saw Jesus on his grilled-cheese sandwich. There’s something inside us that wants to see God. 

This connects to some of the things I’ve heard people say to me over the years. I’ve heard people say, “If God wants me to believe in Him, then he can just show himself to me, then I’ll believe.” It’s kinda that “I’ll believe it when I see it mentality” that has embedded itself in our culture. 

This is the temptation that is behind every form of idolatry, really. People want a god they can touch and see, so they make one for themselves. Isn’t that what happened when God’s people made the golden calf in the desert? They wanted a god they could lift up and see and touch and celebrate with. 

Even Moses fell into this trap a little bit, didn’t he. It’s interesting, really. When Moses comes back from the mountain and sees God’s people worshiping the golden calf, he gets angry and breaks the stone tablets that God wrote his law on. Later, Moses is talking with God, begging God to go with His people. Then, Moses asks a bold question, he says, “Please show me your glory.” (Exodus 33:18, ESV). It’s a bold question following everything that just happened with God’s people, but it reveals this same desire to see God.

Remember how God responds to him? God tells Moses, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” (Exodus 33:20, ESV). But God accommodates himself to Moses and says, “You shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:23, ESV). Moses can’t see God’s face, he can only see God’s backside. But more happens. Not only can Moses see God’s backside, while Moses is hid in the rock, God passes by in all his goodness, proclaiming his name. When it happens, we read, “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”” (Exodus 34:6–7, ESV). This is the name of the Lord. This is the goodness of the Lord. It’s a description of his attributes. It’s who He is.

As we come to this morning’s passage, John is wanting us to remember that story of Moses seeing the backside of God’s glory. In a way, John is saying, “You think that was a powerful experience. That was nothing like what we’ve experienced in Jesus Christ.” He writes, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14, ESV). In God’s interaction with Moses, he said he would come down and stand before Moses and proclaim his goodness and his name. Now, John is saying, the Word did more than just stand before us, he became flesh—became one of us—and lived among us. He didn’t just proclaim his name and his goodness, he was The Word, he WAS the name and the goodness. 

When we started this series, I said that we cannot understand the rest of the Gospel unless we understand the first few verses. That’s really important now. We do not properly understand this verse unless we understand the first few verses. We don’t understand the weight and gravity of The Word becoming flesh until we realize that this Word already existed in the beginning, and was already being with God and was already being God. We don’t understand the weight of The Word becoming flesh until we recognize that The Word is the Eternal God and this Eternal God became flesh and lived among his people. That’s almost unthinkable. 

The wording in this is extremely important. It’s important to notice that it says the Word “became” flesh. This helps us from falling into two errors. On the one hand, some people think that Jesus began his existence when he was born, but that’s not what it says here, does it? It says that when he was born he became flesh. It shows us that he already existed before he was born. The other error people make is thinking that Jesus just “put on” flesh, kinda like putting on a robe. He wasn’t really flesh, but just put it on over his divinity. Again, that’s not what it says. 

It says he became flesh. That means in some mysterious way his divinity and humanity were united. He didn’t get rid of his divinity to become flesh and he didn’t pretend to be human either. Both his humanity and his divinity united.

And as he became flesh, that flesh included weakness and death and dependence. That’s what’s really incredible for us to understand and grasp. The eternal God became flesh, which means he became a frail and dependent and dying human being.

Yet, John is still able to say, “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father…” (John 1:14, ESV). What’s incredible about this statement is that the frailty and the weakness and the dependence of the flesh didn’t cover up the glory. The glory of God was able to shine through Jesus’ fleshiness, through his life and his words and his actions. That glory shone through to the point that the people around him could clearly see that glory. Not only could they see that glory, but they recognized that glory as only coming from the Father. 

Here’s what really struck me this week. This is what Moses asked for, isn’t it? Moses said, “Show me your glory” and now we read John saying, “We have seen his glory and we’ve seen that glory in the person of Jesus Christ.” D.A. Carson says, "The glory revealed to Moses when the Lord passed in front of him and sounded his name, displaying that divine goodness characterized by ineffable grace and truth, was the very same glory John and his friends saw in the Word-made-flesh." (DA Carson, 129). 

But John is taking it a step further. He’s saying the glory they saw through Jesus Christ was greater than the glory Moses saw. Moses only saw the backside of God’s glory. Moses only experienced that glory for a brief moment—a brief period of time. But they saw the glory of God up front and personal. They saw the glory of God throughout Jesus’ entire life—not just a brief moment.

There’s a sense in which John is also telling us something deeper, more personal. Where do we go if we want to see the glory of God? Do we look for it in the clouds? Do we look for it in the mountains? Do we look for the glory of God in mystical experiences? No. If you want to see the glory of God, you need to look at the life of Jesus Christ. That’s where the glory of God was displayed to the whole world. 

To build upon this further, we read what that glory looked like. We read, “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, ESV). The glory of God was displayed in the life of Jesus Christ because the life of Jesus Christ was full of grace and truth. 

This is looking back to that story with Moses. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God told him he would display and proclaim his goodness—that was his glory. And how did God display that goodness and glory to Moses, by proclaiming his attributes. And guess, how the Jewish people summarized those attributes? Grace and Truth. When God paraded his glory before Moses, he paraded his grace and truth before Moses. Now, when John says that they’ve seen the glory of God in Jesus Christ—throughout the life of Jesus Christ—he says that he’s seen the glory of God in the fact that Jesus was full of grace and truth. 

