01-02A

We're still in John chapter 1.

vv1-18 This prolog is distinct from the rest of the gospel in that it is a theological interpretation of the beginning of the earthly life of Christ. These verses are not just describing the events of Christ's life but a theology of His pre-existence.

Up until v14, Christ is not identified with the Word, and even here not specifically named, but it’s easily deduced that this is talking about Jesus Christ.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth.

v14 speaks of the incarnation. The other gospels give more details of the historic event of Christ's birth as a baby in Bethlehem. John doesn't give us those events, perhaps because the other gospels have already done so.

John 1:13 who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but were born of God.

v13 can read two different ways... "who were born" and "who was born". The "who was born" is not as universally recognized as correct. If it's "were" then this verse a references to those who believed... those who were called the sons of God. If so, this emphasizes the second birth of the believer. (as in John 3,. Nicodemus). This would be a spiritual regeneration after conversion. This could also have application to those called by God during OT times as well.

If the correct translation is "was" then this verse references the Word, Jesus. Not many scholars argue in favor of this reading. Either way seems to fit the flow of the scripture. v13 could apply to v12, or v13 could apply to v14. If it's applying to 14, then this is a reference to Jesus’ virgin birth. If this is not the case, then John really doesn't make any reference to the virgin birth, at all. That would seem a little strange since John emphasizes the deity of Christ. You would think he would be inclined to underscore the fact that Jesus was not conceived by natural means. A "was" translation would do just that.

Luke 1:34 Then Mary said to the angel, How shall this be, since I do not know a man?

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit shall come on you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you. Therefore also that Holy One which will be born of you shall be called Son of God.

The immaculate conception is what makes Jesus deity.

Regardless, v14 Is clearly talking about the incarnation. v14 is packed with info, so let's unpack it. The Word became flesh. So God became flesh. If Jesus was God in the flesh, who did He pray to? How could He make such clear distinctions between Himself and the Father? Yet they are both God. How can God be both in the human body, and not in the human body?

In discussing this the we introduce the theological term "theophany".

Theophany = Theos + phany

Theos=God, Phany=appearance, hence a theophany is a "God appearance", or an appearance of God.

In the OT, God appeared in many forms. He appeared in a fire, in a pillar of cloud, in a burning bush, and sometimes even in the form of a man (for example as the One who wrestled with Jacob).

Gen 32:24 And Jacob was left alone. And a Man wrestled there with him until the breaking of the day.

Gen 32:25 And when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the hollow of his thigh. And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with Him.

Gen 32:26 And He said, Let Me go, for the day breaks. And he said, I will not let You go except You bless me.

Gen 32:27 And He said to him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob.

Gen 32:28 And He said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for like a prince you have power with God and with men, and have prevailed.

Gen 32:29 And Jacob asked and said, I pray You, reveal Your name. And He said, Why do you ask after My name? And He blessed him there.

Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Face of God; for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

Hos 12:4 Yes, he wept and cried to Him, and he had power over the Angel and overcame.

This theophany is also referred to as an angel. "Angel" just means messenger. In the OT when we see the phrase "the angel of the Lord" this personage always speaks as if He is the Lord.

Melchizedek, who appeared to Abraham, seems to refer to a theophany of the Word.

The appearance of One in the furnace with Meshach, Shadrach, Abednego was a theophany.

Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Behold! I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and there is no harm among them. And the form of the fourth is like a son of the gods.

Sometimes these appearances are referred to as Christophanies, since the One appearing would eventually become Christ.

The question is, during this theophanies, was God limited in some one way to one physical location in which He was manifesting Himself during the theophany? God's universal presence is often declared in scripture. This is the doctrine of the universal presence of God. Then there is the doctrine of the manifest presence of God. (That is, God manifesting Himself in a particular place at a particular time). So we have the manifest presence, and God's universal presence. When God manifests, this does not cancel out His universal presence.

The suggestion is that when God appeared as Christ, His manifest presence simply lasted longer than these earlier theophanies. OT manifestations had God often appear and disappear. When God manifested Himself as Jesus, it is argued, the theophany simply lasted longer than usual.

My question, however, is then who did Jesus pray to? Gregg is here suggesting that the manifest presence prayed to the universal presence. To my mind, this doesn’t work to well considering the Gethsemane.

Mat 26:39 And He went a little further and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.

