In John 1:14-18, we see the wonder of Jesus Christ, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. Through Jesus, we see the glory of God, full of grace and truth. This passage reminds us that God did not remain distant from His people, but came near to us through His Son. As we study these verses, we’ll consider what it means to know God through Jesus and how His grace and truth shape the way we live and follow Him.
In our post-Christian, accept any religion other than Christianity culture, John Loftus, an atheist polemicist, wrote a book that raised very few eyebrows. Its provocative title? Here it is: Christianity Is Not Great: How Faith Fails. The book should be retitled: Atheism Is Not Great: How Atheism Fails. Atheism fails insofar as it fails to come to terms with the biblical and non-biblical evidence for the person and redemptive work of Jesus, the long-awaited and prophesied Christ.
John, Jesus’ beloved disciple, paid dearly for what he wrote about his Lord at the end of his life. Despite persecution and opposition from hateful naysayers within the Roman Empire, John wrote to give us all the evidence we need to realize that Christianity is great because of Christ’s identity and His mission to mankind. In John chapter 1, verses 14 through 18, the aged disciple waxes eloquent in answering the question of all questions:
Really, Who Is Jesus Christ? (John 1:14-18)
Christ Is Human (John 1:14a)
John bore witness to this mind-stretching, highly mysterious historical reality when he said:
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14a)
The first two clauses leave thinking minds frozen in awe. As Arthur Pink correctly observes:
The Invisible became tangible. The Transcendent became imminent. That which was far off drew nigh. That which was beyond the reach of the human mind became that which could be beholden within the realm of human life. Here we are permitted to see through the veil that, when unveiled, would have blinded us.”[1]
The hymnist puts this magnificent event in perspective with these words:
Love was when God became a man, locked in time and space without rank or place. Love was when God became a man, down where I could see love that reached to me. Love was when Jesus walked in history.
The thought is so fantastic we can hardly wrap our finite, limited minds around it: God became a man. God, the eternal Word, the unseen Logos, became flesh and blood. He who created the worlds and the ever-expanding cosmos chose to don a tunic and sandals and walk the dusty roads of earth. William Barclay, the renowned Greek scholar, was so moved by this powerful verse that he said, “It might well be held that this is the greatest single verse in the whole New Testament.”[2] I wholeheartedly agree.
Satan understands this too, and that’s why, from the beginning of the Church Age until the present, he and his menacing minions have worked feverishly to destroy the proper understanding of the person of Jesus.
- In the first century, the Docetists argued that Jesus only appeared to have a human nature, while He was 100% God.
- In the second century, the Ebionites affirmed the humanity of Jesus, while denying He was the natural son of Joseph and Mary, hence denying His deity.
- The Arians of the fourth century affirmed the humanity of Christ, but denied Jesus was the eternal God, opting for the position that He was but a creation of God. The Council of Nicaea condemned them in 325 A.D.
- The Apollinarians in the fourth century, under the leadership of Appolinarius, Bishop of Laodicea, denied the completeness of Christ’s humanity. He argued that since the human mind is sinful, the divine Logos took its place. The Church Council of Antioch condemned them in 378 and 379 A.D., and the Church Council in Constantinople in 381 A.D. If Christ didn’t have a human mind, then He wasn’t truly human. Logically, this would prohibit Him from being our Savior.
- The Nestorians in the fifth century taught that Christ was two distinct persons in one body. The Church Council in Ephesus condemned them in 431 A.D.
- The Eutychians, also in the fifth century, denied the distinction of Christ’s divine and human natures. The Church Council at Chalcedon condemned them in 405 and 451 A.D.
Throughout, Christian orthodoxy taught what Scripture teaches: Jesus was fully human and fully divine in one person. The council at Chalcedon in 451 set this theological viewpoint in stone.
Why bother taking the time to go over how Satan has operated in the past where the person of Jesus is concerned? Don’t think for a minute he has changed his tactics. In every age, he vacillates back and forth between attacking the humanity and divinity of Jesus. Our age, as you can readily see from the plethora of cults and false worldviews, is a living example of this demonic barrage. For instance, one modern liberal, “enlightened” theologian, William Spurrrier, fits nicely into the camp of the ancient Ebionites or Arians when he teaches his students that Jesus is nothing more than a great teacher and a great man, entirely human but to be respected like other great men. Hence, Christ is not to be worshipped but to be followed.”[3] Another cunning tactic today is to deny that Christ is unusual and that to believe such is to evidence white supremacy. Recently, Jason Cha, the Dean of Students at the once conservative Point Loma University in San Diego, warned students that saying “in Christ alone” is a sign of white privilege.[4] No, Jason, making this statement about a non-white Savior is not white privilege. It’s the biblical, historical truth as taught by John.
