“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). But this is not all. It is wonderful, but we should not stop here. We must go on to John 1:14. “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (Gk.). The Word became flesh. This means that God became something else. He was God, but at a certain time He became something else. Have you ever considered that God became something else? Our God today is no longer merely God. If some Jewish friends were here, I would tell them that they lack something. They only have God, but we have God become flesh. Hallelujah!
The term “flesh” in our thinking is not good. But here in John 1:14, the word “flesh” is really glorious. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh. That means that God became flesh. It is only by His becoming flesh that He could tabernacle among man. This is the mingling of divinity with humanity.
When God became flesh and tabernacled among man, He came full of something. He did not come full of teachings and doctrines, regulations and forms. Neither did He come full of religion. No, God became flesh and tabernacled among us full of grace and reality. What is grace? Some Christians think that if we have a good car, that is really God’s grace. Then they give a testimony thanking the Lord for His grace. Others think that a good wife or a good family is God’s grace. But that is not grace. Grace is God Himself given to us freely for our enjoyment. This is grace.
But for God to give Himself to us is not so simple. It does not mean that one day God came down from heaven and said to man, “I give Myself to you.” If He were to do that, we would be extremely fearful, and we would dare not contact Him. His glory would consume us. But, praise the Lord, all His burning glory was concealed in the flesh. He came to us in exactly the same form as we are. And He came to us in this way to such an extent that it was difficult to recognize or discern that He was God. This is why the Pharisees had such a problem with Him. They wondered how He could be God. Was He not a poor man from Nazareth? Did they not know His mother, His brothers, and His sisters? He was a poor man, from a poor country, from a little town called Nazareth. How could He be God? But He was God. He was the Word become flesh. He was God in such a humble human form.
It is for this reason that Isaiah 9:6 is such a precious verse to us. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The eternal Father, The Prince of Peace.” A child is born unto us, but His name is not called a wonderful man. His name is called The Mighty God. And a son is given to us, and His name is called The Eternal Father. Is He the Son or the Father? Is He the child or the mighty God? Now we are clear. He is both a child and the mighty God. He is both the Son and the Father. That little child born in a manger at Bethlehem was the Mighty God. The Jewish people believe in God, but they do not believe that child born in a manger at Bethlehem was God.
But we believe! Hallelujah! That little child was God. He was not God in divine form, but He was God taking a human form. His purpose in doing this was that He might be sown into mankind. He took man as the soil to produce something for our enjoyment. Hence, the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, full of grace (enjoyment) and reality. He came full of the riches of divinity for us to enjoy. This is grace.