John 1:14-18 says...

Today's verses are found in The Gospel According To John, chapter 1 and verses 14 through 18.

v.14 - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Apostle John is going to tell us how we have received this salvation that he introduced in the previous verses.  He is going to fill in some of the blanks that he has jumped over but it is going to be more condensed than the accounts given to us in the Gospels According To Matthew and Luke.  

Jesus became flesh.  Jesus was to take on a human body.  Jesus dwelt among us.  Jesus was in human form for a period of time that the Apostle John and others were able to witness with multiple senses.  Jesus showed His glory as God while He was here.  The Apostle John witnessed this on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Jesus was a man but He was also God.  Jesus was the "only" of God.  There was no other Messiah.  There was no other Savior.  Jesus was not only the only "only" but He was also "full" of grace and truth.  He was complete and perfect in bringing these two attributes together.  All these words describe Jesus.  He came.  He was flesh. He came to be among us.  He was God. He is "the" answer.  He brings what is full, complete, and perfect.  

v.15 - John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'"

What a statement from John the Baptist.  This statement gives support to what John the Apostle has just stated in the previous verse.  John the Baptist is telling the people and pointing to Jesus as the One who he was speaking of coming and has now come.  Jesus is greater than John the Baptist because Jesus is God.  Jesus is able to be before John the Baptist even though He was physically born about 6 months after John the Baptist because Jesus is not only fully man but also fully God who has existed forever.  

v.16 - For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

We have received Jesus' fullness.  We have received grace but this grace is so great that it is grace upon grace.  It is the sweetness of ice cream and then you put some more sweet chocolate fudge syrup on top of it.  The fullness and grace of Jesus just keeps adding and adding to our lives.  Let's do some cross referencing with the help of the Apostle Paul.  Ephesians 1:23 says...

"...which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way."

Ephesians 3:19 says,...

"...and to know Christ's love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 4:13 says,...

"...until we reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, growing in maturity with a stature measured by Christ's fullness."

Colossians 1:19 and 20 says,...

"For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross."

And finally, Colossians 2:9 and 10 says,...

"For the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority."

Back to the passage, John 1:17 says,...

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

The Law of God has a purpose and that is to demand of us a holiness probably best displayed in the 10 Commandments.  The grace and truth of God has a purpose and that is to have a designed way by God to receive salvation because the Law points out our unrighteousness, our unholiness.  There is a need for the Old Testament which is represented by Moses' name in the verse and a need for the New Testament which is represented by Jesus' name in this verse.  The Law and the grace and truth of Jesus are a tag team of sorts for our benefit.

v.18 - No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

This is the end of what we call the Prologue of The Gospel According To John.  The Apostle John has just given his opening statement that all the rest of the book will rest upon.  God and Jesus are so mutually together that it is hard to explain Their fullness by separating Them.  Their names are interchangeable at times; Their names are intertwined at times; and Their names are distinct at times to show along with the Holy Spirit the trinity of the Godhead.  While Jesus is in the bosom of His Father He is also displaying or explaining to us through His very life all of who God is that we don't see.  If you head is spinning a little bit trying to get a grasp on that just know that so is mine but I am so glad that God had a saving plan and it included His presence with us through Himself Jesus.  Jump to John chapter 14 and verses 8 through 11 and read of Jesus' response to this very issue with His disciple Philip.  Let us pray.

"Father God, what a plan is unfolding in front of us.  You have given of Yourself so that we might know of Your grace and truth.  May we be overwhelmed by how it is piled upon itself over and over again.  You give a 'fullness' and You give 'grace upon grace upon grace upon grace' to us.  Someone before us has come who is greater than us so that we can be among You.  Amen."

Pastor Adam