As leaders to the Light, we, like John, the author of John, and John the Baptist, must be thoroughly convinced of the humanity of Christ, for without this bedrock truth His glorious work on our behalf is rendered useless. So be aware, and beware!!!
Additionally, as we think about John’s exciting statement here in verse 14, we must come to terms with sub-questions: (1) What are the proofs of His humanity? and (2) What are the purposes of His humanity?
What Are The Proofs Of His Humanity? Three main areas come to mind.
1. Human Birth
As the author of Hebrews writes:
Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. (Heb. 2:14)
In the book of First John, John adds this key test to determine false teachers from true ones:
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. (1 John 4:2)
For John, the fact that Christ, the eternal God, was born in the flesh is a key linchpin in proper theology. That He was born to Joseph and Mary demonstrates, without question, that He was a man, every bit like you and me.
2. Human Development
Again, Scripture clearly teaches that the eternal Logos was fully man. Luke puts it this way:
And Jesus [at about 12 years old here] kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:51)
As God, He was omniscient, but as a man, His thinking and wisdom were constantly stretched and enhanced as He grew up. Is this not the essence of the mystery of the union between God and man?!!
Also, like a man, He needed food (Matt. 4:2), experienced tiredness (Mark 4:38), had emotions (Mark 3:5 … anger; Matt. 17:17 … disgust; Matt. 23:37 … sorrow; Matt. 18:10 … affection; etc.), needed water (John 19:28), and so on and so forth. In this way, Jesus was every bit a man.
3. Human Names
Like any other man, Jesus had earthly names we can all identify
with: Carpenter (Mark 6:3), Joseph’s son (Matt. 1:21), Mary’s son (Mark 6:3), physician (Luke 4:23), prophet (Matt. 21:11), rabbi (Matt. 23:8), son of David (Matt. 12:23), and teacher (Matt. 8:19).
Biblical history (and extra-biblical history … Tacitus, the Roman historian, and Josephus, the Jewish historian near this period) provides ample proof that Jesus was a full-blooded man. He ate like we eat, slept as we sleep, thought as we think, laughed as we laugh, loved as we love, talked like we talk, walked as we walk. The evidence is incontrovertible. Why is recognizing Christ’s full humanity so significant?
What Are The Purposes Of His Humanity? Jesus Christ HAD to be a man in order to accomplish the Father’s grand eternal purposes for us. Had Jesus not been a man, God in the flesh, as John says, then all that was foretold He would accomplish is still unfilled, and you and I are still in our sins. Christ’s humanity is the bedrock of His mission. And what mission could only the God-man fulfill?
- To Fulfill Prophecy. Did not the prophets teach throughout the pages of the Old Testament that the Messiah would be a man? In Genesis 3:15 He is called “the seed,” in Genesis 22:18 He is called the Son of Abraham, in Numbers 24:17 He is called the son of Jacob, in Jeremiah 23:5 He is called the Line of David, in Genesis 49:10 He is called as One who will come from the tribe of Judah, and in Micah 5:2 it was prophesied He would be born in Bethlehem. Woven like a beautiful thread from Genesis to Malachi is the concept that the Messiah, the Deliverer, would be a man.
- To Be The Priest. This is the author of Hebrews’ argument. Throughout the Old Testament, the Jewish High Priest represented the people before God. This was problematic because he was temporal, imperfect, and tied to a temporal covenant. Christ had to be born a man to be placed in a position to become our eternal High Priest. He is therefore far superior to the Aaronic line, for He is both King and Priest (Heb. 7:1-2). He is a timeless man like Melchizedek, the priest from Abraham’s day, who had the form of timelessness about him (Heb. 7:3). He has a perpetual life, enabling Him to always be our High Priest before the Father (Heb. 7:23-24). He can, then, offer perpetual forgiveness (Heb. 7:25). He was perfect in every way, unlike those of the Aaronic, Levitical line (Heb. 7:26). He was not only the perfect High Priest, but the perfect sacrifice as well (Heb. 7:28, which is something no High Priest could ever be to the people. Only the God-man could step into those lofty roles.
