In this sermon, Pastor Dave Capoccia examines the prologue of John’s Gospel, John 1:1-18. In this prologue, John gives four arresting identifications of Jesus so that you will pay attention to Jesus as the supreme Word of God.
1. Jesus Is the Wise and Powerful Creator (1:1-5)
2. Jesus Is the True and Ultimate Light (1:6-9)
3. Jesus Is the Rejected yet Life-giving Lord (1:10-13)
4. Jesus Is the Glorious and Gracious Revelator (1:14-18)
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Summary
John 1:1–18 reveals the true identity of Jesus as the Supreme Word of God. Through this prologue, we are confronted with four arresting identifications of Christ: He is the wise and powerful Creator, the true and ultimate Light, the rejected yet life-giving Lord, and the glorious and gracious Revelator of God. This passage calls us to recognize that Jesus is not merely a good teacher or prophet—He is the eternal Word who was with God and is God.
Through the Incarnation, the fullness of God’s grace and truth has been made known to us in a way that surpasses even the glorious revelation given through Moses and the Old Testament.
Key Lessons:
- Jesus is the eternal, uncreated Word who brought all things into existence—He is the Creator, not a creation.
- Jesus is the True Light who reveals every person’s true spiritual condition, exposing whether we love God or love darkness.
- Although the world and even God’s own people rejected Him, God sovereignly grants the right to become His children to all who believe through new birth by His Spirit.
- Jesus is the supreme and final revelation of God—through the Incarnation, we can truly know God in a way that was impossible before.
Application: We are called to turn our full attention and lives to Jesus as the Supreme Word of God, ceasing to be distracted by sins and passing treasures of the world. We must receive Him by faith, believe in His name, and give Him the supreme place He deserves in our lives.
Discussion Questions:
- How does understanding Jesus as the eternal Creator (not merely a teacher or prophet) change the way you respond to His words and claims?
- In what ways does the light of Jesus reveal your true spiritual condition, and how should that motivate you toward repentance and faith?
- What distractions or lesser “lights” are you tempted to give your attention to instead of the Supreme Word, and what practical steps can you take to refocus on Christ?
Scripture Focus: John 1:1–18 teaches that Jesus is the eternal Word who is God, the Creator of all things, the True Light, the rejected yet life-giving Lord, and the one who fully reveals the Father through the Incarnation. Supporting passages include Genesis 1:1, Psalm 33:6, Isaiah 55:11, Exodus 33–34, Colossians 1:15–17, and Hebrews 1:1–3.
Outline
- Introduction
- Reading the Prologue: John 1:1–18
- 1. Jesus Is the Wise and Powerful Creator
- In the Beginning Was the Word
- The Word Was God
- The Creator of All Things
- The Logos in Philosophy and Scripture
- Life and Light in the Darkness
- 2. Jesus Is the True and Ultimate Light
- 3. Jesus Is the Rejected Yet Life-Giving Lord
- 4. Jesus Is the Glorious and Gracious Revelator
- The Word Became Flesh
- We Saw His Glory
- John the Baptist Affirms Christ’s Supremacy
- Grace Upon Grace
- Grace and Truth Through Jesus Christ
- No One Has Seen God—Except Through the Son
- Conclusion: Give Your Attention to the Supreme Word
Introduction
Let’s pray as we prepare to hear from the word. O Lord, show us your glory. Show us your glory in the face of Christ as he is revealed in the scripture. Enable me to speak it, enable us to hear it, and transform us we pray. Amen.
When I was in college, one of my history teachers was a guest lecturer from Italy. She was a petite, middle-aged woman with a strong Italian accent. She taught a course on the Crusades, which I enrolled in and enjoyed.
But one moment I remember from her class had nothing to do with medieval history. She noticed that my last name is Italian, and one day after class had finished, she asked me if I knew what Kaposha means.
She soon explained that Kaposha, or Kapocha in Italian, means head, boss, chief, or overseer. It’s from the Latin word for your literal head. Think of the word “caput” in English, and it’s also the root of some of our words for a figurative head, like “captain” or “capital.”
As you can imagine, learning that Kaposha means boss was pretty gratifying news to me. But then she also asked me if I knew what the family crest or symbol was for Kaposha. I didn’t, so she had to tell me.
Can you guess what it is? Not a human head, but a donkey. Apparently, the Kaposha family symbol is the donkey.
She offered an explanation. Often, the one in charge, the head, can be a bit stubborn. But when he’s stubborn about the right kind of things, that’s a leader that you want.
So I guess as Kaposha, I’ve got my work cut out for me to be the right kind of stubborn.
The Eagle Symbol and John’s Gospel
Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever looked into your own family symbol or even how reliable such information is about such things. But did the writers of the four gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—each have a symbol? An animal symbol?
No, this is not from the Bible. This is not an inspired thing. This is just a church tradition thing.
