John 1:14

The Word, who existed equal with God before anything else came into being, became a human being. [Note: See Harris, pp. 189-92, or Morris, pp. 102-11, for fuller discussions of the title Logos.] This is the most concise statement of the Incarnation. He did not just appear to be a man; He became one (cf. Philippians 2:5-9). Yet He maintained His full deity. The word "became" (Gr. egeneto) usually implies a complete change, but that was not true in Jesus’ case. He did not cease to be God. Flesh in Scripture has a literal meaning, namely, material human flesh, and a metaphorical meaning, human nature. A second, less used, metaphorical meaning is all that we were in Adam before our regeneration (cf. Romans 7:5). Here John used it in the first metaphorical sense. God the Son assumed a human, though not sinful, nature.

"John does not say, ’the Word became man,’ nor ’the Word took a body.’ He chooses that form of expression which puts what he wants to say most bluntly. It seems probable that he was confronted by opponents of a docetic type, people who were ready to think of Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ of God but who denied the reality of his humanity. They thought of him as only appearing to live a human life. Since God could not, on their premises, defile himself by real contact with humankind, the whole life of Jesus must be appearance only. John’s strong term leaves no room for such fancies. He is clear on the deity of the Word. But he is just as clear on the genuineness of his humanity." [Note: Ibid., pp. 90-91.]

Jesus literally lived among His disciples. The Greek word eskenosen, translated "dwelt" or "lived," is related to skene, meaning tabernacle. As God’s presence dwelt among the Israelites in the tabernacle, so it lived among them in the person of Jesus temporarily (cf. Exodus 25:8-9; Exodus 33:7; Exodus 33:11). [Note: See Merrill C. Tenney, "The Old Testament and the Fourth Gospel," Bibliotheca Sacra 120:480 (October-December 1963):300-8, for discussion of the influence of the Hebrew Bible on John’s teaching in this Gospel.] The Gospel of John contains the second largest number of quotations and allusions to the Old Testament in the Gospels after Matthew. [Note: Ibid., p. 303.] Solomon thought it incredible that God would dwell on the earth (1 Kings 8:27), but that is precisely what He did in Jesus.

For the first time, John equated the Word and Jesus, but this is the last reference to the Word in this Gospel. From now on, John referred to the Word by His historical name, Jesus, and to the personal terms "Father" and "Son."

"As the preexistent Son of God, he was the Creator of the world and the Executor of the will of the Father. As the incarnate Son of God, he exercised in his human existence these same powers and revealed effectively the person of the Father." [Note: Idem, "John," p. 33.]

The glory that John and the other disciples beheld as eyewitnesses refers to the god-like characteristics of Jesus (cf. Exodus 33:22; Deuteronomy 5:22; Isaiah 60:1; 1 John 1:1-2). God’s character and qualities came through Jesus as a human son resembles his human father, except that the likeness in Jesus’ case was exact (Philippians 2:6). The disciples saw Jesus’ glory clearest at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36). His relationship to the Father was unique, and so was His similarity to the Father. Jesus’ relationship to God as His Son was unique (Gr. monogenous, cf. John 1:18; John 3:16; John 3:18; 1 John 4:9) even though we can become children of God (John 1:12-13). He is eternal and of the same essence as the Father. "Only begotten" does not mean that there was a time when Jesus was not, and then the Father brought Him into being. Monogenes, literally "one kind," means unique or only, (i.e., the only one of its kind).

Particularly, grace and truth marked the glory of God that Jesus manifested. Grace in this context refers to graciousness (i.e., goodness, Heb. hesed), and truth means integrity (i.e., truthfulness, Heb. yemet, cf. John 1:17). The Incarnation was the greatest possible expression of God’s grace to humankind. It was also the best way to communicate truth accurately to human understanding. Nevertheless many people who encountered Jesus during His ministry failed to see these things (John 1:10). Neither grace nor truth is knowable apart from God who has revealed them through Jesus Christ. [Note: Morris, p. 95. See also David J. MacLeod, "The Incarnation of the Word: John 1:14," Bibliotheca Sacra 161:641 (January-March 2004):72-88.]