- To Be The Sacrifice. Undoubtedly, we must develop this concept further. The Old Testament was clear that the Messiah would be a man who would die a sacrificial death for all sinners. Isaiah 53 put this truth before man:
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well‑being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due? 9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. 10 But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. (Isa. 53)
Isaiah looked for a man who would come and do what no other man would or could do: die a substitutionary death for all mankind so mankind might find forgiveness before the Father. Do you see, now, why the humanity of Christ is so crucial? Remove it, and you don’t have a sacrifice. You don’t have a High Priest right now either who is more than able to intercede between you and the Father.
- To Be The Romans 5:12-21 shows us the importance of this truth by contrasting the first Adam with the second Adam, Jesus Christ. Study the passage in detail, and you’ll readily see why Jesus had to be born a man. As a man, He could undo everything Adam did to mankind.
| FIRST ADAM | SECOND ADAM |
| Brought Physical & Spiritual Death (v. 12, 17) | Brings Spiritual Life (v. 17) |
| Disobedient (v. 16, 19). | Obedient (v. 18) |
| Brought Condemnation (v. 16) | Brings Justification (v. 16) |
| Made Sinners (v. 19) | Makes Saints (v. 19) |
| Negative Universal Effects | Positive Universal Effects |
Because Jesus was born in the flesh, as John teaches us, He was placed in a position to live like Adam was supposed to live, in complete obedience to the Father. And because He lived like the perfect Adam all the way to the cross, He can now give you and me the opportunity to reign with Him when we place our faith in Him. Do you think the humanity of Christ is a side theological point, a bit of mundane information? Think again. What the skeleton is to the body, the humanity of Christ is to His glorious mission. If any man says likewise, we must pray for his soul, for this is the fundamental of all fundamentals where salvation is concerned.
The Jews of Christ’s day, for the most part, were clueless about this aspect of His person. They failed to pay attention to their own writings, given to them by God, which demonstrated He would become a man of all men. Consider, along these lines, the teaching of John here in John 1:14 … “…and [the Word] dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Please do not pass quickly over these words. The ancient Jews failed to recognize the Lord when He came.
We learn from the opening clause, denoted by “and,” that Israel’s old worship center, the tabernacle, paved the way for them to understand that their Savior would be born a man. How do I see this here? The word for “dwelt” in Greek is eskanosen (14 Καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός, πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας), which is related to the word “skene,” which, in turn, is the word for the tabernacle God had Israel build while they were in the wilderness (Ex. 25:8). The implication from John’s pen can’t be missed here. As God’s glorious presence was in the earthly tabernacle, it was equally present in the person of Jesus Christ! Think of it. The majestic, glorious, awe-inspiring God of the Old Testament, the God whose voice caused earthquakes, and whose presence was so brilliant clouds had to shield men from Him, was contained (if we can say that with great reverence) in the person of Jesus.
Beyond this, every Jew had enough information in this tabernacle concept to expect God to be born a man. Consider the hints from the Lord:
- The tabernacle was never meant to be perpetual, only temporary, thus pointing to Jesus, the ultimate “tabernacle.”
- The tabernacle was to be used while Israel was in the wilderness. Once they conquered the Promised Land, God had them build a temple. Before that, they were to worship Him in the wilderness in His tabernacle. It came, therefore, to pre-figure the wilderness life of Christ: the manger, the Carpenter’s workshop, the lack of a place to lay His head.
- The tabernacle was nothing special to look at but was a humble portable worship center covered with sewn skins and linens. Again, this was but a prelude to the Son of Man.
- The tabernacle was the place where God met men in worship. Was this not true of Christ as a man? Where He was is where man met with God for worship of the unseen God?
- The tabernacle was the place where the sacrifice for sins was made. Was this not a snapshot, prophetically speaking, of the One who would come and be THE sacrifice of all sacrifices?
Yes, God did not leave His people in any age without adequate information that He would one day send His only Son to become a man. From Genesis 3:15 to the picture of the tabernacle, it was clear this would be so, and it was so in John’s Day. He wrote about it, and John the Baptist testified to it. “The Word became flesh.” What greater revelation is there? What fact is more amazing?
Christ Is Divine (John 1:14b-18)
Dean Cha at Point Loma Nazarene University should spend some quality time reflecting on John’s inspired words in the ensuing verses before us. They emphatically identify Christ as God in the flesh. Dean Cha has left sound doctrine and has drifted far from the theological mooring I received from Azusa Pacific University. He attended here, too, but obviously, this is another theological school of higher education that has bowed to cultural pressure regarding the exclusivity of the person and work of Jesus. John’s words bring us back to theological reality.
