15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.[a]17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. – John 1:15-17
Christ is Superior to John the Baptist, v. 15
Here in verse 15 is a reference to John the Baptist, and his ministry of preparation for Christ.
Notice some things about John’s ministry just here in these verses:
V. 15, “He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.” John was born 6 months before Jesus and began his public ministry before Jesus, but Jesus was yet before him – this is the eternality of the Word as we saw in John 1:1. John knows who this is of whom he is witnessing to. He is the eternal Word made flesh. Not only does Jesus rank before John in time, but in superiority, He holds a rank far higher than John. That is something that we will see brought out in John the Baptist’s ministry in the coming weeks. Seniority held great importance among the Jewish teachers of that day, and John, was clear to point out that Christ is the senior to him.
So this is a key observation of John the Baptist’s ministry that is a lesson for us: he pointed to Christ in his witness. This is what we must do when we are witnessing to an unbeliever – we must point them to Jesus Christ. It is not enough to just try and convince them of God in general. Our witness must center on Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one gets to God except through Him. So in our witness, I know it can be tempting to sometimes just talk about God in general terms and not say the name Jesus Christ or focus upon Him – but we must – we must if we are to have a truly Christian witness that is power to save.
But also we must point to Jesus Christ in the discipleship of our families and children. Sometimes it can be tempting, when our children are difficult and you are worn out and tired, to not bring them continually to Christ. Sometimes we may want them to just listen and obey so badly that we just harp on the law – do this, do that; don’t do this, don’t do that – without bringing them to the cross and pointing them to Christ. Obviously we must teach them God’s moral standards, but we must do so as John the Baptist, and point them to Christ, as the savior of sinners, and as the motivation and power to obey.
Not only must we do this in our witness to the lost and in the discipleship of our kids, but also in our relationship to our spouse. In all things we must be continually pointing one another to Christ. Husbands, when your wife is worn out and on empty, they need you, and they need you to point them to Christ. Wives, when your husband is stressed with work and has little patience, he needs you to point him to Christ, whether he wants that or not. We must be John the Baptist’s to one another in this way.
The second thing to notice about John the Baptist’s ministry is that John “cried out.” His ministry was, as John Gill puts it, “performed with vigour, and in a powerful manner, with much assurance and certainty, with boldness and intrepidity and with great zeal and fervency, and in an evangelical way, for it was such a cry as debased the creature, and exalted Christ.”
Hear how John Calvin puts it, “…he [John the Baptist] did not mutter among a few men, but openly, and with a loud voice, preached Christ.” This is the point and this is the lesson: John cried out with boldness, he opened his mouth and clarity bore witness to Jesus Christ! This is our prime example as preachers! A couple weeks ago there was a well known pastor of a mega church who built a full size basketball court on their stage, to go along with the theme of march madness. In the video of it, he’s up there dribbling the ball, shooting around, spinning it on his finger, all the while trying to give some kind of spiritual pep talk. Ladies and Gentlemen, there are churches like that all over this country, and what they need more than anything is to tear all that down, install a pulpit, hire a man of God to open the Scripture, who will open his mouth and cry out the Word of the Lord! A word of exhortation to you all: as we live in the internet and social media age and there are endless amounts of sermons and preachers to listen to online, use great discernment. Don’t just listen to anyone. There are many great men out there who open the Word of God and cry out as a witness to Christ, but there are many who just scratch the itching ears of a godless people. Look for the men who cry out the Word of God.
What a great lesson for each of us in our witness, when we are out in the world witness to Christ. Maybe you’re actually open-air preaching – if so cry out with boldness – John the Baptist is a great teacher to open air preachers. Maybe it’s just in conversation with an unbeliever, you won’t literally be crying out, but you are to be bold and clear, don’t soften the gospel, just let it loose. Same with our children, and our spouse, and to ourselves, as preach the gospel to ourselves each day. We must cry out with passion for God and passion for souls.
