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John 1:14 - God Became Flesh.

John 1:14 (NIV) 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.

John 1:14 (AMP) And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.

WORD STUDY

The Word became flesh. While Christ as God was uncreated and eternal, the word "became" emphasizes Christ's taking on humanity (see Heb. 1:1-3; 2:14-18). This reality is surely the most profound ever because it indicates that the Infinite became finite; the Eternal was conformed to time; the Invisible became visible; the supernatural One reduced Himself to the natural. In the Incarnation, however, the Word did not cease to be God but became God in human flesh, i.e., undiminished Deity in human form as a man (1 Tim. 3:16). [MacArthur Daily Bible 2003]

Dwelt. Meaning "to pitch a tabernacle," or "live in a tent." The term recalls the Old Testament tabernacle where God met with Israel before the temple was constructed (Ex. 25:8). It was called the "tabernacle of meeting" (Ex. 33:7) where "the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Ex. 33:11). In the New Testament, God chose to dwell among His people in a far more personal way through becoming a man. In the Old Testament, when the tabernacle was completed, God's Shekinah presence filled the entire structure (Ex. 40:34; 1 Kin. 8:10). When the Word became flesh, the glorious presence of Deity was embodied in Him (Col. 2:9). [MacArthur Daily Bible 2003]

CONTEXT

   The apostle exalted Christ before his brethren as the One by whom God had created all things and by whom He had wrought out their redemption. He declared that the hand that sustains the worlds in space, and holds in their orderly arrangements and tireless activity all things throughout the universe of God, is the hand that was nailed to the cross for them. "By Him were all things created," Paul wrote, "that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight."
   The Son of God stooped to uplift the fallen. For this He left the sinless worlds on high, the ninety and nine that loved Him, and came to this earth to be "wounded for our transgressions" and "bruised for our iniquities." Isaiah 53:5. He was in all things made like unto His brethren. He became flesh, even as we are. He knew what it meant to be hungry and thirsty and weary. He was sustained by food and refreshed by sleep. He was a stranger and a sojourner on the earth--in the world, but not of the world; tempted and tried as men and women of today are tempted and tried, yet living a life free from sin. Tender, compassionate, sympathetic, ever considerate of others, He represented the character of God. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, ... full of grace and truth." John 1:14. DA472

INTRODUCTION

   "The Word became human." By doing this, Jesus became (1) the perfect teacher - in his life we see how God thinks and therefore how we should think (Philippians 2:5-11); (2) the perfect example - as a model of what we are to become, he shows us how to live and gives us the power to live that way (1 Peter 2:21); (3) the perfect sacrifice - Jesus came as a sacrifice for all sins, and his death satisfied God's requirements for the removal of sin (Colossians 1:15-23).
   Jesus became a human when he was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb. He was not part human and part God; he was completely human and completely divine (Colossians 2:9). Before Jesus came, people could know God only partially. After Jesus came, people could know God more fully because he became visible and tangible in Jesus. The two most common errors people make about Jesus are (1) to minimize his humanity by disregarding how he identifies with us in our human bodies and (2) to minimize his deity by rejecting what he has single-handedly done for us in his death and resurrection. But Jesus is both God and man.
   In the statement "we have seen his glory," John would have had in mind the whole Old Testament witness to God's glory, which added weight to his further revelation about Jesus. But he may also have been reflecting on how that witness had revealed itself when he, Peter, and James had seen Jesus in shining splendor at the Transfiguration (see Matthew 17:1-13). The concept of glory does not impress people today, but to John's readers it stood for God himself. Jesus was a real expression of God's overwhelming presence and power. [Life Application SB 2019]

COMMENTARY PEARL

He Loves to Be with the Ones He Loves.
   Holiday travel. It isn't easy. Then why do we do it? Why cram the trunks and endure the airports? You know the answer. We love to be with the ones we love.
   The four-year-old running up the sidewalk into the arms of Grandpa.
   The cup of coffee with Mom before the rest of the house awakes.
   That moment when, for a moment, everyone is quiet as we hold hands around the table and thank God for family and friends and pumpkin pie.
   We love to be with the ones we love.
   May I remind you? So does God. He loves to be with the ones he loves. How else do you explain what he did? Between him and us there was a distance - a great span. And he couldn't bear it. He couldn't stand it. So he did something about it.
   Before coming to the earth, "Christ himself was like God in every-thing.... But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servant" (Phil. 2:6-7 NCV).
   Why? Why did Jesus travel so far?
   I was asking myself that question when I spotted the squirrels outside my window. A family of black-tailed squirrels has made its home amid the roots of the tree north of my office. We've been neighbors for three years now. They watch me peck the keyboard. I watch them store their nuts and climb the trunk. We're mutually amused. I could watch them all day. Sometimes I do.
   But I've never considered becoming one of them. The squirrel world holds no appeal to me. Who wants to sleep next to a hairy rodent with beady eyes? (No comments from you wives who feel you already do.) Give up the Rocky Mountains, bass fishing, weddings, and laughter for a hole in the ground and a diet of dirty nuts? Count me out.
   But count Jesus in. What a world he left. Our classiest mansion would be a tree trunk to him. Earth's finest cuisine would be walnuts on heaven's table. And the idea of becoming a squirrel with claws and tiny teeth and a furry tail? It's nothing compared to God becoming a one-celled embryo and entering the womb of Mary.
   But he did. The God of the universe kicked against the wall of a womb, was born into the poverty of a peasant, and spent his first night in the feed trough of a cow. "The Word became flesh and lived among us" (John 1:14 NRSV). The God of the universe left the glory of heaven and moved into the neighborhood. Our neighborhood! Who could have imagined he would do such a thing.
   Why? He loves to be with the ones he loves. [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at maxlucado.com]

AI COMMENTARY

   John 1:14 means that God (the eternal Word) took on true human nature and lived among humanity (the incarnation). "Beheld his glory" means witnesses saw divine majesty, love, and truth revealed in Jesus' character, miracles, and the transfiguration, showing he is truly the Son of God, not just a man, bringing God's grace and truth to humanity.
      o "The Word became flesh": This signifies the Incarnation--the divine Son of God (the Logos) did not just appear as a human, but became a real, physical human being (flesh) while remaining God.
      o "Dwelt/Tabernacled among us": The Greek word for "dwelt" refers to pitching a tent, an allusion to the Old Testament Tabernacle where God's presence lived among the Israelites. Jesus is the new "tent" where God's presence now lives among humanity.
      o "We have seen his glory": This refers to firsthand testimony from disciples and witnesses who saw Jesus' divine power and character. This included his miracles (starting at Cana), his grace, his teaching, the Transfiguration (when his inner glory was revealed), and his resurrection.
      o "Full of grace and truth": Jesus was not just showing power, but a perfect balance of loving-kindness (grace) and divine reality/truth (not vague sentimentality).
   What this means for us:
      o God is not distant: He came down to live in our broken world, identifying with human pain and temptation.
      o Jesus is approachable: He took on our form to reveal God's glory up close rather than as a terrifying force.
      o Witness of the Apostles: It reminds Christians that the claim of Jesus being God is based on actual, historical, eyewitness testimony, not myths. AI

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY

John 1:14 - He Loves to Be with the Ones He Loves.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20221217-0952.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2018/20181201-1332.html