Starting with some church fathers in the second and then the fourth centuries, each of the gospel writers became associated by tradition with one face of the four living creatures that are mentioned in Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4.
Do you remember these spectacular creatures which were seen by vision around God’s throne? Aside from having multiple wings, many eyes, and other awesome features, we’re told in the Bible that each creature has four faces: the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle.
Well, these four creature faces—or rather, the creatures that make up those faces—were adopted as traditional symbols for the four gospel writers. Different early theologians assigned the symbols differently.
But the designation that has stuck the most, and it’s still evident in much surviving Christian art today, is the one given by Jerome in the 4th century. Jerome assigned a creature symbol to a gospel writer based on how that writer’s gospel begins.
“Jerome assigned a creature symbol to a gospel writer based on how that writer’s gospel begins.”
Thus, Matthew’s symbol was the man, since his gospel begins with a human genealogy. Mark’s symbol was the lion, since his gospel starts with John the Baptist roaring like a lion in the wilderness. Luke’s symbol was the ox, since his gospel starts with Zacharias offering sacrifice.
John’s symbol was the eagle, since his gospel starts in the lofty heights of heaven. We’re going to look at the beginning of John’s gospel today and see why John begins the way that he does.
Reading the Prologue: John 1:1–18
If you would please open your Bibles to John 1:1-18.
The title of this message is “The Supreme Word.”
If you were with us last December, you may remember that we did a two-part Christmas-themed investigation of this passage. We’re going to cover the whole passage in one message today: John 1:1-18.
Let us read the prologue of John’s gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. There was the True Light, which coming into the world enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him.
He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name. They were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about him and cried out saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for he existed before me.”‘
For of his fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten God who was in the bosom of the Father, he has explained him.”
We can see right away why Jerome went with the eagle as the symbol of John’s gospel. Not only is the setting and the content of this prologue heavenly, but even the way it’s written seems to evoke lofty majesty.
“Not only is the setting and the content of this prologue heavenly, but even the way it’s written seems to evoke lofty majesty.”
Interpreters have wondered whether this text was written as or contained sections of an early hymn. Probably not. But there is an undeniably poetic quality to these words.
There’s plenty of repetition and parallelism. There’s even a certain amount of structural symmetry. For example, you may notice that passages are bookended at its beginning and end with the same concept.
Verse 1 begins with the Word who was God with God. And verse 18 we have again God with God, even the Son in the bosom of the Father.
But while there is evident symmetry, there is also a clear progression through this passage. Verse 1 starts in eternity and then creation, and gradually we move closer and closer to Christ’s tangible appearance into history, and even to his meeting with John the Baptist later in this chapter.
The Purpose of the Prologue
And like any good introduction, this prologue accomplishes a few fundamental purposes for this gospel. The prologue establishes a clear starting point for the narrative, but one intriguingly that is way further back than we might have expected.
The prologue also prepares us for what we will read in the rest of John. Not only are we introduced to key themes that will appear throughout the book with terms like life, light, darkness, world, witness, glory, and believe, but we even have the whole story, the whole record summarized for us in miniature.
The Eternal God, we’re told, came into the world as a man but was unrecognized and rejected. Yet some believed in him, and those ones became life inheritors as children of God.
“The Eternal God came into the world as a man but was unrecognized and rejected. Yet some believed and became children of God.”
Finally, and crucially, this prologue secures our interest with its awesome descriptions of this gospel’s central person. John’s original Jewish readers were no doubt expecting to receive this gospel, having somebody read it to them or with them. They’re no doubt expecting to read a record about Jesus.
But John wants those readers and us today to know from the beginning who Jesus really is. According to John, Jesus is no mere man, not simply a good teacher, not simply a prophet who brings the word of God. He is the Word of God.
He is the Supreme Word to which you must give your attention.
“Jesus is no mere man, not simply a good teacher, not simply a prophet who brings the word of God. He is the Word of God.”
Four Arresting Identifications of Jesus
The prologue logically and grammatically divides into four sections that clarify Jesus’ true identity. That’s what we’re going to investigate in John 1:1-18.
John, our writer, gives four arresting identifications of Jesus so that you will pay attention to him as the Supreme Word of God. Four arresting identifications—identifications that just make you stop and listen, pay attention to him who is the Supreme Word of God.
“Four arresting identifications that make you stop and listen, pay attention to him who is the Supreme Word of God.”
1. Jesus Is the Wise and Powerful Creator
Let’s look at each of these identifications, starting with the first, in verses one to five, where we see number one: Jesus is the wise and powerful creator.
Look at verse one.
In the Beginning Was the Word
“In the beginning was the Word.” To start his gospel, John doesn’t take us back to Jesus’ first meeting with John the Baptist, the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth, or even to Jesus’ distant genealogical record. Other gospels do that, but John doesn’t.
John instead takes us back to the beginning. Which beginning? The beginning—even the space between time and eternity.