Christ is Superior to Us, v. 16
As we look now at verse 16, we must notice that verse 15 is a parenthesis. The gospel writer, in verse 15, inserted that thought about John the Baptist in the middle of his flow of thought. So verse 16, picks up where verse 14 left off. Here’s how it would read without verse 15, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” Understanding this flow of thought is important to understanding verse 16. Verse 16 tells us, “For from his fullness we have all received…” Well, what is meant by “his fullness?” Rooted in the flow of thought from verse 14, we see that it tells us that He is full of grace and truth. As I mentioned last week, grace and truth are not human characteristics. Grace and truth speak to the deity of Christ. So, we can say that from Christ’s fullness of deity, and from His fullness of grace and truth do we received grace upon grace. In some sense, in looking at verse 14 and 16 together it seems as if the gospel writer is saying that we have seen his glory because we have received grace to do so.
So what is that we have received from Christ? Better yet, what is it that we have not received from Christ? Grace upon grace John says. This is what we have received from Christ – undeserved, unmerited, unearned favor and blessing. When we deserved wrath, judgment, and death, we instead received grace upon grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. To be a Christian is to receive grace upon grace from Jesus Christ. Not only have we received forgiveness of sins through Christ, but we have also received the righteousness of Christ – grace upon grace. Not only have we received the Son of God, but we have also received the Spirit of God- grace upon grace. Not only have we been elected in eternity past, but we also have been adopted in real time – grace upon grace. Not only do we have the promises of God, but we also have the presence of God – grace upon grace. Not only have we received physical blessings in this world, but we have received every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places – grace upon grace. Not only did Jesus live for us, but He also died for us – grace upon grace. Not only did Jesus die for us, but He also rose again for us – grace upon grace. Not only did Jesus rise again for us, but He also ascended for us – grace upon grace. Not only did Jesus ascend to heaven for us, but He also intercedes and prays for us – grace upon grace. Why is it, with all this grace, that we so often feel “woe is me”? Why is it, with all this grace, that we so often feel so lowly and un-thankful, and as if we don’t have more than we could ever ask or imagine? It doesn’t say that only some special ones receive grace upon grace and that all the rest receive just a little grace – no! It says that we have all received grace upon grace – of course these spiritual graces being all of God’s children in Christ. You have no valid reason to feel as if you are lacking!
It is from His fullness that we have all received grace upon grace. Christ gives to us in our need from His abundance. He gives liberally. Gift on top of gift. Jesus Christ is the fountain of grace. We do not receive from His littleness, but from His fullness. Isn’t it wonderful that we have a Savior who is filled up to the brim and overflowing with grace? Jesus isn’t stingy with His grace. We can be pretty stingy with our giving can’t we? Maybe for some of us it’s not that our hearts are stingy so much as we just don’t have much to give. But not so with Jesus Christ. He is full giving, and gives and gives and gives and gives. It is such a good thing that we have a savior who lacks nothing and is the source and fountain of all good things. Because that’s not who we are. The grace, love, and mercy we give to others is far too often small and stingy. What we do have to give, doesn’t come from us. It comes from Christ. We are given grace to give grace. That’s why Christ just keeps giving us grace upon grace, because we are supposed to keep on giving it to others. Maybe we don’t feel that overwhelming supply of grace from God, because we’re not giving it out? Maybe we’re not drinking deeply from the boundless well of Christ, so our spiritual life is dried up? But even yet for such a one, He gives more grace, because isn’t it true that in those moments what we need is just more grace. I like what John Gill says, so simply, “A believer has nothing except what is given to him.”
Hear John Calvin on the matter, “…we are utterly destitute and empty of spiritual blessings; for the abundance which exists in Christ is intended to supply our deficiency…”
“Grace upon grace” could also be translated “grace for grace.” There is grace in conversion, and from converting grace, we have grace for all of life, God’s mercies are new each morning.
Are you empty? Are you worn out? Did it take just about everything you had in you to get here today? Do you feel that this world, or your sin just keeps draining your happiness and your hope? Are the stresses of working and money and providing just pulling everything out of you? Mothers, are you just so worn out from trying to look like you have it all together and putting on a front of being strong? Do you feel that your house and your kids and your life is just a mess? I have good news for you today. Christ is full, full of grace and truth, abounding in grace. He is the living water that does not run dry. He is the bread of life that satisfies our deepest hunger. He is the giver of more grace. When you are crushing yourself with the law, Christ is covering you in grace. When you have no love, He loves you more. And no matter the difficult circumstances that life throws at you, you can have a true peace and a true everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. Because you know what? You’re house might be a mess, but what’s worse is that your heart is a mess of sin and rebellion before God, and Jesus Christ took care of that. He died and bled for your sin, and covers you up with His righteousness. You might be struggling to provide for your family, dads. But what’s worse is that you can’t provide for anyone’s sinful soul before a Holy God. But Jesus Christ provided Himself as our sacrifice for sins to make us right with God. And you know what? He doesn’t stop there – it’s grace upon grace, He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field, He knows our needs. So when you feel empty, go to Jesus Christ and drink deeply from His fullness. He’s full of what we need. And when you do that, you will find that not only is your eternity secure, but you will have strength for the day. Each day has its own problems, each day has its abundance of mercy.
