Christmas Advent Devotional Day 14: The Begotten

 



 

John 1:14

14 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 and truth. (NKJV)

 

The Apostle John tells us several key things about Jesus in this verse. First, he tells us that one of the names or titles for Jesus is “The Word.”  (We have looked at that in previous posts.)

Second, John tells us that Jesus became flesh. (See yesterday’s post).

Third, he says that He dwelled among them. Why is this important?  It is astounding that God came to dwell among sinful humanity, from Whom we had been separated by the chasm of sin.  In addition, it provides verifiable proof of His existence.  John (and all the other apostles) were firsthand witnesses of the life, crucifixion, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. His putting on flesh, also shows that He was willing to relate to man.   He came down to where we are and made His dwelling place with us. It shows His willingness to identify with us and even to pay the price for our redemption.

The fourth thing this tells us is that Jesus allowed these common men and other witnesses to behold his glory.  Biblehub.com defines glory in this verse as:

“The glorious moral attributes, the infinite perfections of God. Jesus is the ‘brightness of the Father's glory’.”

All of His moral attributes and perfections were on display in the personhood and life of Christ.  A glory we were not qualified to see.  A glory brought to us through love, mercy and grace.

The fifth point, Jesus is the only begotten of the Father. There is one way to reconcile to the Father- and this is through His only begotten Son. There was only one like Jesus.  He alone was/is both God and man.  He alone is part of the Trinity.  He alone was worthy to pay the price for our sins.

Sixth and lastly, this verse shows us about Christ’s character.  He was full of grace (unmerited favor) and truth:

“a fundamental attribute of God and a central theme throughout Scripture... Truth is depicted as absolute, unchanging, and eternal, reflecting the nature of God” Himself. (biblehub.com, topical encyclopedia)

He was those things in copious amounts. He was FULL of them. Everything we will ever need is found in the Only Begotten Son.



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