Gospels Part 059
In today’s lesson we see that John weaves together several key threads about Jesus Christ’s divine nature and identity.
John packs a lot of information into the introduction to his account of the life of Jesus Christ. The first few verses are rich with meaning, and we continue to see that in the second half of John 1:14:
“We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (New International Version).”
The first part of this statement, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only,” is most likely a reference to the transfiguration on the mountain recorded in Matthew 16:28-17:9, Mark 9:2-10 and Luke 9:28-36, when Peter, James and John saw Him transfigured and glorified before them. These three men were eyewitnesses to the majesty of Christ in a glorified form. This experience would inform their ministries from that point forward.
Peter corroborates this event in 2 Peter 1:16-18:
“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”
This event certainly stood out in the minds of Peter and John, as they wrote about it decades after it took place.
“The one and only” here is the translation of the Greek word monogenes, literally meaning “only begotten.” From its other appearances in John 1:18, John 3:16 and John 3:18 we see its meaning might be better translated as “unique” or “one-of-a-kind.” Jesus was indeed the unique and one and only divinely conceived Son of God. We see from Romans 8:29 that He is also “the firstborn among many” who will ultimately become God’s children through the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).
John then writes in verse 14 that Jesus was “full of grace and truth...” In the Harmony of the Gospels, you will note the following passages where the equivalent of this phrase appears in the Hebrew Scriptures:
- Exodus 34:6
- 2 Samuel 2:6, 15:20
- Psalm 25:10, 40:11, 57:3, 61:7, 86:15, 89:14, 115:1 and 138:2
In these passages you will find the phrase “goodness and truth,” “kindness and truth, “mercy and truth” and “lovingkindness and truth.”
Here “goodness,” “kindness,” “mercy” and “lovingkindness” are all translated from the same Hebrew word, hesed. This word encompasses all of these meanings and more. In short, these all sum up the meaning of God’s grace toward mankind. He is good, kind and merciful toward us because that is His nature. These characteristics sum up God’s love, and as John elsewhere tells us, “God is love” (1 John 4:8 and 1 John 4:16).
John is not saying that grace and truth didn’t exist prior to Jesus Christ’s coming, because as the God who interacted with mankind in the Old Testament, He repeatedly exhibited grace and truth. John is saying that this summed up Jesus Christ: He was full of grace—God’s undeserved goodness, mercy and kindness toward us, and truth. He was the Light from God who brought truth to the world.
Let’s read three of these verses from the Psalms referred to in the Harmony of the Gospels eBook to illustrate this point.
- “All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth . . .” (Psalm 25:10).
- “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15).
- “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face” (Psalm 89:14).
These three verses in the Psalms tell us that God is exemplified by grace and truth. Then John tells us that Jesus Christ is exemplified by grace and truth. The point John is making, which he will make explicitly clear later on in his Gospel as well, is that Jesus Christ and the Lord or God described in these Psalms are one and the same.
This ties in directly with what John tells us in the next verse, John 1:15, regarding John the Baptizer.
“John testified about Him [Jesus Christ] and shouted out, ‘This one was the one about whom I said, “He who comes after me is greater than I am, because He existed before me.”’” (NET).
John the Baptizer said of Jesus, “He who comes after me is greater than I am, because he existed before me.” John the Baptizer was born about six months before Jesus. Why would he say that Jesus existed before him then?
Again, this is referring to the mission of John the Baptist, who came before Jesus to “prepare the way of the Lord” (Malachi 3:1; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4). John the Baptizer knew that he was preparing the way for the coming of the promised Messiah, who was greater than him and who as “the Lord” existed before John the Baptist was even born—because He was, in fact, the God who interacted with mankind in the Old Testament period.
Tomorrow we’ll see this theme continue in the next few verses.
© 2026 Scott Ashley. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
UYA Team | uya@ucg.org
United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of the young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.
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Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