It seems to me that this is more than just a manifest presence praying to His own universal presence. There are distinct wills involved in this passage.

1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among nations, believed on in the world, and received up into glory.

Jesus was the manifested in the flesh, and clearly is a manifestation of God. Paul says that "without controversy this is a great mystery".

Continuing v14

"dwelt" = tabernacled or pitched his tent. This is a reference to the OT tabernacle. The glory of God visibly filled that tabernacle, and the cloud overshadowed the tabernacle (this is same language regarding the HS overshadowing Mary).

Gregg again suggests that Jesus was the manifest presence, and that God the Father was the universal presence. The idea is that when God manifested Himself in the tabernacle, His ability to control the universe was not cancelled. That makes sense to me, as far as it goes, but does little to resolve the issues of God-in-the-flesh/God-is-one-God issue.

v.14 "and we beheld his glory"... Remember that Moses asked God to let him see his Glory.

Exo 33:17 And Jehovah said to Moses, I will do this thing also that you have spoken. For you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.

Exo 33:18 And he said, I beseech You, let me see Your glory.

Exo 33:19 And He said, I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before you. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.

Exo 33:20 And He said, You cannot see My face. For there no man can see Me and live.

Exo 33:21 And Jehovah said, Behold! There is a place by Me, and you shall stand upon a rock.

Exo 33:22 And it will be, while My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.

Exo 33:23 And I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back parts. But My face shall not be seen.

Exo 34:5 And Jehovah came down in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah.

Exo 34:6 And Jehovah passed by before him and proclaimed, Jehovah! Jehovah God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

Exo 34:7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the sons, and on the sons of sons, to the third and to the fourth generation.

Exo 34:8 And Moses made haste and bowed toward the earth, and worshiped.

Some scholars draw comparisons between the end of Ex 34:6 "abundant in goodness and truth" and the end of John 1:14 "full of grace and truth". This would further connect OT theophanies with the incarnation of God in the form of Jesus. But v18 seems to suggest that even Jesus was not a full-on one-hundred-percent absolute manifestation.

John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time; the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

2Co 4:6 For it is God who said, "Out of darkness Light shall shine;" who shone in our hearts to give the brightness of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Heb 1:1 God, who at many times and in many ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

Heb 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds,

Heb 1:3 who being the shining splendor of His glory, and the express image of His essence, and upholding all things by the word of His power, through Himself cleansing of our sins, He sat down on the right of the Majesty on high,

You can't really hope, this side of glory, to ever see a better representation of God's glory than Jesus.

John 1:14 the glory as of the only begotten of the Father

The phrase "only begotten" has come up for re-examination among modern scholars. The words may have more to do with uniqueness than begottenness.

The Niv reads... "the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father"

The Greek reads more specifically... "the glory of a begotten son of a Father", meaning that this might be referring to the way any son resembles his father in physical traits... by analogy, as Heb 1:3.

Heb 1:3 who being the shining splendor of His glory, and the express image of His essence, and upholding all things by the word of His power, through Himself cleansing of our sins, He sat down on the right of the Majesty on high,

This is figurative, of course, so the image is not a visible image, but some other kind of likeness. Here it's the word "glory" that is continually used to compare the Father and the Son. It's referring to a spiritual resemblance in glory. Jesus manifested the glory of God in human form.

v15 The second parenthetical to make sure the audience remembers we're NOT talking about John the Baptist.

Technically JTB was a little older than Jesus, so the "came before me" must refer to Jesus' pre-existence.

v16 picking up from v 14, we have all received this same fullness and v17 truth.

Jesus was full of grace and truth, and we have received it, even grace for grace. This is a one-to-one relationship... every piece of grace Jesus had, we have received.

Typically, we think of this as forgiveness for sin, which, as far as it goes, is correct. But John seems to be making an even more powerful statement. After all, Jesus never needed forgiveness. The grace of Jesus was manifested in his interactions with other people.

Luke 4:22 And all bore witness to Him and wondered at the gracious words which came out of His mouth. And they said, Is this not Joseph's son?

This wasn't so much a message about grace, but rather an observation that the words of His mouth reflected what was coming from His heart.

Mat 12:34 Offspring of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Jesus' heart was full of grace, and gracious words proceeded from His mouth.

People marveled at it.

John says we have received of His fullness, grace for grace.

John 1:16 And out of His fullness we all have received, and grace for grace.