“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (Read John 1:1-14)

Who is the Child born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem and laid in a manger?

We find God’s answer to that in John 1:1-4,14: “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 created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created. In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind … The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

That Babe born in Bethlehem was none other than God Himself, the eternal Word, made flesh that He might dwell among us and redeem us from sin and eternal death and damnation.

The Apostle John also writes of Him: “We saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father …” John and the other disciples witnessed Jesus’ divine glory in His mighty miracles, in His glorious transfiguration, and in His resurrection and ascension. Jesus is the eternal Son of God, come into this world a true man.

Indeed, God did the most amazing thing! With us being totally dead in our sins and unable to please God or come to Him, He sent His only-begotten Son (the eternal Word, true God with the Father and Holy Spirit, the Creator of all things visible and invisible) into His own creation as a man to redeem fallen mankind and give us life! God’s Son became flesh — a true man with flesh and bones and blood, like you and me — when He was conceived and born of the Virgin Mary through the miraculous working of God’s Spirit.

The Bible tells us in Galatians 4:4-5: “But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born from a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

In fulfillment of God’s promises of old, God the Son took on human flesh and blood and became true man so that He might take our place under God’s law and fulfill it for us and then redeem us from the curse and condemnation of God’s law by suffering our just punishment by means of His death on the cross.

The Bible tells us: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us — as it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Gal. 3:13).

And why did He do it? “That we might receive the adoption as sons” through faith in His name (Gal. 4:5), that we might look to Him and His atoning sacrifice in faith and be received as God’s children.

Again, St. Paul writes in Galatians 3:26-27: “You are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

As our text says, Jesus is “full of grace and truth.” In Jesus, we see the fullness of God’s grace toward us sinners. In Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, God’s undeserved love reached down and provided a way of salvation for lost mankind; and, in Jesus, God still reaches down to us lost and condemned sinners, offering forgiveness of sins and life everlasting through faith in Christ and His cross.

In this sin-darkened world, God’s truth is revealed to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the truth — only in Him is there forgiveness and life everlasting! He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Only in Him can we obtain forgiveness of sins and life everlasting (cf. John 14:6; Acts 4:12)!

God grant that we look to Him in faith!

O eternal God, our heavenly Father, we thank you for the gracious gift of Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and the only true way to life everlasting. Graciously grant to us true faith in Your Son and our Savior. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.]