Proof of His Divinity (John 1:14b-15). John makes two profound statements here about the person or identity of Jesus:
1. He Possesses the Radiance of God (John 1:14b)
14 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 1:14b)
John bears witness that “we,” probably denoting Peter, James, and John, saw the glory, the shekinah divine glory of God emanating from Jesus. When did this occur? On the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-11.
1 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light (Matt. 17:1).
Transfigured is from the Greek metemorphothe, a word that denotes a radical transformation. Think of Iron Man transforming from his manly form to his powerful robot form, and you’ll get a sense of this word’s meaning. There on that mountain, which was probably Mount Tabor on the northeastern edge of the Valley of Armageddon, these three core disciples had the privilege of seeing the brilliant glory that emanated from the absolute holiness of Christ, who was God. That same divine glory that filled the original tabernacle and temple at the time of dedication and was seen by Israel (Ex.40:34, 35; Num. 14:10, 22; 16:19; 2 Chron. 7:1-3) shone from Christ’s face and clothing. That’s a life event you would never forget, and John didn’t. Writing in his old age, he couldn’t help but remember what his young eyes had seen. Like Moses, he saw the divine glory of God, and God now stood before him. No mere man could project such blinding brilliance. That, my friend, was, and is, reserved for deity, and Christ is deity.
In addition, John underscores the fact that Christ had no starting point like a typical man. As I’ve stated, in our earlier studies of this chapter, we are actualized beings who were, at one time, merely potential. Jesus, on the other hand, was, and is, pure actualization with no potentiality. He is, as He said, the great I Am, the eternal One who stands outside time and space (John 8:58). John makes this clear again in verse 15.
2. He Possesses the Eternality of God (John 1:15)
John drives this message home with this interesting statement from the lips of John the Baptist:
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.’ (John 1)
According to Luke 1:26 and 36, the angel Gabriel revealed to Mary that her relative, Elizabeth, was already six months pregnant with John, the forerunner of Jesus. Why, then, did John the Baptist say that Jesus existed before him? Because he did, as God. Christ’s eternal existence is disclosed in several key prophecies from the Old Testament:
Isaiah 9:6, written some 735 years before the birth of Jesus, states this concerning the Messiah:
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa. 9)
Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, adds to this magnificent prophecy with these words:
2 But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. (Mic. 5)
The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah (Gen. 35:16-19; 48:7). Ephrathah was the ancient name of Bethlehem, and John added it here to distinguish it from a second Bethlehem in Israel. From this small, insignificant village located about five miles southwest of Jerusalem, the Messiah/King would be born. The religious leaders of Christ’s day knew this because they referred to it when Herod questioned them (Matt. 2:3-6). They failed to understand that the Messiah born here would be the eternal God who had revealed Himself to the nation throughout the Old Testament. The final clause in Micah 5:2 foretold this. The Hebrew here, which is reflected in the NIV, speaks of immeasurable time, or eternity. Other passages in the NT verify this fact (John 1:1; Phil. 2:6; Col. 1:17; Rev. 1:8). The phrase “from long ago” (qedem, מִקֶּ֖דֶם) “from the days of eternity,” (מִימֵ֥י עוֹלָֽ) speak of eternal existence. Qedem is used to describe God in the OT (Deut. 33:27; Hab. 1:12), and to underscore His ancient purposes (Isa. 37:26; Lam. 2:17). This word, in and of itself, is strategically chosen to highlight the fact that the Messiah/King will be none other than the eternal god. This was, and is, Jesus.
Additionally, John gives us insight into the . . .
Purposes of His Divinity (John 1:16-18). Two purposes stand out in these three verses:
1. To Bring Redemption
God’s holiness calls for Him to consume sinners, while His grace motivates Him to lovingly provide us the means whereby we can join His heavenly family. How that occurs is revealed here:
16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
With the arrival of Jesus, sinners now had access to “grace upon grace,” or more grace from a holy God than they needed to cover their sins when they come to Him in faith. No matter how terrible or massive your sin is before God, Christ came to shower you with grace that would cover your sin. His grace is inexhaustible. Let that truth sink deep into your heart and mind. This reminds me of the old hymn Grace Greater Than All Our Sin:
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt
Grace, grace, God’s grace
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace, grace, God’s grace
Grace that is greater than all our sin
Julia H. Johnston (1910)
What did we have prior to this magnanimous outpouring of divine grace? We had the Law of Moses. What did the Law do?
