Thoughts on the Gospel of John (7) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

Of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No-one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
John 1:16-18

Thoughts on the Gospel of John (7)
With the incarnation of Jesus, the Son of God, begins a new epoch in man's history. It is strikingly different from the previous centuries in which God dealt with one particular nation: He had given the people of Israel a law that was indisputably "holy and just and good" (Romans 7:12). But the law gave people nothing; it demanded of them. Nor could it endow people with the strength to conform to its demands.

In Jesus Christ, on the other hand, the fulness of God's grace came to sinful man. The grace of God that brings salvation to all men has appeared (cf. Titus 2:11), and that not at the cost of truth! God's loving approach calls on sinners to turn back and grants many lasting blessings to those who follow His call in faith.

Verse 18 may raise the question whether nobody really knew God before the incarnation of Jesus. In Old Testament times there were only rare revelations of God. Abraham, for example, knew God as the Almighty. Moses came to know Him as the eternal "I Am". But no-one could fathom God's true being. Who would have thought that God is so full of love and light, and that He would act in His righteousness for the benefit of mankind, as was proved at the cross of Calvary? Only One who was Himself with God and was Himself God could make Him known. And that is just what the only begotten Son actually did.

(to be continued next Sunday)

Today's reading: Judges 6:14-27 · 2 Corinthians 6:1-10