Grace

John 1:1,4,7,12-15,18 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind… He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe… Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)… No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Philippians 2:6-7 – Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

1 Timothy 3:16 – Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Exodus 40:34 – Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Romans 3:22-24 – This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

John 14:6 – Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 2:11 – What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Proverbs 16:6 – Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.

Jonah 4:2 – He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

Romans 1:7 – To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Application:

• ·         Jesus is truly God and truly man.
• ·         Jesus’ incarnation, in all its aspects, is the source of genuine piety.
• ·         With the glory of the Lord entering the tabernacle, the great series of events that began with the birth of Moses and his rescue from the Nile, foreshadowing the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, came to a grand climax.
• ·         Paul emphasizes two points in this regard: (1) No one lives a perfectly good, holy, righteous life. On the contrary, “there is no one righteous”, and “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law. (2) But even though all are sinners, God will declare those who put their trust in Jesus not guilty but righteous. The central thought in justification is that, although people clearly and totally deserve to be declared guilty, God declares them righteous because of their trust in Christ. This is stated in several ways here: (1) “freely”, (2) “by His grace”, (3) “through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” and (4) “by faith”.
• ·         Very likely the statement “the life” means “I am the way in that I am the truth and the life”.
• ·         Jesus’ signs revealed His glory and likely also pointed to the fullness of the salvation He came to effect. In his account of Jesus’ first display of “His glory” by providing an abundance of wine at a wedding feast, John probably was testifying that Christ’s saving mission would culminate in the redemption of the creation from all its distresses, so that the wine of joy would flow fully, as the prophets had announced.
• ·         When His people repent of sin and bring their lives into accord with His will, God forgives and withdraws His judgment.
• ·         Thus it can be said that love and faithfulness, in a manner of speaking, atone for sin, i.e., they turn away God’s wrath against it.
• ·         “Grace and peace” was the initial greeting used by both Paul and Peter in all their letters. It combines the traditional Greek and Hebrew greetings but links them expressly with the only true source of “grace” and “peace”.
• ·         Jesus was God in the fullest sense.
• ·         He is the “light of the world”, who holds out wonderful hope for humanity and for the creation.
• ·         John the Baptist’s singular ministry was to testify about Jesus.
• ·         Membership in God’s family is by grace alone—the gift of God.
• ·         People would normally have ranked Jesus lower in respect than John, who was older.
• ·         “The one and only Son, who is Himself God” is an explicit declaration of Christ’s deity.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV