16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)
In our text today, the Apostle John indirectly underlines the deity of Jesus Christ in the first four words of v.16. "Out of his fullness" makes the claim that Christ is not lacking anything. It is out of His fullness that He came to rescue mankind from the clutches of sin and death.
The fall of man was best expressed through our lack. It is our lack and the subsequent covetousness that gave way to sin. Perhaps this is why God made the tenth command, "you shall not covet."
Further, in our text, John is drawing a contrast between grace and truth with the Law and Moses. The Law is truth. It makes demands. It is hard, cold, unyielding, without mercy. But, "grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Take away Jesus and you take away grace and truth; He is the deliverer of them. The law demands perfection.
This is why the Lord Jesus came to the earth to live a perfect life and offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice. Through His perfect life and death, He fulfilled the law on our behalf. His grace and truth makes it possible for us to receive the application of His perfection to our otherwise ruined existence.
The law makes its demands, rightfully and justly. If there were no truth, we'd all lack reality and substance and the need for grace. And, no man can meet the demands of the law. But, through His grace the Lord Jesus met the demands of the law, and upheld its substance. This is why John writes in v.16, "Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given."
Through God's grace, we have received the generosity of the love of God in Christ. Grace is the star of hope that lights the dark sky of iniquity. The Lord Jesus came full of grace and truth, reaching out toward mankind, giving Himself for and to us. Because He has loved us and we have accessed His love for us, we can sincerely and authentically love others.
Truth is what makes grace work, and, now that sin has entered into the fray, grace is what makes truth work: “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). And, Before the creation of the world, He accepted us. Before we ever did anything wrong and before we ever did anything right, He loved us and gave us His grace. Religion says we have to earn God’s acceptance, but grace says it is already ours.
The word “fullness” in v.16 is “pleroma,” in the Greek. This word describes that which has been filled, completeness, abundance. The Lord Jesus is fully God and fully man and full of grace and full of truth. There’s nothing of God lacking in Him, and nothing of grace or truth lacking in Him. And out of His fullness, “we have all received” which means we have all been taken hold of, taken in, been given from His fullness.
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Truth is what makes grace work, and, now that sin has entered into the fray, grace is what makes truth work: “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). And, Before the creation of the world, He accepted us. Before we ever did anything wrong and before we ever did anything right, He loved us and gave us His grace. Religion says we have to earn God’s acceptance, but grace says it is already ours.
The word “fullness” in v.16 is “pleroma,” in the Greek. This word describes that which has been filled, completeness, abundance. The Lord Jesus is fully God and fully man and full of grace and full of truth. There’s nothing of God lacking in Him, and nothing of grace or truth lacking in Him. And out of His fullness, “we have all received” which means we have all been taken hold of, taken in, been given from His fullness.
To invest in BYM, click here