- It revealed the holiness of God (1 Pet. 1:15)
- It exposed the sinfulness of man by showing him his sin (Gal. 3:19)
- It revealed the holy standards God required for those who desired to know Him (Psalm 24:3-5)
- It was our schoolmaster until Christ, teaching us how to live for God (Gal. 3:24)
- It provided the means, i.e., sacrifices (Lev. 1-7), through which the sinner could have temporary fellowship with a holy God
But the Law, in all its divine glory, was highly limited. It condemned sinners but offered only limited and temporary forgiveness. The grace that Christ brings sinners, which is on His life, death, and resurrection, secures eternal forgiveness to the condemned at the point of belief. The Law could never do this. Grace does for sinners what the Law could never do. Do you know this grace in your life? This grace from Jesus is, as John reveals, intrinsically wedded to truth, highlighting that it is the only way for you, the sinner, to obtain an eternal relationship with a holy God. So, what (or who) is keeping you from asking for this undeserved grace to be poured all over your sin-stained soul? Don’t let the Devil convince you that your sin is too great for God’s grace. His grace is greater (“Where sin increased, grace increased all the more,” Rom. 5:20).
A secondary purpose of Christ’s divinity is disclosed in verse 18:
2. To Bring Revelation
Because Jesus is the second member of the Holy Trinity, He is intimately related to the Father as the only-begotten eternal Son, He was, and is, in the position to enable sinners who become saints to see and know God through Him. Watch how John develops this jaw-dropping point:
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.
Moses just saw the “back” of God, anthropomorphically speaking (Ex. 33:21-23). Why? Because God warned him that “No mortal man may see me and live” (Ex. 33:18-20). God’s brilliant holiness would instantly vaporize a sinner. Seeing God would be like you standing a hundred yards from the blazing sun. You wouldn’t stand a chance. Any human, therefore, who claims to have seen God is lying.
Yet with Jesus we are given a detailed glimpse and understanding of the Holy Father, because the Holy Son shares with us what He knows about Him. Jesus is, as John says here, the exegesis of the Father. Ardnt’s Greek Lexicon explains this unique word, eksageomai:
ἐξηγέομαι (s. next entry) mid. dep. fut. 3 pl. ἐξηγήσονται; Job 12:8; 1 aor. ἐξηγησάμην. Pass.: aor. 3 sg. ἐξηγήθη (Just., D. 68, 6); inf. ἐξήγηθῆναι (Just., D. 55, 3); pf. ptc. ἐξηγημένα (Just., D. 79, 1; 126, 5) (Hom. et al.) prim. mng. ‘lead’ (s. ἡγέομαι 1), but never so in our lit.
① to relate in detail, tell, report, describe, chiefly narrative (so Hdt.; ins, pap, LXX, EpArist; Philo, Leg. All. 3, 21; Berosus: 680 Fgm. 8a 140 Jac. [in Jos., C. Ap. 1, 140]; Just., D. 58, 4; but 112, 1 ‘interpret’, 68, 7 ‘translate’) τὶ someth. τὰ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ their experiences on the way Lk 24:35. πάντα GPt 11:45. τ. δεσμὸν τ. ἀγάπης τ. θεοῦ describe the bond of the love of God 1 Cl 49:2. τί τινι relate someth. to someone (Judg 7:13) Ac 10:8; Hv 4, 2, 5; GJs 19:3. καθʼ ἓν ἕκαστον one by one Ac 21:19. ἐ. καθὼς ὁ θεὸς ἐπεσκέψατο 15:14. ὅσα ἐποίησεν ὁ θεός vs. 12. ἐξηγουμένου Παύλου ἃ πέπονθεν ἐν Φιλίπποις AcPl Ha 6, 4.
