John 1:14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us

And the Word became 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.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us  The greatest story ever told - His-story - might be summarized by several key events; among which are: the creation, the fall, the flood, the blessing of Abraham, the exodus, the Promised Land, the Kingdom, the captivity, the return, the incarnation, the cross, the resurrection and ascension, the Church, and the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But of all these works of God, none is more miraculous, and none is more essential to our salvation than the incarnation of the Son of God.  The miracle of the God-man is admittedly a mystery to man; as is written in 1st Timothy 3:16:

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.

 

And yet this mystery must be received by faith; for without this truth we would stand opposed to the will of God and remain alienated from His kingdom.  John was so concerned that the incarnation would be misunderstood and miss-taught that he wrote in his first epistle:

 

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. - 1st John 4:1-3

But in spite of John's admonition, some who profess to follow Christ have wildly misinterpreted these opening verses and have taught that the Word who was God in the first two verses of John's gospel, is not that same Word who became flesh in the fourteenth verse.  And by utterly removing the Word from the context of this section - this chapter - even this entire gospel, they conclude that God was not manifested in the flesh.

These false confessors propose that instead of referring to Jesus - in the introduction to this gospel about Jesus, that the Word represents the general wisdom of God.  They would say that God's Wisdom was with God in the beginning, as if we need to be informed that God had His wits about Him during the work of creation.  Whereas in fact, this insidious scheme to separate the Son from the Godhead springs from a wicked desire to make Jesus less equal with God, in the hope that created man might become more equal with God.

By prying Jesus apart from the Godhead these usurpers desire to imitate Christ in a hostile manner that would strip from Him the title of Only Begotten,.   They dilute the lordship of Christ, reducing the One who is holy and set apart to one who is merely common  among men.  They imagine that they have discovered the way for their personal advancement into a fantasy world of their own creation.  Through this delusion they seek to become gods themselves - having fallen once again to Satan's enticement, that "your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God."

 

Still others have insisted that the deity of the Son so overshadowed the biological aspect of Christ that Jesus was without (or above) human nature.  This too is an incorrect assumption, which nevertheless was supported by Eastern Mysticism and Classical Greek philosophy.   Docetism - from the Greek word, to seem, promoted the idea that the Son of God only seemed to inhabit a material body as a kind of phantom.  The Platonic philosophy of dualism (the belief that spirit is good and matter is evil) added support to this misconception.

But in fact, it was necessary for the Son to come in the flesh, and to suffer and die in the flesh, to pay for our sins committed in the flesh; as the following verses from Hebrews attest.

For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. - Hebrews 2:18

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. - Hebrews 4:15

and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father  The deity of Jesus would be certified by John the Baptist, attested by miracles, confirmed by the fulfillment of prophecies, and affirmed by the resurrection and the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  But Jesus also took for Himself twelve Disciples who would walk, work, eat and drink with Him.  And these twelve, also called the Apostles, would be His witnesses.

Later in this gospel we will find Jesus clearly stating His deity in this reply to Philip:

Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves." - John 14:9-11

And Peter bears witness to Christ's glorious transfiguration - accompanied by the voice of the Father from heaven; once again proving both the unity and distinction of the Father and Son of the Godhead.

For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.  For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain
 
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. - 2nd Peter 1:16-21

full of grace and truth.  Jesus is truly full of grace and truth.  We will learn more about grace later in this chapter, but it is sufficient for now to understand that it denotes - obtaining the favor of God.  And Jesus is true.  For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." - Romans 10:11.  You will never regret placing your faith in the One who can bring the favor of God upon your life; upon your soul.  Has the morning star arisen in your heart?  Will you believe the testimony of the eye witnesses who beheld His glory; who spent their lives telling others; who suffered and died because of the truth they had seen with their own eyes?

Who wouldn't want to believe that God loves them so much that He would send His Son into the world to save them?  This is the grace of God, and it is true!