John’s original Hellenistic Jewish audience would have recognized in this opening phrase a clear allusion to Genesis 1:1. It starts with the exact same words in the Greek Septuagint, the translation of the Old Testament.
But whereas Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created,” John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word.”
The Greek word for word here is “logos,” a term which most basically refers to something written, spoken, or thought. John uses this word “logos” as a title for Jesus, and he’s the only New Testament writer to do so. He only uses it in this passage and in one place in Revelation—Revelation 19:13.
Why does John call Jesus “logos,” the Word? As we work through the passage, we’ll see. Notice already from this opening phrase that John is asserting something very amazing about Jesus’ origin: namely, that Jesus has no origin. He was already there in the beginning before creation.
“John is asserting something very amazing about Jesus’ origin: namely, that Jesus has no origin.”
The Word Was God
It is more. Look at verse 1’s next phrase: “and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”
This is one of the most mysterious and majestic phrases in the Bible, and our English versions do a very good job of translating what is a very precise reconstruction. The words here cannot be translated as the Jehovah’s Witnesses would like—that the Word was a god.
No. John says that Jesus, even before his incarnation, even before creation, he existed as the Eternal Word both with God and as God.
“Jesus, even before his incarnation, even before creation, existed as the Eternal Word both with God and as God.”
This phrasing is careful. It clarifies that God and the Word are the same yet distinct. How can this be? Certainly this would have been intriguing for the first listeners.
But from the rest of the gospel and the rest of the scriptures, we know this can only be explained by the concept of the Trinity: that there is only one God, but he exists in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each of whom is the fullness of God, yet each is distinct from the others.
This would have been indeed an arresting assertion just in verse 1 for John’s original Jewish audience. Could it be? Jesus is the Word, the logos, who has not only enjoyed eternal fellowship with God but is God?
And just to re-emphasize and prevent misunderstanding, John restates the truth of verse 1 again in verse 2. Verse 2: “He, the logos, was in the beginning with God.”
The Creator of All Things
Now someone might ask, “But Mike, verses one to two imply or even allow that Jesus was an early creation of God before the rest of creation?” Impossible. Because with what we read next in verse 3.
Look at verse 3.
“All things came into being through him, and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Can the Apostle John be any more emphatic in this next wondrous declaration? The Word, John says, was not a product of creation, we’re a bystander to creation, or even a lesser assistant in creation.
Rather, John says the Word, who is Jesus, is the creator. Everything that isn’t eternal, everything that came into existence, came into existence through the Word. And if it didn’t come into existence through the Word, what does John say? It didn’t come into existence at all.
Really, if the Jehovah’s Witnesses thought more seriously about what John 1:3 says, even in their own Bible translation, they’d stop with their nonsense about John 1:1.
There is no way that Jesus, as the creator of all things, could be created.
“There is no way that Jesus, as the creator of all things, could be created.”
The Logos in Philosophy and Scripture
Now, in one way, this monumental assertion of verse 3 would have made sense to the original audience. As Hellenistic Jews, they were likely used to the idea that the logos of God had brought about creation.
Certain Greek philosophers by this time had observed, like many today, that there is an obvious order and wisdom in the natural world, in the created world. They theorized that there must be some wise principle or force operating in the universe that is responsible for the orderly creation and maintenance of the world.
They called this wisdom principle the logos. The audience would have been familiar with that concept from Greek philosophy.
But also the Jewish Bible, the Old Testament, states explicitly that God’s word was responsible for creation. That’s there even in Genesis, right?
How did God create according to Genesis 1? He spoke. He used words. It was his word.
Psalm 33:6 confirms this by saying, “By the word of the Lord, by the word of Yahweh, the heavens were made,” and everything else.
Psalm 33:6: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.”
If we just consider God’s word in the Old Testament, we see frequently that it’s God’s word that accomplishes his will, whether it’s to create or to save or to destroy. Like Isaiah 55:11 says, “God’s word does not go out and come back to him void, but it accomplishes exactly what he wills.”
And what is the Old Testament word for word translated into Greek? Well, logos.
So from two sources, John’s audience would be familiar with the idea that the logos brought about creation. But in another way, verse 3 would have been very shocking to them.
Why? Because John asserts that this wise and powerful creating Word is not impersonal. The Word is a person. In fact, he is Jesus.
Jesus is the wisdom and power that brought about and maintains creation because he is the creator of all things. Colossians 1:15-17 and Hebrews 1:1-3, which we read earlier, say the same thing about Jesus.
But John says Jesus is not just the one who previously created, but he’s also the source of new creation. We see this in the next two verses.
Life and Light in the Darkness
Look at verse 4, and we’ll read verses 4 and 5 together. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
In one sense, verses 4 and 5 just continue the description of Jesus as the Word being the creator. He’s the one who gave life and still gives life to all mankind, just as he does with light. He created the original light, and he gives light to all mankind still.
But there is another sense to these words: they depict a new kind of creation for which Jesus is also responsible. Why do I say that?
