The Word Became Flesh

​John 1:14 ~ “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
 
As John writes of the advent and incarnation of the LORD Jesus, we find a tremendous expression in his gospel. Jesus is described as “the Word.” We read in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This statement is of great importance, for in this declaration Jesus is not only present before the beginning of all things, He is co-existent with the Father, and is God Himself. We shall not dive too deep into this text to try and fathom its riches concerning Christ, but concerning the incarnation of the LORD, this one thing must be known: Jesus is God. If this is not understood, the birth of the LORD Jesus will be misconstrued.
 
And, so, we come to the opening of our text and the advent of the LORD Jesus, “And the Word became flesh.” For just a moment, think on this statement. How profound is it that God Almighty, the Righteous King and Creator of all things, came into this world as all men do—in the helpless form of a baby. In humble circumstances the LORD of Glory was born. He who called the universe into existence and commanded the stars to shine will now cry when hungry and be fed by the very hands He made. Paul writes of it in Philippians 2:6-7, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” He did not need to try and grasp equality with God, for Jesus is God. Yet, in humility and love, the King of kings emptied Himself and was born in the likeness of you and I.
 
Not only did He come in flesh and blood, as all mankind must come, but He also, as our text continues, “dwelt among us.” He did not vanish into obscurity and hide Himself from the life and difficulties of all mankind. He lived with and not separate from humanity. This was of necessity, for the LORD Jesus was going to be tempted as all are tempted. It was necessary for Him to experience all the challenges that we face so that He could become for us the sympathetic High Priest as mentioned in Hebrews 2:17, “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” He became like us, yet without sin (see Hebrews 4:15) in order to be for us the compassionate, righteous and holy Sacrifice for our sins.
 
Not only did He come and dwelt among us as one of us, the LORD Jesus, even while on earth, revealed His glory to His disciples. We read, “and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” Jesus did not abandon His deity, nor did He forsake His own nature. His is, even in our text today, both fully God and fully man. Jesus is God in flesh, the Divine and Eternal One in the form of weak and mortal man. And, upon a mountain, Jesus revealed His glory. Matthew 17:1-2 declares, “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” Let us not forget that Jesus is the Word made flesh—God eternal born as man.
 
As we come to the final statement of our text today, we must take to heart this declaration concerning our LORD. He is “full of grace and truth.” There is no lack with Jesus, beloved! He is “full” of both grace and truth—plentiful with the abundance of all things that we need. He is the Word, and thus He is full of truth. He is the “way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). There is no truth ever created that did not originate with the LORD Jesus. He is also full of grace, for He has come as man, dwelt with man, and laid His life down to be for us the propitiation—the substitute payment—for our sins. This grace is more abundant than are your sins, and there is not one sin that will remain unwashed when you come to Jesus and have your life redeemed by His grace. We read in Ephesians 2:7, “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Come to Jesus and know this immeasurable grace.
 
We see the advent and incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man. He is both, and fully so, that He can be for us our Sovereign Savior and Redeemer King. God in flesh is Jesus Christ the LORD. May His name be forever praised.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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