Full of grace and truth

John 1:14 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. Yesterday, we considered the amazing reality that the Word of God became flesh. First, let’s be encouraged by the reality that Jesus is still full of grace and truth. He never changes. He is the same forever. If Jesus is full of grace, then God is full of grace. In Christ, we see the glory of God, full of grace. Isn’t it encouraging to know that God is a God of grace? If Jesus is full of grace, then He has grace to spare, grace to give. Grace overflows. Second, let’s consider that He’s full of grace. Think of grace as the power of God to do what God requires. God’s grace isn’t blanket forgiveness or just positional righteousness, nor is it that God sets aside the Law or the righteous requirements of the Law. Quite the contrary, grace upholds or fulfills the law at the deepest level because it empowers the recipient of grace to not only love righteousness but to do it—in the power of the Spirit—for the glory of God. God the Father said of Jesus, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness” (Heb. 1:9). We learn in Heb. 2:9 that Jesus received grace from God to taste death for us all. What was the grace He received? It was the power to do what God required of Him as our high priest and the propitiator for our sins. He is full of grace. He could expend that power to fulfill God’s just requirements and still have infinitely more grace to give to us so we might believe in Him and live to love with Him, which God commands (1 John 3:23). We can live to love with Jesus because He is full of grace, the power to love both God and man. Third, let’s consider that Jesus is full of truth. He’s not full of a truth. He is full of THE Truth. Later John recorded Jesus saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32). It helps me to think of truth in this way: Truth is what God does, says, and sees through Jesus Christ. It’s not a feeling, it’s not a perception, and it’s not one’s personal perspective. Jesus is full of reality. If we want to see the truth about God and everything that is happening in the world, we should look at Jesus. Truth is what He’s doing. Therefore, truth is what He sees happening. Since He is writing His story, His narrative is the only thing that matters. We can’t rewrite the narrative to fit what we feel, think, or would like for reality to be. There’s no such thing as “my reality.” There’s only one reality, and it’s the truth in Jesus Christ. Truth is what He is, and He’s full of it—full of what the Father is doing and saying. We, therefore, have something secure to base our lives on—the truth of God revealed in Jesus Christ, the living Word of God. If Jesus is full of grace and truth and He lives in us, then we have that fullness of grace and truth residing in our lives. When God gave us the Holy Spirit, He didn’t give us parts of Jesus or only certain aspects of Jesus. Jesus became our fullness. We are complete in Him (Col. 2:10), lacking nothing. His grace and truth look like love because God is love. So as we live today to love with Jesus, our lives should be filled with grace and truth. I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of “giving it forward,” so others may be encouraged to turn their hearts to God and live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.