Because as we read on in the Gospel of John, and even as we read on in this prologue, we’re going to hear how spiritual light and life come through Jesus in a world of darkness.
Thus, Jesus is not just the source of all physical life, but also all spiritual life. He is not just the source of physical light for mankind, but also spiritual light.
John says this light shined and still shines in the darkness, even in a rebellious and ignorant world of darkness.
Notice the intentional ambiguity of one of the words at the end of verse 5.
Depending on your Bible translation, you might see the word “comprehend” or the word “overcome.” That’s because the original Greek word could be rightly translated either way. I think John actually wants us to think about both meanings because both are true.
When the creator of light himself shined in the world, the darkness did not understand. They did not comprehend this light or his message, and thus rejected him.
But just as the Genesis darkness could not thwart the creation of light and the shining of that light, the new light of Jesus cannot be overcome by a dark world.
Jesus will succeed in shining as the light, and even in creating new light and new life in those who believe in him.
“The new light of Jesus cannot be overcome by a dark world. Jesus will succeed in shining as the light.”
Perhaps the reader of these two verses for the first time wouldn’t see how this is also true spiritually. But they certainly would see it in a second reading through the Gospel of John.
Now imagine as an ancient Hellenized Jew you would be reading this for the first time. What that would provoke in you is: Jesus? Jesus really the wise and powerful logos, the Eternal Word, the creator of all life and light, whether it’s physical or spiritual?
If so, I need to find out more. I need to pay attention.
The same is true for all of you listening today. Jesus is indeed, as John testifies, the wise and powerful creator—your wise and powerful creator.
You must pay attention to him as the Supreme Word.
2. Jesus Is the True and Ultimate Light
Now John provides a second arresting identification of Jesus in verses 6-9, which is where we’ll see number two: Jesus is the true and ultimate light.
Jesus is the true and ultimate light. We’ll read these verses all together.
Verse 6: “There came a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. There was the True Light, which coming into the world enlightens every man.”
In this next section, we begin to transition from eternity and creation to the world of first century Judea. Jesus, the Eternal Word, didn’t stay at the Father’s side but came into the world.
“Jesus, the Eternal Word, didn’t stay at the father’s side but came into the world.”
But not without an appropriate forerunner: a man named John. You’ll remember from the introduction sermon that John mentioned here is not our author, the Apostle, but instead John the Baptist.
John’s gospel is unique and never refers to John the Baptist with that extra descriptor, “the Baptist.” But we know that’s who it is based on what we see in the rest of the prologue and what we see in chapter 1, verses 6-8.
John the Baptist: A Witness, Not the Light
Here, John the Baptist is not sent by God to be the light, but to be a testimony for him who is the light, namely Jesus, the Word.
And why specifically? The text says so that others might believe in Jesus through John, through the witness of John.
Now some have suggested, and I think there’s merit to this, that our author, the Apostle, includes these and certain other words about John the Baptist partly because there are still people in his time who are holding up John the Baptist too highly, or perhaps out of timidity, out of fear of persecution, they are willing to go so far as to accept John and the teachings of John, but not accept Jesus.
Well, John the Apostle certainly wants to give John the Baptist proper honor, as Jesus himself did. John the Apostle doesn’t want his audience to miss that the True Light is Jesus, not John the Baptist, not John the Apostle either, not Moses, not any other Jewish or Christian person.
This was even John the Baptist’s own attitude, as we’ll see as we read on.
And what it needs to be our attitudes: we, brethren, are not the light. No saint is the light. We’re all just witnesses.
We are witnesses of him who is the true light, and we are called, and our purpose is to point everyone to him.
“We are not the light. No saint is the light. We’re all just witnesses called to point everyone to him.”
I noticed verse 9 calls Jesus the True Light, and the use of “true” here does not necessarily imply that every other witness is a false light. Rather, Jesus is simply the greater, the ultimate light, the light to which all other lights are pointing.
He is the Supreme Word, and thus he is the Supreme, completely trustworthy, and life-giving light.
The True Light Enlightens Every Person
And there’s also the two phrases at the end of verse 9 as they transition us into the next section. We’re told that the True Light is the one coming into the world.
This is the first time that John uses the word “world” in our passage, and even in this book. We might be used to the word “world” being a largely neutral term, just a descriptor for the earth, the dwelling place of mankind, that greater universe.
But as we will see as we work through this gospel, that’s not the way that John uses the word “world.” He uses it with a negative connotation.
To John, the world is not simply the created order, but the realm of darkness, ignorance, and sin. The dwelling place of a race living in total rebellion against God.
That’s the world as John normally sees it.
Into such a world, verse 9 says the true light came and enlightens every man.
Now that’s a phrase that’s puzzled many an interpreter of this passage. In what way does Jesus, present tense, enlighten, shine on, or illuminate every person?
