Five Words Explored

We Have Seen His Glory (John 1:14)

Scriptural context: John 1:1–18


At the time the apostle John wrote his Gospel account, Jesus had already come to Earth and returned to heaven. Consequently, John was looking back when he said, “… we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

What is this glory of which John speaks? Simply put, it is God’s greatness and worth, his brilliance and beauty, his magnificence and majesty. It is the totality of who He is. It (He) is the highest value known to man—and to God. As John Piper points out, God lives to promote his own glory. Any lesser pursuit would be inappropriate and unworthy of Him. If God didn’t live for the highest good (i.e., his glory), then he would not be righteous. Neither are we when we find all sorts of other things for which to live instead of God and his glory.

Moses asked to see God’s glory (Exodus 33:18). God acquiesced, although in a veiled way. Interesting, isn’t it, that centuries later Moses would see it on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured and shone brilliantly like the sun. The apostle John was there, too—and he would later write, “… we have seen his glory” (John 1:14). Maybe the writer of Hebrews had that in mind, too, when he said the Son “is the radiance of the glory of God” (Hebrews 1:3).

But “glory” with respect to God the Son has a broader meaning, I believe. Jesus ministered in the trenches of everyday life—among the diseased, the demon-possessed, the deeply distressed, and the dregs of society. This is where his greatness and glory were seen by the masses. How beautiful of him to touch “unclean” people and heal them! How compassionate of him to raise the widow’s dead son and give him back to his grieving mother! How kind of him to feed the crowd instead of sending them home hungry! How awesome to speak the word and calm the sea! How authoritative of him to command demonic spirits to leave! How glorious of him—yes, glorious—to hang on a cruel Roman cross and make atonement for sin!

We haven’t even touched on his resurrection or ascension. But enough said. We will understate the matter as John did: “… we have seen his glory” (John 1:14).

Prayer
Glorious things of thee are spoken, glorious things beheld.
The greatness of your grace and beauty is simply unparalleled.



“Neither Do I Condemn You” (John 8:11)

Scriptural context: John 7:53—8:11


When there was no one left to condemn the “woman caught in adultery,” Jesus issued those gracious words, “Neither do I condemn you” (John 8:11). If that were the end of his comments, we might think Jesus was a warm, fuzzy chap who went around forgiving sin and not asking for anything in return. But Jesus took it a step further. He commanded the woman to go and sin no more.

Sin no more? That’s a pretty tall order. How could Jesus expect her not to sin anymore? After all, we live in a fallen world, we still have sin natures—and we still have nerve endings! Jesus couldn’t be referring to all sin, could he? Could it be that Jesus was referring primarily to the specific sin of which this woman was accused? If, in fact, she really was guilty of adultery, it would seem quite reasonable for Jesus to say, “Don’t do this again. No more adultery!” True, she was not prosecuted in this instance, but neither did she have carte blanche to continue in sexual immorality.

There’s another instance in John’s gospel where Jesus tells a person to stop sinning. In this case, it is the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda. A short time after Jesus healed the man, Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you” (John 5:14). Here’s a case where the man’s illness might have been related to a particular sin—or sinful lifestyle—and Jesus warned him of the consequences of going back to it. Something even worse could happen. But again, we must ask: was Jesus referring to all sin, or just the one(s) of which this particular man was guilty?

If we know anything about our Lord, we cannot expect him to countenance sin at all. He is the perfect moral being; of course he has to tell us to stop sinning! What else could we expect from one who hates sin and is the epitome of righteousness? Sin is a violation of his nature and his will. Our objective as followers of Christ is to become slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:19). We must strive to forsake every evil path. Yes, we still sin, but we are no longer slaves to sin. Believers are not sinless—but they should sin less.

Prayer
Lord, once a sinner by standing, now a saint declared;
Root out any sin and cleanse me within for a holy life prepared.