John 1:17 – Grace and Truth Came Through Jesus

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” – John 1:17

Through Jesus, we have been given “grace in place of grace already given,” (John 1:16). Which is good for us, because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom. 3:23). When God gave Moses the law, He was not placing a burden on Israel. He was not offering the first path to salvation that would be superseded by Jesus’s work on the cross. He was not imposing a standard of legalism that He would eventually undo. He was making mankind “conscious of [] sin,” and by so doing He was revealing the truth of our need for a Savior (Rom. 3:20). To be made conscious of sin is a gift. It is a glimpse into the great divide that exists between mankind and God. It is an opportunity to realize that we need to find the bridge between ourselves and God, that bridge being Jesus. It is God revealing that man cannot earn salvation but must accept it as a gift through faith in Jesus.

Was Abraham righteous in God’s sight because of his perfect fulfillment of the law that “God [had] made [] plain to [him],” and had “written on [his] heart?” (Rom. 1:19; 2:15).  No, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” (Gen. 15:6, Rom. 4:1-22, Gal. 3:6-9, Heb. 11:8-10, James 2:23). Abraham was not considered righteous for what he did when he offered up his son Issac on the alter, but “his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did,” (James 2:22). Abraham knew the truth, that God is on the throne and when He speaks, we should listen and act. It is by the grace of God that Abraham was credited as righteous. Was Moses used by God because of his perfect fulfillment of the law written on his heart and God’s foreknowledge of his future perfect adherence to the law He would give to him at Mount Sinai? No, Moses murdered an Egyptian man for beating a Hebrew prior to Mount Sinai, and Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land because of his lack of obedience after Mount Sinai (Num. 20:7-11). Moses was used by God because of his continued willingness to trust God and imperfectly submit to His leading. By the grace of God Moses was used. God asked Abraham and Moses the same fundamental question he asks every person walking this earth today—do you believe in Me and will you submit to My Lordship over your life? And when our answer is yes, we fall under the same grace that they did, and we are credited with the righteousness of Christ, and we will be used.

Jesus is the manifestation of truth—He is truth. And since Jesus is eternal, the truth that existed for Abraham and Moses is the same truth that has existed all along, that Jesus Christ is Lord and He would come, and He has come, to redeem His fallen children. There is no greater truth than the eternal truth that entered the world through Jesus. And since the God of the universe has come to redeem us, it would be wise to obey Him and accept His grace and his leading. For His words prove that our love, faith, and obedience are what He desires and what He asks of us, “If you love me, you will obey my commandments,” (John 14:15).

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for stepping down from your throne of eternal power in Heaven to live, die, and rise again as a man, conquering evil and conquering death because you are good and because you love us. Help us to know you for who you are, for our faith to grown, and for us to eagerly accept your leading and Lordship over our lives.