Jesus is so full of grace and truth that it overflows onto all who believe in him. We read, “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (John 1:16, ESV). He doesn’t explicitly say grace and truth, but he summarizes the principle with the word grace. The image is that Jesus is like a fountain of grace and truth. He’s so full of grace and truth that it overflows in abundance on all who believe in him and receive him. They receive grace upon grace upon grace, truth upon truth upon truth upon truth. 

He elaborates upon this by saying something that many people misunderstand. He says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17, ESV). Don’t forget that this passage comes after we’re told that Jesus continues to pour our grace and truth upon his people repeatedly—because he’s the fountain of grace and truth. 

After making that point, we read what seems like a contrast between Moses and Jesus. Many have understood this passage in that way. The law was given through Moses, but not that’s all been done away with in Jesus Christ. NOW, there is no law, just grace and truth in Jesus Christ. 

Here’s why this is wrong. Jesus told us that he didn’t come to abolish the law. He says it clearly: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17, ESV). Don’t ever forget this passage. Whenever you hear anyone trying to tell you that the law no longer applies after Jesus came, this passage needs to be ringing in your ears. Jesus explicitly said, “I did not come to abolish the law. I came to fulfill the law.” There’s a massive difference between these two ideas. To abolish is to get rid of. To fulfill is to live up to its demands and requirements. Everything the law pointed to was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, everything the law taught was lived out by Jesus Christ. He fulfilled it. He didn’t abolish it. 

So, why does it seem like there’s a contrast in this passage between Moses and Jesus? It’s not a contrast, it’s an improvement. That’s why this verse comes after we’re told that God’s people have received grace upon grace. When God gave the law to Moses it was a level of grace, but in Jesus Christ we receive a greater grace because Jesus has fulfilled the law on our behalf. Not only that, but he has offered us forgiveness from the law, he has written the law on our hearts, and is empowering us to live like him in the world. And guess what it means to live like Jesus in the world—to live like the one who fulfilled the law? It means that Jesus is empowering us to follow the law in the world. Yet, it’s all by grace. It’s all grace upon grace upon grace that is overflowing from Jesus Christ onto his people. 

And here’s another powerful application that comes through all of this. Remember earlier when I said, “If you want to see the glory of God, you need to look at the life of Jesus Christ”? That glory shone through the fullness of grace and truth that overflowed from Jesus’ life. That same grace and truth that overflows from Jesus’ life into the life of his people—into our own lives. Do you know what that means? If you want to see the glory of God, you need to look at the life of Jesus, but you can also look at the life of Jesus Christ shining through you—through the grace and truth in your life. That’s where the glory of God shines through Jesus’ life. It’s also where the glory of God shines through our lives—through the fullness of grace and truth. 

Then John takes it a step further. He says, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” (John 1:18, ESV). This is another reference back to that story with Moses. God told Moses no one could see him and live. Now, we hear John saying the same thing, “No one has ever seen God…” Yet, he says that The Word—the Word who is God and is with God at the same time—He has made God known to us. That when we saw the life of Jesus Christ, we saw God. When we saw the fullness of grace and truth in the life of Jesus, we saw God—God was made known to us. Jesus has revealed God to the world in the clearest, most powerful way. 

To say it another way, Jesus is the ultimate witness. Jesus is the ultimate person who shows us God and tells us about God and points us to God—because he IS God and has been with God from the beginning. This is why Jesus is always telling people, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father” or “Apart from you, you cannot know God” or “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father apart from me.” Why? Because there is no other way that the Father has been made known, but through Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate witness. Herman Ridderbos says, “And thus the circle is completed. No one, of all the witnesses to God, has witnessed to God like the one who was from the beginning with God and was God.” (59). 

This brings things another step deeper. Throughout this sermon I’ve said, “If you want to see the glory of God, look at the life of Jesus.” Now, I need to take things deeper. If you want to see God, you need to look at the life of Jesus Christ. That’s the point of this passage. The longing that people have to see God can be satisfied in the life of Jesus Christ. And to be even more specific, the longing to see God can be satisfied by seeing the fullness of grace and truth in the life of Jesus Christ—the way that grace and truth overflowed from everything He said and did throughout his life. That’s where we see God. 

Here’s where I get really practical. Where do you go if you want to see God? Let me ask it a different way, in a way that may lead you to the proper answer. Where do you go if you want to see the things that Jesus said and did—the fullness of grace and truth overflowing from Jesus’ words and deeds? You go to the Bible, don’t you? So, where do you go if you want to see God? You read his word. That’s where you see the fullness of his grace and truth proclaimed and poured out. That’s where you see the fullness of his grace and truth lived out in the life of Jesus Christ. That’s where God revealed himself to his people and says, “Here I am!” 

If you want to see God, read your Bible. Stop looking for him in all of these ridiculous places. You’re not going to see God in your grilled cheese and you’re not going to see God in all of these attempts at mystical  experiences or idolatry. It’s much simpler than that. Read your Bible. 

Then, as you see the goodness and glory of God in the Bible—and more specifically, you see the goodness and glory of God in the life of Jesus Christ—and the fullness of his grace and truth overflow onto your life, you are filled with grace and truth and that grace and truth begins to overflow onto those arounds us. 

To connect all of this to last week’s message, this is how we witness in the world. To some degree, as grace and truth begin to emanate from our lives into the world, the glory of God emanates from our lives into the world and people begin to see God—they see Christ in us. So, if we want to be witnesses like Jesus in the world, we need to begin by resting in the grace and truth of Jesus Christ, then we need to receive the grace and truth of Jesus Christ, then we need to be filled with the grace and truth of Jesus Christ to the point that it overflows onto others.