Lots of answers have been suggested. The answer that makes the most biblical sense to me is not that Jesus saves every person automatically or spiritually gives every person sufficient knowledge of God. There is such a thing as general revelation, but it’s not talking about that here.
Rather, the sense that makes the most sense to me is that Jesus, by coming into the world, reveals every person for what that person really is. Really, this is what we saw previously in John 3:19-21, isn’t it?
We’ll get there in our own exposition of this book. But Jesus’ light, what does it do? It shows your true colors. It shows what you really are. It shows whether you really love God and his truth or not.
No matter who you are, no matter where you are, those who love evil, they run from the light of Jesus, or they try to destroy him. But those who love the truth, they run to Jesus, and they give him the glory for everything.
“Those who love evil run from the light of Jesus. But those who love the truth run to Jesus and give him the glory.”
In that sense, Jesus does illuminate every person.
In this section, John is asking the original audience, and he’s asking us again: to whom are you giving your attention? Is it to the Supreme Word, the True Light? Or is it to some mere lesser light? Or even worse, to darkness?
Because of who Jesus is, you must give attention to him as the Supreme Word.
3. Jesus Is the Rejected Yet Life-Giving Lord
John provides a third arresting identification of Jesus in verses 10 to 13.
Which we will see next is number three: Jesus is the rejected yet life-giving Lord.
Both verse 5 and verse 9 have already alluded to the fact that the world has rejected God’s Supreme Word. But John is going to make this surprising reality more explicit in this third section.
The World Did Not Know Him
Look at verse 10.
“He, that is the true light, was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him.”
This is a doubly astonishing statement. On the one hand, we hear that the Eternal Word, the logos, the one who created the world, amazingly entered into the world. God’s word, his eternal word, is remaining for a time in the world.
That’s astonishing. But then on the other hand, we also hear that the people of the world, the very people that the logos created, they did not know or recognize or acknowledge their creator.
“The Eternal Word entered into the world, and the very people the logos created did not recognize their creator.”
How can this be? Surely the original Jewish audience might have asked. Maybe we’re just talking about those godless gentiles.
We’ll look at verse 11 now. “He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him.”
Here again, John says that Jesus, the Word, he came into the creation that was all made by him and for him. It belongs to him. He’s the owner. He’s the master. He’s the Lord of it.
But how did the created people within that creation respond to their owner? Respond to their lord?
The text says the Master’s own people did not receive him. They did not accept him.
Jesus offered himself as the True Light and life, and the people of the world rejected him.
Now, those who were his own—that phrase certainly applies to mankind in general. But John surely uses this phrase to refer to the Jews specifically.
If anybody should have received the True Light, the Word, it should be his own people, should be the Jews. But they didn’t.
John will repeatedly show in the rest of the Gospel how the Jews, even the flesh and blood of Jesus, did not receive their lord and Messiah, but were in fact the most vicious in opposing him.
So consider just how dark this world is that Jesus came to save. The world that we still live in. This is not a world of goodness that welcomes its creator, the Lord.
This is a world of evil, or the Lord’s own people will not receive him.
How great must be the love, the humility, the patience of God to enter into such a world?
How terrible is the crime of the world, and even we ourselves, when we go the same way as the world and completely reject him?
The Right to Become Children of God
Yet look at verse 12.
God has determined that he would not be rejected by all.
Verse 12: “But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name.”
Not all the Jews rejected Jesus when he came to the earth. Not all the gentiles refused to acknowledge their creator and Lord.
Through the apostolic witness, John indicates a remnant repented and believed, a holy portion, just as it is today.
And what did God grant to these persons? John says God granted them the right to become children of God, beloved of the Father, fellow inheritors in the kingdom of his Son.
Some have pointed out that if there is a highlighted hinge point in the symmetry of this passage, it’s right here in verse 12.
It’s like John is emphasizing a central message to the original audience and even us today with this central portion: you do not have to be like the rest of the world, the world that rejects its life-giving Lord.
You don’t have to be like the rest of the Jews. You don’t have to be like the rest of the gentiles.
You can receive the True Light. You can receive the Supreme Word. You can believe in his name. You can find true life as a child of God.
“You can receive the True Light. You can believe in his name. You can find true life as a child of God.”
Born of God, Not of Human Will
But before anyone starts patting himself on the back or exalting himself as he pursues Jesus in this way by repentance and faith, John adds in verse 13.
“Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
How wondrous is this? Do you realize why you or anyone chooses to repent and believe in Jesus?
The answer is: you were born into it. But not by physical descent, nor by human passion or planning. Rather, as John will tell us much more, especially when we get to John 3 in the conversation with Nicodemus, you were born by the spirit, according to the will of God.
He did it all by himself. But you are the beneficiary. He gave you faith. He gave you life.
“You were born by the spirit, according to the will of God. He did it all by himself. He gave you faith. He gave you life.”
So who really is this Jesus? The wise and powerful creator, the true and ultimate light, the rejected yet life-giving Lord?
