John 1:1-14
Jesus is Full of Grace and Truth
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word is God...He was with God in the beginning...Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made...In Jesus is Life, and that Life is the Light of all Mankind...The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...The Word became flesh and He made His dwelling among us...The Word is Jesus...The Disciples got to see His Glory personally for three years...The Glory of the One and Only Son, who came from the Father, who is full of Grace and Truth...
Jesus is full of Grace and Truth, and it is how St. John describes Jesus, the Son of God...It means that God has given Jesus the power to be full of Grace and Truth and to live His Life Always that Way...Being full of Grace and Truth means that if you want to follow Jesus, we too, should reflect His Grace and Truth in our relationships with God and neighbor...We should always be truthful to them, by being kind, merciful, and like the Good Samaritan...There is this Great Divine Balance when One is always fully Truth and fully Gracious...Jesus is 100% Grace and 100% Truth...
We can believe that Jesus is full of both Grace and Truth...God is LOVE...One day Jesus stood up and said He is Truth, the Way, and the Life...God's Word is Truth, so I believe that God is Truth, the Absolute Truth...To be a follower of Jesus we have to live our lives full of His Grace and Truth...So the Way of Life is one full of Grace and Truth...We must always be full of both Grace and Truth, because our Savior, Master, and Teacher lives this Way...And He wants us to live this Way...
We see an example of Jesus full of Grace and Truth in the Story of the Adulteress and the men wanting her stoned to death...The men come to Jesus and say Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery...In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women...Now what do you say?”...They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Him...But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger...When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”...He had given the men His Truth...Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground...At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there...Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they?...Has no one condemned you?”...“No one, sir,” she said...“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared...Jesus gave the adulteress His Grace...“Go now and leave your life of sin.”...Then Jesus gives her this Truth about leaving her life of sin...
I believe that Grace and LOVE are very close to being the same thing...Grace and LOVE are not mutually exclusive...As I believe Grace and Truth are not mutually exclusive...Living a life full of Grace and Truth is living your life that balances the virtues of Grace and Truth in the Way you lead and live your life and the way you treat others...Sometimes you must tell the Truth, even when it is difficult and in unpopular situations...Your must be Gracious when others treat you unkindly...It is like when Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, and pray for them...We can still be truthful to them, and caring for them in a balanced way, the Jesus Way of Life...But it is difficult for men and women to always live this way...It is easier to live the wide road of destruction and to constantly avoid the straight and narrow path of being full of Grace and Truth...Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you...So we are to follow the Way of Love and Truth and Grace...The world as one reads the news each day needs this healthy balance of Truth and Grace...
Pastor Richard Tan writes: “Grace and Truth are distinct and yet they are not mutually exclusive...But when people focus on one without the other, they usually fall into two extremes...They either embrace a gospel of “Grace without Truth” or a gospel of “Truth without Grace”...Grace without Truth is not really Grace...Truth without Grace is not really Truth...Grace without Truth pampers...Truth without Grace hammers...Grace without Truth is love without correction...Truth without Grace is correction without love...Grace without Truth is mercy without justice...Truth without Grace is justice without mercy...Grace without Truth is soft and spoils people...Truth without Grace is harsh and crushes people...Grace without Truth is freedom without responsibility...Truth without Grace is responsibility without freedom...Either extremes are neither of Christ or the gospel.”...
Pastor Joseph Prince writes this about Grace and Truth..."Sometimes, people tell me things like, “Well, it’s good that you preach grace, but we also have to tell people about truth.”...This makes it seem as though grace and truth are two different things when, in fact, they are one and the same...You cannot separate truth from grace and grace from truth as they are both embodied in the person of Jesus Christ...In fact, just a few verses before this, John 1:14, referring to the person of Jesus, says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only begotten of the Father, full of grace [unmerited favor] and truth.”...Grace and Truth came together through the Person and ministry of Jesus...Grace is not a doctrine or teaching...Grace is a Person."