4.2.2013 JOHN 1.16 GRACE FOR GRACE

john 1.14'and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,,
(and we beheld His glory,
the glory of the only begotten of the "Father")
full of grace and truth.
v15 john bare witness of Hi and cried saying,
this was He of whom i spake,
He that cometh after me is preferred before me:
for He was before me.
v16 and of His fullness have all we received,
and GRACE FOR GRACE.

the following taken from Lenski's commentary on the gospel of john

'v16 for of His fullness we all received, and grace for grace,
takes up the thought of v14
and thus continues the evangelist's own testimony.
...fullness and grace evidently take up the corresponding terms in v14,
...'of His fulness'  or 'from His fulness'..
no modifier is needed with fullness,
for we already know that this consists of 'grace and truth.
col. 1.9, 'for it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.
this is the 'riches' of the lamb, rev. 5.12;
the 'unsearchable riches of Christ' which paul was counted worthy to preach
to the gentiles eph. 3.8
'the riches of His grace' eph. 1.7.
luther pictures the inexhaustible nature of this fullness:
'this spring is inexhaustible,
it is full of grace and truth from God,
it never loses anything,
no matter how much we draw,
but remains an infinite fountain of all grace and truth;
the more you draw from it, the more abundantly it gives of
the water that springs into eternal life.
just as the sun is not darkened by the whole world enjoying its light,
and could, indeed, light up ten worlds;
just as the sun is not darkened by the whole world enjoying its light,
and could, indeed, light up ten worlds;
just as 100,000 lights might be lit from one light and not detract from it;
just as a learned man is able to make a thousand others learned,
and the more he gives, the more he has-
so is Christ, our Lord, an infinite source of all grace,
so that if the whole world would draw enough grace and truth
from it to make the world all angels,
yet it would not love a drop;
the fountain always runs over, full of grace.'

...'out of His fulness' is match by ..'we all received'.
...we have nothing-Christ has the inexhaustible abundance.
He is the Giver- we are the recipients,
and that is all that we are or could be.
...the verb lambanO has an active sense, 'to take';
but it is used through out, whenever our relation to Christ,
to God or to the Spirit of God is mentioned,
without a hint of meritorious activity on our part.
God's gift, offer, call, etc.
always come first and not only make possible our receiving
but induce, effect this receiving.
so we take,
as a poor, helpless patient takes the medicine
put to his lips by the physician;
as the blind mendicant takes the coin
dropped into his hand by the charitable giver;
as the eye takes in the sunbeam falling from on high,
or the sound that strikes its membrane;
yea, as the dead lazarus takes the life conveyed to him
by the word of Him who is the resurrection and the life.
this is especially true of our first taking or receiving from Christ.
but even when the gift and grace of Christ
have filled us with faith,
so that we ourselves come to Him for replenishment
and ourselves beg for His saving gifts,
this very energy and activity of coming and seeking
is a gift of His to us.
namely the constant drawing which His fullness exerts upon us
and any measure of faith that we may have.
'what hast thou that thou didst not receive?
now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory,
as if thou hadst not received it?' I cor. 4.7
and the baptist himself said,
'a man can receive nothing,
except it be given him from heaven john 3.23


the preposition antE denotes exchange.
'as the days come and go a new supply
takes the place of the grace already bestowed,
as wave follows wave upon the shore.
grace answers to (antE) grace.
hence 'grace for grace' is not
the grace of the new testament for that of the old;
not ordinary grace followed by charismatic grace;
not merely one individual gift- but grace ever new and greater.
one measure of it assures another.
it is like a stream flowing constantly;
every day, every hour its banks are full,
ever fresh volumes coming down from above,
so that no longing for grace in our hearts
is left without immediate and complete supply.
we may specify
justification
peace with God
consolation
joy enlightenment
love
hope etc rom. 5; gal. 5.22; eph. 5.9
grace for grace is according to the divine rule,
'whosoever hath, to him shall be given
and he shall have more abundance matt. 13.12
this doubling of the word 'grace' reveals
what is meant by 'His fulness'
and casts a wonderful light upon our receiving.
'are there sinners here?
certainly, many.
but here, too, is the malefactor's grace for the sinner's heart
and it cleanses and saves.
are there sorrowing and heavy hearts here?
lay down your bundle of cares,
take instead grace for grace.
are there poor people here?
here is He who by His poverty makes us rich.
nothing but His grace makes us rich amid all outward poverty,
consoles us amid all sadness,
strengthens using all our weakness,
gives us the power of life and the fullness of life'

schoener..writes once more:
'grace is a treasure to which none others can be compared.
carry together all the treasures of earth, and
all together they will not balance what lies in the one word grace.
grace is the blood red mark which cancels the handwriting against us;
the star of hope which sends its rays into this earth life darkened by sin;
the ladder which leads us upward;
the immovable pillar which shall stand,
though hills and mountains pass away..
the staff to which we can cling in our weakness;
the guide who leads us safely through sorrow and death into
the open portals of eternal blessedness.'

the concept charis has already been defined in v14.
we may add that 'grace' is the effective manifestation of
God's undeserved love toward sinful men,
offering to all the salvation obtained by Christ,
by this offer working faith to accept it,
justifying us without any merit of our own,
sanctifying and glorifying us.
grace is the chief characteristic of the entire gospel of Christ,
of the entire christian religion,
the center of the mystery,
unknown to the world,
revealed in Jesus Christ.
the fact that in emphasising 'grace
john has by no means forgotten 'truth',
which he added in v14, is shown by v17.