If what John says is true, and it is, the Supreme Word demands your attention. It demands more than your attention. It demands your entire self, your whole trust, belief, and repentance.
And the one God sent into the world.
4. Jesus Is the Glorious and Gracious Revelator
Now, as resting as these first three identifications of Jesus are for us, John saves the most mysterious and amazing for last. That’s in verses 14 to 18.
Why else did you give Jesus your full attention?
Number four: Jesus is the glorious and gracious revelator.
Jesus is the glorious and gracious revelator, or one who reveals.
“Jesus is the glorious and gracious revelator—the one who reveals God.”
The Word Became Flesh
Look at the first part of verse 14.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Consider how succinctly, in just two phrases, John captures the wonder of the Incarnation.
At this point in the prologue, we know who the Word is and what reception the world gave him. But the creator Word still came.
It didn’t just appear in flesh, but he became flesh. Very forceful description.
This means that he became fully and truly human with all its limitations and weaknesses, apart from sin. Whatever human is, that’s what he became.
“He didn’t just appear in flesh—he became flesh. Fully and truly human with all its limitations, apart from sin.”
And he dwelt—more literally, tabernacled, pitched his tents—among us, among people.
For the earthly witnesses of Jesus, the Incarnation is no longer abstract at this point. There are boots on the ground, as it were, or rather sandals.
The Eternal Word, the creator, the Son of God, Jesus, is here.
And John says Jesus came not merely to dwell with us or even to save us, but to reveal something. And what is it that Jesus came to reveal?
We Saw His Glory
Begin to see in the next phrase. John says, “and we saw his glory.”
Now notice the “we” here. John is reporting the direct experience of the Apostles and other eyewitnesses of Jesus.
But what John says indirectly captures the experience of every believer, even those today.
What is that? He and that we, as witnesses of Jesus, see in the Word becoming flesh?
Well, the answer is glory. That is the brightness, the splendor, or the radiance of God.
Ancient Israelites sometimes got to behold the radiance of God’s glorious presence visibly. You’ll read about this in the Old Testament. They saw the glory cloud leading them through the wilderness, which also settled on the tabernacle and then the temple.
Well, in the tabernacling of the Word with man on the earth, God’s people also beheld glory, even a greater glory.
“In the tabernacling of the Word with man, God’s people beheld glory—even a greater glory.”
Here’s the two ways John next describes this glory in verse 14.
First, he says, “Glory as of the only begotten from the father.”
The word translated “only begotten” is the word “monogenes,” a word that doesn’t necessarily include the idea of birth or generation, but it certainly means one and only, unique.
A monogenes son is a special son, and especially beloved son. And it was the monogenes son of God who displayed his unique loveliness and glory to the world by becoming flesh.
Furthermore, this glory is said to be “full of grace and truth.”
And this phrase may be another biblical allusion, even to a famous description of God in the Torah.
Verses 14 to 18 actually feature several allusions to the books of Moses. Recall that in Exodus 33, Moses asks to see God’s glory after God graciously forgives the people of Israel for their rebellion and creating and worshiping a golden calf.
Moses makes this petition. God grants Moses’ requests, and he tells Moses that God will pass by Moses and declare his name to Moses.
Now the long name of God is given in Exodus 34. I won’t go through the whole thing, but one phrase of it is notable. In Exodus 34:6-7, we hear that God is—God says this about himself—”abounding in loving kindness and truth.”
Abounding loving kindness and truth. And this description became something of a favorite among the Israelites. You see it all over the Old Testament.
Well, this phrase here in John, “full of grace and truth,” it’s not exactly the same as “abounding in loving kindness and truth,” but it’s very similar.
Jesus, the Son, the Word, the Apostle John says, is the full revelation of the grace and truth of God.
But what does this new revelation suggest about the old revelation, that which was given in the Old Testament?
John the Baptist Affirms Christ’s Supremacy
Well, John’s going to explain first by citing John the Baptist again in verse 15.
Look at verse 15.
“John testified about him and cried out saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for he existed before me.”‘”
Now structurally, this word from the baptizer forms a parallel from what was said about him before in verses 6 to 8. But it also progresses us further along to the first historical scene in the Gospel in verse 19.
Notice that in verses 6 to 8, the testimony of John the Baptist is indirect. But here in verse 15, we have a direct quotation from him.
It’s almost like the camera is zooming in closer. Now we actually hear John the Baptist speak.
What did John the Baptist affirm in verse 15? Well, he says again that Jesus is greater than John. But Jesus appeared on the scene after John.
Jesus is actually the first one, both in true chronology because he’s the Eternal Divine Word, but also in hierarchy. Jesus, John the Baptist says, has always been the first one. He’s the chief. He’s the heir. He’s the ruler of all creation.
“Jesus has always been the first one. He’s the chief. He’s the heir. He’s the ruler of all creation.”
