Jesus Christ, the Word of God                                John 1:1-18 [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. [4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men. [5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. [6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. [7] The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. [8] He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. [9] That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. [10] He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. [11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not. [12] But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: [13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. [14] 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. [15] John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. [16] And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. [17] For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. [18] No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
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4. THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD (John 1:14-18 [14] 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. [15] John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. [16] And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. [17] For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. [18] No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
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7. Having Received Grace for Grace (John 1:16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
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1. Grace in the place of grace; new grace to replace old grace
1. This is the doctrinal or dispensational meaning.
2. Old Testament Grace
1. The emphasis is on grace being found.
1. There are 28 references to grace being found in the Old Testament.
2. There is only one reference to grace being found in the New Testament (Hebrews 4:16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
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3. The picture is that of grace being found by those who seek it.
2. Examples of grace being found
1. Noah (Genesis 6:8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
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2. Moses (Exodus 33:13Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
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3. Gideon (Judges 6:16-17 [16] And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. [17] And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
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3. New Testament Grace
1. The emphasis is on grace being given.
1. There are 14 New Testament references to grace being given.
2. There are only two Old Testament references to grace being given (Psalm 84:11For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
   See All...; Proverbs 3:34Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
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2. Examples: Romans 12:3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
   See All..., 6; Romans 15:15Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God,
   See All...; 1 Corinthians 1:4I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
   See All...; 1 Corinthians 3:10According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
   See All...; Galatians 2:9And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
   See All...; Ephesians 3:2If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
   See All..., 7-8; Ephesians 4:7But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
   See All...; 2 Timothy 1:9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
   See All...; James 4:6But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
   See All...; 1 Peter 5:5Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
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2. Grace on top of grace; continual gifts of grace according to the need
1. This is the practical or spiritual meaning.
2. Salvation is by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9 [8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.
   See All...; Titus 3:7That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
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3. Daily living for Christ is by grace.
1. By the grace of God we are and we labor (1 Corinthians 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
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2. By the grace of God we abound to every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
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3. By the sufficiency of God’s grace, His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
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1. “My grace is sufficient for thee.”
2. “Our sufficiency is of God” (2 Corinthians 3:5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
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4. At the throne of grace, we can find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
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8. Interpretation of John 1:17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
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1. The key comparison is between the law and Christ.
1. Both came from God.
1. Law (Deuteronomy 30:10If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
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2. Christ (John 8:42Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
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2. Both were sent down to earth.
1. Law (Deuteronomy 29:29The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
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2. Christ (John 1:10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
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3. Both were empowered or written by the finger of God.
1. Law (Exodus 31:18And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
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2. Christ (Luke 11:20But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
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3. The identity of the finger of God (cp. Luke 11:20But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
   See All... with Matthew 12:28But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
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4. Applied to Christ (John 3:34For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
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4. Both are called the truth.
1. Law (Psalm 119:142Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
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2. Christ (John 14:6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
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5. Both are called light.
1. Law (Proverbs 6:23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
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2. Christ (John 8:12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
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6. Both are called bread.
1. Law (Deuteronomy 8:3And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
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2. Christ (John 6:48I am that bread of life.
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7. Both were broken by the sins of the people.
1. Law (Exodus 32:19And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
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2. Christ (Luke 22:19And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
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8. Both were resurrected by the power of God.
1. Law (Exodus 34:1And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
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2. Christ (Acts 2:23-24 [23] Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: [24] Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
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9. As the two tables of stone represented one law, so Jesus Christ, being both God and man, is one person.
10. As the two tables of stone were written within and without (Exodus 32:15And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
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2. God, even in the Old Testament, is both truth and grace (Exodus 34:5-7 [5] And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. [6] And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, [7] Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
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3. The law that God sent down was truth (Psalm 119:142Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
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4. But Christ contained within Himself all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
   See All...). He could not show only a part of the nature of God, but must reveal the fullness of the nature of God (John 14:9Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
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5. In addition, the Old Testament has numerous references to truth and mercy (Psalm 25:10All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
   See All...; Psalm 57:3He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
   See All...; Psalm 61:7He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.
   See All...; Psalm 85:10Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
   See All...; Psalm 89:14Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
   See All...; Proverbs 3:3Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
   See All...; Proverbs 16:6By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
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6. But it is in the New Testament in Christ Jesus that grace and truth are fully joined on earth  (John 1:14And 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.
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7. Colossians 1:5-6 [5] For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; [6] Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
   See All... brings the two concepts together:
1. Our hope is based on “the word of the truth of the gospel” (Colossians 1:5For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
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2. By this gospel we “knew the grace of God in truth” (Colossians 1:6Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
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9. No Man Hath Seen God (John 1:18No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
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1. No man has seen God in His full glory while in the flesh (Exodus 33:20And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
   See All...; John 6:46Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
   See All...; 1 Timothy 6:16Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
   See All...; 1 John 4:12No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
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2. God has at times appeared in a veiled glory (Exodus 33:20-23 [20] And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. [21] And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: [22] And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: [23] And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
   See All...; 1 Kings 8:12Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
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3. But we can see the Father in the face of Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:27All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
   See All...; 2 Corinthians 4:6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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