② to set forth in great detail, expound. Oft. as t.t. for the activity of priests and soothsayers who impart information or reveal divine secrets; also used w. ref. to divine beings themselves (Pla., Trag., Thu., X.; Wetstein on J 1:18.—Arrian, Anab. 2, 3, 3 of soothsayers: τὰ θεῖα ἐξηγεῖσθαι; 6, 2, 3; Ael. Aristid. 13 p. 219 D.: τὰ μέλλοντα ὥσπερ μάντις ἐξηγεῖτο, 45, 30 K. of the proclamation of the Sarapis-miracles; Pollux 8, 124 ἐξηγηταὶ δʼ ἐκαλοῦντο οἱ τὰ περὶ τῶν διοσημιῶν καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἱερῶν διδάσκοντες=they are termed interpreters/expounders who teach things about portents and other sacred matters; Jos. of the interpr. of the law: Bell. 1, 649; 2, 162, Ant. 18, 81; Lucian, Peregr. 11 τῶν βίβλων τὰς μὲν ἐξηγεῖτο καὶ διεσάφει). ἐκεῖνος ἐξηγήσατο he has made known or brought news of (the invisible God) J 1:18 (so also JMichael, JTS 22, 1921, 14–16 against RHarris, The Origin of the Prologue 1917, 35; s. Hdb.3 ad loc.; APersson, D. Exegeten u. Delphi 1918).—B. 1238. M-M. TW. Spicq.[5]
The Greek term simply means to draw the meaning out of something. Because Jesus knows the Father implicitly and intimately, He, therefore, is in a perfect position to introduce the unseen, marvelous, omnipotent, holy, and loving Father to us.
And what does Jesus tell us about the Holy Father? He tells us that He loves us and has provided His Son as our Sin-Sacrifice and Savior so we can become, right now, members of His eternal and heavenly family. But to become His child, you need to believe that Jesus was, and is, the God-man, the only one capable of dealing with our sin problem at the cross. Will you become His child today by placing your faith in Him? As you consider this decision, permit me to share a brief analogy to help motivate you to choose right.
Spelunking is the term for the sport of cave exploration. When I lived in Arizona, spelunking clubs were everywhere because caves dotted the mountains around Tucson. What these people do is something I don’t think I would ever try. They descend into the darkness of caves, with small lights attached to their heads and ropes in their hands, looking to go where no man has literally gone before.
One day, a spelunker I talked to told me how her club entered a water-filled cavern. Walking waist-deep in the eerie darkness, the lead explorer told the rest of the group that if they dove where he was, swam a few yards through a tunnel under the water, they’d pop out in a spectacular “room.” Right. Well, he dove and so too did the rest of the group, and it was as he said. Gusty, huh? Crazy too.
Now when it comes to spelunkers, there are two types: The cautious and the “courageous.” The cautious use spelunking string on reels to make sure they can navigate out of the darkness back to the light. The “courageous,” in my limited estimation, are daredevils who explore the depths of darkness with no safety line whatsoever. One “free spelunker” is quoted as saying defiantly:
Those who still use string do so because they simply cannot accept the cave on its own terms. When faced with a challenge, they spend their energy eliminating the problem rather than building up their bodies and techniques to rise to it. Those who are afraid to enter a cavern without an umbilical cord to the surface should do their spelunking in Ruby Falls … Call me a renegade, call me a daredevil, but I am, and my companions are going to continue to explore without string, to accept the cavern on its own terms. Those who think otherwise had better steer clear.”[6]
The only problem is that those who frequently reject the umbilical cord are often unable to escape the darkness. I can only wonder, “Are they satisfied with their defiant position when they are hopelessly trapped in thick darkness?”
This picture reflects people in our world today when it comes to spirituality. God has given you the umbilical cord out of the darkness in the form of His Son, who was born in the flesh, so you might find Light and Life. How many, like ancient Israel, pridefully refuse the “cord,” opting to make their own way through the darkness, thinking they can always find their way to light on their own? Spiritually speaking, it is not possible. The light of truth must lead you out of the darkness of spiritual death and unbelief. And what is that truth? That God became a man, the perfect man, so He could, in turn, be your Savior.
Those lost in the dark hole of sin will grab this cord by faith and climb up and out of the darkness and into His glory. Is that cord in your hand?
[1] Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 1968), 46.
[2] William Barclay, The Gospel of John, Vol. 1 (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1956), 46.
[3] John Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979), 107.
[4] Amy Curtis, “Saying ‘Christ Alone’ Is Now ‘White Privilege’? Jonathan Turley Warns Divinity Schools Are Woke Too,” Townhall, October 14, 2026, accessed October 14, 2026, https://townhall.com/news/amy-curtis/2026/10/14/turley-woke-divinity-schools-n2684637.
[5] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 349.
[6] Dave Donson, “The American Spelunker,” www.sationr.org.
