jhon 1:14

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, may you all find grace and peace in the sweet and holy name of our Lord Jesus. To the same Lord who has come among us in the flesh and has brought us grace and truth and who is an exact reflection of the glory of our Heavenly Father, be glory to Him forever and ever. Beloved, it is a great privilege for us that today we have come before the incarnate living Word of God so that we too can partake of His grace and can sit quietly in His presence for a few moments and learn about that grace. God's Word is not just for reading or listening, but also for changing our lives and drawing us closer to Him.

The verse we are going to meditate on today in the Daily Jesus Devotional is the heart of the gospel because it is the truth that tells us how much God loves us. This truth also reminds us that our faith is not based on imagination, story, or mere philosophy. But our faith rests on a living and historical truth, that is, on the Lord who actually came into this world as a human being. So, without wasting any more time, let us pray to God with a humble heart that through His Holy Spirit He will give us the strength to understand His Word and accept it in our lives.

 and the word became flesh

The word “flesh” here is clearly used to denote the “human nature” or “manhood” of the Lord Jesus. This statement expresses the deepest and central mystery of the Christian faith. By “the Word” the apostle John means the divine Logos who, before the creation of the universe, of the earth, or of heaven and angels, was with God and was God Himself, for according to John 1:3 all things came into being through Him. This verse means that He not only appeared like a human being, but in reality He came as a human being. This incarnation was not the form of an illusion, shadow, or apparition, but the taking on of the full and true human nature. The word “flesh” here is not limited to the body alone, but includes the entire human nature, including the true body and rational soul. Yet this human nature was sinless. The incarnation does not mean that the divine nature changed into human nature, but that the Word took on human nature in personal union with itself. In this unity there was neither mixing nor division of the two natures; Christ remained one person, that is, fully God and fully man. Thus that which was before remained the same, and that which was not before also became. This incarnation is permanent and is the foundation of the effectiveness of Christ's mediatorial work. And thus, in this one verse alone, John refutes all the Gnostics' condemnations and belittling of man's physical nature.

and being full of grace and truth

What we have to understand here is that the incarnate Word not only came as a man, but He also came full of grace and truth. The word “perfect” here indicates that there was no lack or partiality in him, that is, in our Christ. Grace, on the other hand, means God's mercy, goodness and gracious disposition, which was fully manifested in the life and work of Christ, which we can see beautifully in all four gospels. He was merciful, forgiving, doing good and self-sacrificing. Truth does not just mean correct statement, but complete truthfulness, integrity and genuineness. Christ himself was the truth; There was no fraud or untruth in it. He was not a mere sign, like the symbols and shadows of the Old Testament, but His real essence. Through grace He provided salvation for us, and through truth He revealed the invisible God. Thus this union of grace and truth shows that in Christ both God's love and light were fully revealed.

camped among u

The meaning of this phrase is not limited to just living together or being together, but permanent and close fellowship. The original word refers to the “tabernacle” or “tabernacle” where God dwelt with His people in the Old Testament, This indicates that just as God once dwelt among Israel in His glory, so now He Himself has become flesh and has begun to live among men as Jesus Christ. Christ's life on earth was not momentary or virtual, but real, continuous, and experiential. He ate, drank, rested, shared sorrow and joy with humans. He lived among them as a family member and friend, so that they could know Him closely and understand that He was truly human. Like C.S. Lewis: Says “The Son of God became man so that men might become children of God.

And we saw such glory

The word “saw” here does not express a simple glance or momentary observation, but deep, careful and continuous inspect. The disciples of Lord Jesus had seen Him in various circumstances, whether the circumstances were favorable or unfavorable. They had seen His teaching, His work, His miracles, His mercy, His holiness, and His authority. But here we see in particular an allusion to the event of the Transfiguration in which His glory was directly manifested and where His divine glory was revealedn. Yet his glory was not limited to external brightness alone, but was also manifested in the brightness of his moral and spiritual life. This glory was not some reflected light, but His own inherent glory, which proves that He is truly the Son of God and is God Himself. As St. Augustine says: "He accepted (humanity) what he was not, and he did not lose (divine) what he already was."

like the glory of the only begotten of the father

The phrase “glory of the only begotten of the Father” indicates that Christ's relationship with God is unique and incomparable. The word “only begotten” here does not mean that He is a created being or that He came into existence at some time, but that He is the only one of His kind, having the same nature as the Father. This title is not given to Him because of His resurrection, nor because of His adoption, nor because of any office or role, but because of His eternal divine nature. Other people, such as we believers, may be God's children in a spiritual sense, but Christ is the Son in a sense that no one else is or can be. He is the only begotten Son because His glory is the same glory as God Himself. And in Him reside the fullness of grace and truth, and through Him God can be fully known to man.

