The Grace of Christ

For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. John 1:16

Before this verse, John the Baptist is recorded as declaring that Jesus is much greater than himself (1:15). Now, John, the gospel writer, expands on the meaning of Jesus’ greatness, stating that we all receive from the fullness of Christ grace upon grace. In other words, the completeness and wholeness of Jesus is the eternal and infinite source from which grace pours forth abundantly.

Simply stated, the grace of God is a person, that is, Jesus himself. The grace of God has come to us as one of us, united to us in our humanity, so that in him we may be united to God. This entire movement of God’s mercy, descending from heaven to earth to be our Emmanuel, is grace personified in the Son. The fullness of his being is where all grace originates.

We receive nothing from Jesus which is not grace, what the Western church calls unmerited favor, and the Eastern church calls the uncreated energy of God. The example of Jesus, to which we conform as we imitate him, is grace. His teaching about living in obedience and oneness with God, is grace. His actions of mercy which he performed during his earthly ministry, and now continues in numerous ways in the world, is grace. The presence of Christ in all he has made, which is his handiwork and one way he fulfills his promise to abide with us, is grace. Christ is the fullness of grace, and from him every grace flows in love.

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. John 1:17

Notice the difference between the Law “given” but grace and truth “realized”. The definition of the word translated here as “realized” is to become, to come into existence, begin to be, or receive being. With Jesus grace and truth came into being, which does not mean grace and truth were no where to be found before Jesus. Instead, the grace and truth we find anywhere is of Christ himself.

The grace found in the Law which was given through Moses, and indeed grace was there, did not come into being in, or through, that Law. The fact that the Law was given was grace, and the grace was also given through it. But Jesus is the very source and beginning of all grace, including whatever was given through Moses’ words.

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.” John 5:39

Jesus is the grace of God through all time. The grace which was experienced before Jesus was born, and which was written about before his birth, we know to be the grace coming from the fullness of the eternal Christ. Jesus has always been coming into the world, and is still coming in all the ways that grace comes from God upon us each day. Living in Christ is living in grace, and each day we wait for his appearing.