And in this second insertion from John the Baptist, we see implicitly affirmed that the grace, truth, and even glory of Jesus on display in the Incarnation, and in one sense, is the same as that which belonged to God in the Old Testament.
Because as John the Baptist says, if Jesus is the pre-existent one, he’s the one of higher rank, he’s even the creator logos, and he must be the God of the Old Testament.
And because God does not change, and he does not increase in essential glory, the grace, truth, and glory of the Word made flesh must be the same grace, truth, and glory that was on display in the Old Testament.
But does that mean there’s nothing new about the manifestation of divine glory seen in Jesus coming?
Grace Upon Grace
Well, no. Because look at verse 16.
Verse 16: “For of his fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.”
Now verse 16 begins with the word “for,” and that’s important because that word indicates that the author is supplying a reason for what he just said, namely in verses 14 and 15.
What did we read there? Jesus—both John the Apostle and John the Baptist declare—is the unique and full revelation of God’s glory.
But he’s also the same God whose glory was put on display in the Old Testament.
So we have a unique and full revelation of God’s glory now, but the same God whose glory was put on display in the Old Testament. How can those things both be true?
Let’s consider John’s words in the rest of verse 16.
John affirms in the beginning of the verse that we—that is, the first Christian believers and all those since—have received the fullness of the Word. He says we have all received the full glory of Jesus’ revelation.
And what is that revelation? John further describes it as “grace upon grace.”
That’s an interesting phrase in Greek. Literally, the phrase in Greek is “grace after grace” or even “grace instead of grace,” which is a little hard to understand in translation.
Many interpreters go with the sense that we see in the translation I’m preaching from, the New American Standard 95, that this is “grace upon grace.” The idea is that Jesus coming resulted in an overflowing abundance of God’s grace that God’s people experience.
A better understanding of this phrase in context is actually more in line with what the NIV translates. We have here both ideas of contrast and progression.
John is setting up a comparison between the grace of God revealed in the Old Testament and the grace of God revealed in Christ’s incarnation.
Did God manifest his grace and truth in the Old Testament? He most certainly did. The New Testament writers talk specifically about the glory and goodness of God’s law, as well as the power of the Lord’s awesome appearance at Sinai.
That’s all acknowledged. The grace of God manifesting in Jesus is the same grace.
But as many New Testament writers also affirm, the grace manifesting in Jesus is at the same time a better grace, a fuller grace, a superior grace.
“The grace manifesting in Jesus is at the same time a better grace, a fuller grace, a superior grace.”
This new revelation of grace or favor is after and in replacement of the previous grace.
Grace and Truth Through Jesus Christ
Because really, isn’t that exactly what verse 17 says?
Look over at verse 17.
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”
There’s the word “for” again. He’s been supplying a reason for what he just said about “we have the fullness of grace now.”
John is not saying that there was no glory, grace, or truth in the law of Moses. There was.
But the grace and truth of God displayed in the Word taking on human flesh is so much greater that it’s like grace and truth weren’t even visible before.
Grace and truth, verse 17 says, were realized, or more literally came about or came into being, through Jesus Christ.
“Grace and truth were realized—came into being—through Jesus Christ.”
That’s very strong language. And certainly, this would be a startling assertion for John’s original Jewish audience.
How can the coming of this glorious revelation of the law, especially if he’s the same God of the Old Testament, how can his revelation, how can he be the bringer of a greater grace?
I think the answer really is settled for us in verse 18.
No One Has Seen God—Except Through the Son
Let’s look at verse 18.
“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the father, he has explained him.”
Notice how the first phrase in verse 18 pushes us to think about Moses and God’s revelation in the Old Testament.
Did Moses and the people of Israel ever see God? Yes and no.
They did see a visible manifestation of God’s glory, but not the fullness.
Even in Exodus 33:34, which has been an allusion to that already, God told Moses, “You cannot see my face, for no one can see my face and live.”
Moses saw God, who was a gracious revelation. And yet Moses didn’t see God. He didn’t see the fullness of God.
The same applies to the prophets. Consider the visions of God in heaven provided by Isaiah or Ezekiel. Their visions are amazing and glorious. They see the four living creatures and the train of God’s robe.
But the prophets cannot bear to see God’s face or view God’s face. They only look at God via their peripheral vision, and even that is overwhelming to them.
John’s original Jewish readers would have been well aware of this impossibility of seeing God. This is an unarguable truth: no one has seen God at any time.
We get that. The Old Testament shows that. Understood.
The reason is that the revelation of God’s full glory—seeing God—is too much for us.
We need it mediated to us somehow. If only God could explain himself to us in a way that we humans could handle and understand.
If there were only some way that God could bend down to our level and show himself while at the same time losing none of that grace and truth that make him so glorious.
Well, John declares in verse 18 that that is precisely what God did. What the Word did in becoming flesh.
Your problem wasn’t simply before the Incarnation our need for light and life, but more fundamentally, for someone to explain to us and show us God.