Christ is Superior to Moses, v. 17
When verse 17 tells us that the law came through Moses, I take it to be a reference to the entirety of the law of the Old Covenant. I do not believe it a reference merely to God’s moral law, being that the moral law is transcendent and was before Moses; but certainly the Old Covenant laws came through Moses. I believe that is what is primarily in mind here.
Here in verse 17 the law is contrasted with grace and truth. Moses is contrasted with Jesus Christ. Law came in tablets of stone; grace and truth came in the flesh.
When the gospel writer contrasts the law through Moses with grace through Jesus Christ, He is not comparing something that was lowly to something glorious. We may sometimes have a tendency to do that. But as deficient as it was, the law came with quite the glory itself. Any Jewish reader would have known this. The gospel writer is showing just how much more superior the glory of Christ is compared to the glory of the law. There is a greater glory in the gospel of grace and truth than in the law of Moses. (See 2 Corinthians 3:7-11).
The Old Covenant typified grace, the New Covenant has the substance of grace. The Old Covenant had grace in the picture, the New Covenant has grace in the person.
I like how John Gill puts it, Jesus is “the truth of the types, and the substance of the shadows of the law..”
In some sense, truly grasping the distinctions between the law and the gospel is the key to living the Christian life with joy. The law tells us do, the gospel tells us done. Law: work – Gospel: rest. Law: Obey in order to live – Gospel: Obey because you are alive. Law: earn your reward – Gospel: Christ earned your reward. Law: Wages of sin is death – Gospel: Wages of Christ is life. Law: shows us our sin – Gospel: Forgives us our sin. Law: brings death – Gospel: brings life. Law: pays wage – Gospel: gives gift. Law: its on you – Gospel: its on Christ. Law: demands righteousness from men – Gospel: Brings righteousness to men.
The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. You see, this is how we live and experience the fullness of Jesus Christ and His grace upon grace that He gives to us – by knowing that we are Christians because of what God has done for us, not by what we do for God. The grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the basis and foundation of what makes us Christians who stand justified before a holy God. Not our works, or our obedience, or discipline. If the law was our basis, we’d stand condemned before God. But Jesus Christ brings to us a greater glory. He accomplishes for us, and gives to us we could not do for ourselves. While the Old Covenant has passed away, this does not mean that we throw out God’s transcendent moral law and instruction for our lives – certainly not! But it means that we obey God, because Christ obeyed perfectly for us, so our standing with God is not dependent on our perfect obedience but on Christ. So we are free! We can live! We obey because God loves us, not to earn His love.
Notice, it’s not just grace that comes through Jesus Christ. It’s grace and truth. What does that mean? It’s not to say that the law wasn’t true. It certainly was. It just wasn’t the end of the story. Truth comes through Jesus Christ in the sense that He brings a fuller revelation of God. And He brings a fuller understanding of the truth. Consider the law: “You shall not murder.” What did Jesus say: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not murder.’ But I tell you, if anyone hates his brother he has already committed murder in his heart. The truth came through Jesus in that He revealed the spirit of the law, not just the letter of the law. Jesus Christ is the truth. He reveals more fully what the law couldn’t communicate. And that is, that He reveals God to us, as we saw last week and in verse 18.
So consider your own heart? Are you living, as it were, by the law of Moses, meticulously watching every outward step you take, but neglecting the condition of your heart and your spirit? You could get away with that under Moses, but Jesus Christ exposes you. Even our righteous deeds are as filthy rags. We need grace upon grace. We need to receive from His fullness. Without receiving grace from the fullness of Jesus Christ we are nothing and have nothing. But when we receive from His hand we have everything.
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