{"id":11476,"date":"2024-12-01T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-01T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=11476"},"modified":"2025-05-28T13:16:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T18:16:51","slug":"grace-upon-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2024\/12\/01\/grace-upon-grace\/","title":{"rendered":"Grace Upon Grace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, \u201cThis was he of whom I said, \u2018He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.\u2019\u201d) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

John 1:1-5; 14-18<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we begin the Christmas season, ending one year and preparing for the next, let\u2019s focus our hearts on Jesus. Each week, we\u2019ll look at a different aspect of Jesus\u2019s life: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week One: Preparing the Way <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week Two: Our Savior is Born <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week Three: Ministry of Jesus <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week Four: The Promises of Jesus <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s begin at the beginning, with God\u2019s Word, the opening of Genesis 1:1, and the start of John\u2019s gospel, not referring to a particular moment in time but to a timeless eternity. \u201cWord\u201d means logos in its original form, expressing personality through communication. Words have a creating power, the source of our world, all that we see and feel. As Pastor Mike Cooke loves to say, \u201cWords create worlds.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By starting the chapter referencing Genesis, John highlights three aspects of God\u2019s Word: Jesus\u2019s preexistence, His distinctiveness, and His deity. In verse two, John emphasizes that Christ existed in the beginning with God; nothing came into existence without Him. Life came through Jesus, His light, the light of us all, shining in the darkness, conquering its milky depths.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John uses the term \u201clife\u201d 36 times in his gospel. The word refers to physical and spiritual life, often coupled with the adjective \u201ceternal,\u201d indicating the power and purpose given to a believer through faith in Jesus. In verse 15, he refers to the Savior when \u201cthe Word became flesh and dwelt among us.\u201d  <\/em>John the Baptist, different from the gospel writer, bore witness to Christ with his ministry. Calling for repentance and baptizing with water, John set the scene for Jesus\u2019s arrival: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew 3:11<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus, the preexistent Son of God, Creator and Executor of His Father\u2019s will, came in human form to save us from our sins and bond us to the Lord through faith. John introduces us to the manifestation of grace and truth through Jesus; God\u2019s compassion made flesh for us. \u201cThe only Son from the Father\u201d (vs. 15) has no equal and fully reveals God to us; no one else can do what Jesus did; the embodiment of grace and truth came to save a sinful world. Our Savior, Lord of all, led with love and continues to save those who place their faith in Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank God for sending His Son to light the world, overcome darkness, and give us new life in Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prayer:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord, thank You for sending grace and truth to us through Jesus. As we begin this Christmas season, help us prepare our hearts to worship the Savior. Remind us of the good works He did for us, and give us hope for the works He will do in the coming days. Please help us center our lives around the season’s true meaning and not get caught up in the things that will pass away. Through Jesus, we find life to the fullest, today and always. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

IJNIP. Amen <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the… Continue reading Grace Upon Grace<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11476"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11480,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11476\/revisions\/11480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}