The Consequences and the Glory
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth John 1:14
The Word became flesh. Because John often uses ‘flesh’ to mean humanity (1:14; 3:6; 8:15) he is saying the Word, Jesus, entered our world by becoming human. When the Word became human He lost nothing of His deity; He added humanity to what He already was. In Jesus Christ, God was made man.
John now outlines two consequences of ‘the Word’ becoming ‘flesh’ and three statements about the glory
The first consequence: He ‘made his dwelling among us.’ Because ‘made his dwelling’ literally means ‘to pitch a tent’ John wants his readers to think of God coming into Israel’s camp to the tabernacle in the wilderness (Exodus 40:34-38). As God lived among His people then, so the Word made flesh has come to live among us now.
The second consequence: ‘we have seen his glory.’ Just as those in the wilderness saw God’s glory manifested in the tabernacle (and later Solomon’s temple), God’s glory is now revealed in the person of Jesus.
And now concerning ‘his glory,’ firstly: this is the glory of the ‘One and Only.’ While many of us are more used to ‘only begotten’ here, this well known phrase puts into some readers’ minds the thought that Jesus was somehow ‘born’ of God or created by Him which is in no way suggested by what John wrote. ‘One and only’ is used consistently through the New Testament of an only child who is in need (Luke 8:32), threatened (Luke 9:38; Hebrews 11:17) or who died (Luke 7:12; John 3:16). The emphasis is on the uniqueness of the one spoken of, that they are the only one.
Secondly about the glory: John says here and stresses throughout his gospel that this unique One whose glory they saw ‘came from the Father’ (5:36,37,43; 6:42,57; 8:16,18,42). He was the One who came ’from above’ (3:31) and so who could make the Father known (1:18).
And finally about the glory: the glory the eyewitnesses saw was ‘full of grace and truth.’ This is John’s rendering of ‘love and faithfulness’ from Exodus 34:6 and 7 where God reveals His glory to Moses. The ‘love and faithfulness’ proclaimed to Moses is now seen, embodied in the incarnate Word, in the Son, Jesus.
‘Grace’ is only used three times by John in the gospel and each is in this prologue section describing the Word becoming flesh (1:14,16,17). The Hebrew term for ‘truth’ has the root meaning of reliability. God can be depended on to fulfil what He promises. Because the Word incarnate, Jesus, is ‘full of … truth’ He is utterly reliable. He speaks the truth (8:45,46). In fact He embodies the truth (John 14:6). All He says about God the Father and salvation is implicitly true because He is truth in a body.
Jesus is completely trustworthy. Read His earthly life in the gospels. Listen to everything He said.
You can trust every word.
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