ÒThe Word was Made FleshÓ

 

ÒAnd the Word was made 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.Ó

(John 1:14)

 

Have you come to Christ? Have you beheld his glory? Are you numbered among those who can say with John, — ÒWe beheld his glory, the glory of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth

 

The Incarnate Word

 

First, the Apostle speaks of the incarnate Word. If there is any verse in the Bible marked with the special emphasis by God the Holy Spirit, surely this is one. Every word is of immense importance. Here is the glorious person so highly spoken of in the preceding 13 verses of this chapter. The Word is declared to be Òmade flesh.Ó The Son of God was Òmade flesh

 

The word translated ÒfleshÓ is very strong. The same word is used in Romans 3:20, where we are told no flesh can be justified by the deeds of the law. In Romans 8:3 Christ is said to have been made Òin the likeness of sinful flesh.Ó The word here translated ÒfleshÓ has the same significance as the Hebrew words used in Genesis 6:12 to speak of ÒcorruptÓ flesh. John could not have used a stronger, more emphatic word to speak of our SaviorÕs great condescension and humiliation in assuming our nature. Had John merely said, Òthe Word was made man,Ó the meaning would not have been so emphatic a declaration of degradation. (Philippians 2:5-8).

 

ÒThe Word was made flesh!Ó — The Son of God was made what we are, made to be our full nature, body and soul, a complete man. He who is God became man. He did not cease to be God; but he took our human nature into union with his divine nature, so that the Lord Jesus Christ is God and Man, the God-man, our Mediator. ÒThe Word was made flesh,Ó as Augustine put it in the 4th century, ÒNot by changing what he was, but by taking what he was not.Ó This union of God and Man in one person is indissolvable and forever. Jesus Christ our Savior, our God-man Mediator, is Òthe same yesterday, and today, and foreverÓ (Hebrews 13:8).

 

I have no idea what the length, breadth, height or depth of what I am about to say is; but I cannot help linking these words to those of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:30. — ÒThe Word was made flesh;Ó and Òwe are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones!Ó So is it now, so it has been in all ages of time, and so it shall be forever.

 

The Favored People

 

Second, this text describes a favored people. — ÒAnd we beheld his glory.Ó Who are these favored people? They are an elect people, a chosen company. The Lord Jesus said, ÒI know whom I have chosen.Ó He said, ÒYe have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.Ó He came unto his own, and his own received him not; but they who did receive him are described as people who were Òborn not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.Ó The elect in ChristÕs day, though they were but a small remnant, nevertheless did exist. There were but few who followed him; but there were a few who followed the Lamb whithersoever he went. The Òwe,Ó then, who Òbeheld ChristÕs glory,Ó were a chosen company. So it was then, and so it is now. Thank God for his electing love. Those who behold his glory are those who were chosen from eternity to behold his glory (Acts 13:48). And those who behold his glory here shall behold his glory forever in the world to come (John 17:24).

 

Those who behold ChristÕs glory are a graciously called people. We behold his glory because we have been specifically called by him to behold his glory. — ÒHe calleth unto him whom he wouldÓ (Mark 3:13). — ÒHe calleth his own sheep by nameÓ (John 10:3). It is written of those he delivers from going down to the pit, ÒHis life shall see the lightÓ (Job 33:28). — ÒMany shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LordÓ (Psalm 40:3). — ÒThey shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our GodÓ (Isaiah 35:2). The Son of God calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. If you and I behold ChristÕs glory, it is because he has called us to himself; and that call is the result of his election of us unto salvation.

 

Those who behold his glory are also a divinely illuminated people. If others do not see what we see, and we are as blind as they by nature, our seeing his glory must be because of something he has done for us, and not because of anything in us or done by us (2 Corinthians 4:6). ÒBlessed are your eyes, for they see!Ó — None believe in Christ but those who are his sheep. No man comes unto him except the Father who sent him draws him, and none ever perceive him but those whose eyes are opened by his own healing fingers. Do I behold his glory? If so, it is because he chose me, he called me, and he illuminated me by his grace.

 

The Thing Revealed

 

Third, look at the thing revealed. — ÒWe beheld his glory.Ó — ÒWe beheld.Ó The text does not say, we heard about his glory, we read about his glory, but Òwe beheld his glory.Ó What a privilege that is!

 

This is much more than a physical, carnal vision of the Lord Jesus. Many saw him with the eyes of their heads, who never saw him with the eye of faith, who never beheld his glory. And many today behold him with the eye of carnal reason, who never behold his glory, because they do not know him and do not behold him by faith, having him revealed in them by the Spirit of God. When John says, ÒWe beheld his glory,Ó he is saying the very same thing Peter said when he wrote, ÒWe have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majestyÓ (2 Peter 1:16). He is talking about that which he, with Peter and James, beheld on the Mount of Transfiguration. Christ was transfigured before them. They saw him as he now appears in heaven, glorified with the glory he had with the Father before the world was. They saw the Lord Jesus Christ as the sinnerÕs Substitute, who accomplished redemption by his death upon the cursed tree (Luke 9:28-31).

 

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

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