In Biblical history we can see how when Moses wanted to see the glory of God, he had to hide in a cleft of a rock because no sinful man could live to see the glory of God in person. But the miracle of the incarnation is that that same glory now stands before us in the form of a human being. In our Christ Jesus that glory is no longer frightening, but healing and embracing. Just as we cannot see the intense flame of the sun directly, but when the same sun comes in the form of gentle rays of the morning, it gives us life and new hope. Christ has also come into our dark lives as a gentle ray of that divine sun, so that we can behold the image of God without fear. Great scholar C.S. Lewis rightly said, “The Son of God became man so that the sons of men might become children of God.” Even in nature, we see that when a small seed falls into the ground and dies, it becomes a huge tree. Christ also came down from heaven like that seed so that this fallen humanity could get the fruit of life.

At the same time, this message also gives us a serious challenge. If the King of heaven left His throne to dwell among us, to take us to a heaven where there is no suffering, no hatred, no deceit, no false pretense, then is there room in our hearts for Him whom He calls His temple? Or will we, just as there was no place for Him in the inn at the time of His birth, even today, being busy with the noise and worries of the world, fail to recognize that 'Word in the flesh'. And with our own hands we will forever close that door of grace which has come to us with life. Beloved, open your hearts, accept this grace and receive within it the glory of the “only begotten” who is filled with love and longs to embrace us. As Charles Spurgeon said, "The Infinite has now become finite; the Creator himself has become a being." And this great exchange happened only so that we would not be alone.

We always have a complaint about God that do you know what pain is, so look, now He has given us the answer and He has shown us by living by adopting our weak body. This truth teaches us that our God is not a God who sits at a distance and watches the show. He knows our tears, our sweat, and our struggles because He has felt them Himself and has passed through them all and yet remained without sin. He is full of grace to forgive our sins, and full of truth to show us the right path. The vastness of the universe may tell us how small we are, but the truth of the incarnation tells us how precious we are to God. Let us give place in our lives to the glory that has come to live among us in the fullness of grace and truth. This is the message that makes the coming of Christ successful, that behold God is now with us forever. Amen.

Encouragement 

When the burdens of life begin to feel heavy and the mind begins to feel that no one is with me, then let this truth hold you together by reminding you that even if the world seems far away and angry with you, remember that God is not sitting far away. Because the Word who created this universe has himself come and lived among us as a human being, your loneliness, your pain, and your weariness are no longer unknown to him because he himself has lived the limitations of human life, so your situation is no longer beyond his understanding. As a creator, he knows everything, but as a human being, he has lived through all those weaknesses and has emerged victorious. So when you cannot or do not see the way forward, take courage knowing that He is with you, walking with you, and the glory of His grace and truth is walking as light even in your darkness. You are not abandoned, because God himself has chosen to dwell among us.

prayer

Oh my heavenly father,

I thank you with a humble heart for giving me this new morning and this extra new day by giving me the breath of life. O Father, when I read that Your Word came incarnate into this world which is full of impurity, then my heart is filled with respect for You and I especially look at the reason for Your Word becoming flesh. Because O Father, this world keeps complaining that you don't know what sorrow is, what stress is, what betrayal is by one's own people, you just sit on your glorious throne and keep watching it. But O my God, you are not like that, you left all that glory, honor and golden roads for me and came to this dusty earth as a slave so that you can take me to that glory and golden roads.  So now I have no excuse, because O my God, you endured all that in the flesh and not just endured, you passed every test and lived this human life without sin, because in this way you proved that you are not unaware of our pain, so now I have no excuse except to accept you in my life as the grace and truth that you really are. 

O God, your glory is revealed not only in your power, but in your humility. And grace has been seen not just in words, but in your renunciation and sacrifice, and truth has shone forth not just in teaching, but in the life that you have lived before us.

O Father, just as Your Word, which is the exact picture of Your glory and Your nature and has come and lived among us in the flesh, let it reside in my life today too. Make me humble like your word, that is, your only son. And help me to live a life like Your son, a life that reflects only Your glory, in which only Your grace flows, and a life that rests only in Your truth. And O Father, when I go through my struggles and sorrows, let me remember that Your most beloved only Son has also passed through this path of sorrow, so that countless people and especially me can reach You. Yes, I appear alone here but Your written word and Your only Son are still with me and that is enough for me. 

Fulfilling this prayer, I just want to tell you that from now on my life should become your abode only. May there be only Your grace in my words, may there be only Your truth in my behavior, and may there be only the glory of Your only begotten in my character, that is, Christ my Lord and Savior. I pray this in the name of Lord Jesus. Amen