"And 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." John 1:14
While busily celebrating the Christmas season, we often forget what it's all about. God did a most amazing thing! With us being totally dead in our sins and unable to please God or come to Him, God sent His only-begotten Son -- the eternal Word, true God with the Father and Holy Spirit, the Creator of all things visible and invisible (cf. v. 1ff.; Col. 1:12ff.) -- into His own creation as a man to redeem mankind and give us life!
God's Son became flesh -- a true man with flesh and bones and blood, like you and me -- when He was conceived and born of the virgin Mary through the miraculous working of God's Spirit. Yet Jesus was not only a man. The apostle John writes: "and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father...." John and the other disciples witnessed Jesus' glory in His mighty miracles, in His glorious transfiguration, and in His resurrection and ascension.
There is no cause to doubt. Jesus is the very Son of God come into this world a true man to save you and me!
Jesus is "full of grace and truth." In Jesus, we see the fullness of God's grace toward us sinners. In Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, God's undeserved love reached down and provided a way of salvation for lost mankind. And, in this sin darkened world, God's truth has been revealed to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
And Jesus is the truth -- He is "the way, the truth, and the life" and no one can come to God or serve Him but through faith in Christ Jesus (John 14:6). Through faith in Jesus, the eternal Word made flesh, we have forgiveness for all our sins and life everlasting!
O eternal God, our heavenly Father, we thank you for the gracious gift of Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and the way to life everlasting. Amen.
[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture is from the King James Version of the Bible.]
Editorial on 12/23/2015