“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.”
The Truth
John reaches back to the same phrase Genesis opened with, in the beginning, and places Jesus there, already existing, already God, before anything was made. This is not the origin story of a good man who was later exalted. This is the eternal Word stepping into time, taking on flesh, and moving into the neighborhood.
Sit with the scandal of it. The self-existent I AM from week one, the one whose glory undid Isaiah, did not stay at a safe distance. He was made flesh. Actual skin, actual hunger, actual exhaustion. The infinite God chose to become finite without ceasing to be infinite. That sentence should never fully stop sounding impossible.
And he did not come with grace or truth alone, but full of both. Grace without truth becomes a lie that makes people comfortable. Truth without grace becomes a hammer that crushes people. Jesus arrived holding both at full strength, and that combination is exactly what you need from him today.
Everything you learned about the Father in the first ten days is now standing in front of you with a face. If you want to know what God is like, John says, look at the Word made flesh.
Live This Truth
- Read John 1:1-14 slowly and notice every claim it makes about who Jesus is.
- Name one place you need grace and truth held together, not one without the other.
- Thank God today specifically for the incarnation, not as doctrine but as gift.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you were with God and were God before anything was made, and you still chose flesh, hunger, and nearness. Let me see the Father’s face in you today. Amen.
Carry this today
If I want to see the Father, I look at the Son.