None of us could sufficiently find that out on our own. The law provided by God is good, but not enough.
The monogenes God, in a mysterious Triune way, is always dwelling in the bosom of the father, who intimately knows and loves the father.
This unique one, this beloved one, he and only he is able to explain the father to us.
The word “explained” in verse 18 is the Greek word “exegatamai,” which means to report, to explain, to expound, or to make known. It’s from which we get the English word “exegesis.”
Jesus, the son, is able to exegete the father for us, to show us and to explain to us God.
How? By coming in a form that is familiar to us, that is the same as us. By coming as a human being. By the Eternal Word becoming flesh.
Unlike previously, people can now be in God’s presence. We can listen to his words, feel his touch, and even look at his face without being consumed.
“We can now be in God’s presence, listen to his words, feel his touch, even look at his face without being consumed.”
John, our author, should know because he experienced these things literally. As they’ll tell us later, he literally leaned back on the bosom of Jesus, on the bosom of God, just to ask him a question.
Nothing like this has ever been seen before.
Jesus is the Supreme revelation of God and his grace to us.
In the life of Jesus, we see both the astounding holiness and truth of God and the astounding grace and mercy of God.
God’s glory was put on display in the Old Testament, and it was mighty, amazing, and saving.
And yet it’s nothing like the fullness that we have now received in the life, the words, and the works of Jesus.
Now we see the fullness of the glory of God. Now we see the full grace and truth of God.
By God’s amazing plan, Jesus became for us the glorious and gracious revelator of God.
Jesus: The Supreme Communication of God
And thus, what is a perfectly appropriate title for Jesus: the Word?
Because what is a word? It’s a message. It’s communication. It’s a revelation.
As the Word of God, Jesus is not merely God’s powerful and wise agent of creation. He’s not merely the communicator of saving light.
But he is himself the revelation of God, the communication of who God is and what God is like.
He is the Supreme communication, the Supreme Word in a way to us that we can understand.
Not exhaustively, but truly, adequately, in a sense fully.
Because of the living Word incarnated, we can actually know God.
“Because of the living Word incarnated, we can actually know God.”
And why should that be such a big deal? Because those other things that we cherish—light and life—what is that? The essence of them? Where do they really come from?
They come from what the prophets and the apostles declare in various places, even Jesus himself.
What is the essence of life, even eternal life? It’s knowing God.
The essence of all life and light is simply knowing God. And that’s what Jesus came to do for us.
Conclusion: Give Your Attention to the Supreme Word
So just in this short prologue, consider all the arresting identifications that John provides for the original audience and for us today that should make us pay attention to Jesus as the Supreme Word of God.
Do you want to receive new creation in the powerful and wise creator?
Do you want to behold him who is the true and ultimate light?
Do you want a portion in him who is the rejected yet life-giving Lord?
And do you want to know him who is the glorious and gracious revelator of God?
If so, and you must, turn your attention to Jesus. Turn your life to Jesus.
Stop being distracted by various sins or various passing treasures of the world. Those things are not important compared to the Supreme Word who has come.
You must give your attention to Jesus. You need to find out who Jesus really is, what he claims, what he did, what he said.
Whether he really is the only way, the truth, and the life. Whether it really is worth giving up everything, even your own life, to know and follow him.
“You need to find out who Jesus really is—whether he really is the only way, the truth, and the life.”
That’s the challenge John lays out for us at the very beginning of his gospel, just as he did for the original readers.
Those are some pretty challenging assertions. But John stands already as one witness, along with John the Baptist and others.
He says Jesus made these claims. I’m telling you they’re true.
Many of us can say the same. And if these things are true, then they demand our Supreme attention.
Is that what you say? Is that what your life says?
Let’s close in prayer.
Lord Jesus, we’re so grateful for this apostolic word, this record from John, so that even though we don’t see you with our own eyes, we can see you by faith.
We can see you via the testimony of your chosen apostle and in a way see the very things that he saw so that we ourselves can verify these claims.
We can say Jesus really is the Word. He is the life. He is the light. He is the full revelation of God.
Jesus, thank you for showing us the Father. Thank you for showing us God. Thank you for showing your heart, showing your glory in the cross and the resurrection.
Oh Lord, we would never have even begun to dream that there was a God so glorious except for these things.
Thank you for your word. But Lord, let us not just say, “Wow, that’s interesting. Wow, that’s great. That makes me emotional,” but then just move on.
This is the kind of revelation that needs to transform us. That only happens by your new birth, by your spirit.
We ask for that. We ask for your fundamental transformation for anybody who does not know the new birth yet, but also for those who have, Lord, that they would grow, that they would pull away from those distractions of the world, Lord, that are inhibiting their following you.
I pray that for myself. I pray that for everybody listening today, that you would have the proper place in our lives as the Supreme Word that you deserve.
In Jesus’ name, amen.