“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
We took a break for a couple of days, but now we are going to get right back with our study. Hopefully, you have the first sentence of this verse committed to memory – “THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND MADE HIS DWELLING AMONG US.” More importantly, I hope you have taken some time to reflect on the meaning of this first sentence.
Now we look at the first part of the second sentence – “WE HAVE SEEN HIS GLORY”. Imagine for a moment what it must have been like for the disciples and the followers of Christ to “have seen His glory”! They were in His presence. They were communing with the Son. They were experiencing His essence. Wow! Think about it. In the 2,000 years since Christ has there been anyone else who has left a stronger impact on humanity? His name is renowned despite the world’s attempts today and over the ages to remove it from the lexicon. Consider the words below from the Scottish theologian James Stewart, who wrote this over 100 years ago to describe how Christ and His message overcame the evil of the world:
It is a glorious phrase – “He led captivity captive.”
The very triumphs of His foes, it means, He used for their defeat. He compelled their dark achievements to subserve His end, not theirs. They nailed Him to the tree, not knowing that by that very act they were bringing the world to His feet. They gave Him a cross, not guessing that He would make it a throne. They flung Him outside the gates to die, not knowing that in that very moment they were lifting up all the gates of the universe, to let the King come in. They thought to root out His doctrines, not understanding that they were implanting imperishably in the hearts of men the very name they intended to destroy. They thought they had defeated God with His back to the wall, pinned and helpless and defeated: they did not know that it was God Himself who had tracked them down. He did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil. He conquered through it.
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