The Bible In Your Hand

John 1:16 says, “And of His fullness we have all received grace for grace.”

Grace for grace is an exciting but very Jewish way of saying, “Grace is given! But not just given, it is given abundantly, not just day by day, but moment by moment.” Meaning that every day, every person can receive grace from heaven. Not just a little grace but grace in abundance. More grace than is merited or that we deserve.

John the author, makes an interesting point in verse 17. “For the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Christ.” John is stating that the purpose of the Law was to point us to Christ and show God’s love toward us. The Law referred to in this passage is not just the Ten Commandments. Instead, John is referring to the entirety of all give books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Number, and Deuteronomy (The Law). The purpose of this Law is to illustrate what all of heaven is doing and has done on our behalf. He was showing us God the Father’s grace toward us.

Christ came to illustrate that love and grace toward us. In so doing, He revealed the Father. Jesus came to show the Father’s true character of love, as illustrated in grace for grace. Unmerited Grace beyond abundance till it is pressed together and overflowing.

I have often heard people say, I like the God of the New Testament, for Jesus is a God of love. Within the breath, they will say, “The God of the Old Testament is vengeful. But the truth is, 70 percent of the time, when God is speaking in the Old Testament, it is the Word, the God John introduced us to in verse 1 of chapter 1, who is the pre-incarnate Christ, speaking. Only 30 percent of the time is it God the Father who is speaking.

But the children of Israel and now the Jews had so misapplied the Law from a Law of love, guiding us to a better understanding of God the Father and how He has promises to treat us and want us to treat others. Instead, it had become perverted. How was it perverted? It had become what we did to appease God so God would show favor, love and grace toward us.

For those living at the time of Jesus’s ministry, it was not grace for
grace. Instead, it was tooth for a tooth and eye for an eye. No longer was it love the Lord with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. It had become, see what I am doing for God to love me.

Because the Law had been perverted, God’s true character had been shrouded, not adequately seen or understood by the people. Now That Christ had come, the true character and nature of God the Father would be revealed in a Revelation of love, truth, and grace. Grace that is given in abundance.

Perhaps for today, this is the place to stop. It is a lot to take in. Therefore, we will pick this passage up again in our next post. At that time, we will begin to explore John’s Witness as to Christ’s mission and purpose.