Commentary on the Four Gospel Books
The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
G004 The Word Became Flesh
John 1:6–14

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All New Testament verses quoted in this article are from the English Majority Text Version, and Old Testament verses are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

John 1:6-14

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 This man came for a testimony, so that he might testify concerning the Light, so that all through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent so that he might testify concerning the Light.

9 That was the true Light which lightens every man coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world came to be through Him, and the world did not know Him.

11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

12 But as many as received Him, He gave them the authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name;

13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Some Bible commentators have suggested that John 1:9–14 contains the testimony of John the Baptist. However, in light of the context, we can see that from John 1:1 to John 1:14, it is entirely the words of the Apostle John, expounding on the deity of the Lord Jesus. In that section, verses 6 to 8 are used by the Apostle John to speak about the fact that John the Baptist was the one sent by God to bear witness to the Christ. Before and after those three verses—up until the end of verse 14—are all the Apostle John’s words explaining the deity of Christ, not his repetition of John the Baptist’s testimony. From verse 15 onward, the Apostle John begins to repeat John the Baptist’s testimony and narrate John the Baptist’s activities.

The title ″Baptist″ (G910), meaning ″the one who baptizes,″ is used to refer to John as the one who prepared the way for the Lord and baptized those who repented of their sins and were ready to receive the Gospel. We will study John the Baptist in detail in the upcoming lessons.

John 1:6-8

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 This man came for a testimony, so that he might testify concerning the Light, so that all through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent so that he might testify concerning the Light.

The Apostle John, while writing about God the Word, pauses to speak about a man who had been sent from God to bear witness to the deity and ministry of God the Word when He became incarnate as a man.

The expression ″sent from God″ helps us understand that the existence and ministry of John the Baptist were entirely within the plan and purpose of the Triune God.

The name ″John″ (G2491) means ″the Self-Existing and Eternal One is the One who gives generously.″

The clause ″this man came″ implies that John the Baptist was born as a man. The purpose of John the Baptist’s being born as a man was to bear witness to the deity and ministry of God the Word when He became incarnate as a man. The verb ″came″ (G2064) also means ″appeared before the public.″ John the Baptist appeared before the people of Israel to proclaim the coming of Christ.

After God the Word became incarnate as a man, bearing the name Jesus, and began to carry out His ministry of preaching about God and the Gospel of Salvation of the God, He still bore the title ″the Light.″ For in His human person, He still brought the knowledge of God to mankind. From this point on, when the noun ″Light″ is used to refer to the Lord Jesus, it is capitalized, because it became one of His titles.

We already know that the law of God requires at least two witnesses to establish a matter:

″By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.″ (2 Corinthians 13:1b. Refer to Deuteronomy 19:15)

John the Baptist was the first witness concerning the Light. God, in the person of the Spirit, was the second witness concerning the Light. When John the Baptist proclaimed his testimony, God the Spirit also bore His testimony in the spirits of the hearers:

″And the Spirit is He who witnesses, because the Spirit is the truth.″ (1 John 5:6b)

As a result, anyone who sincerely seeks the Truth will recognize the Truth and believe in the Truth. And God is the Truth; the Word of God is the Truth. From that point on, that person himself also becomes a witness to the Light, that is, a witness to the Truth. For this reason, the Lord Jesus Christ called His disciples the light of the world, meaning that they reflect the knowledge of God that they have received from Him:

″You are the light of the world.″ (Ma-thi-ơ 5:14a)

We should note that in Matthew 5:14a, the pronoun ″you″ is plural, referring to all the disciples of Christ, but the noun ″light″ is singular. This implies that, although there are many who reflect the knowledge of God, there is only one knowledge of God. That is the True Light. Matthew 5:14a means: you are the reflection of the true knowledge of God to the world. Reflecting the knowledge of God means both proclaiming that knowledge and living according to that knowledge so that others may also come to know God.

In reality, for nearly two thousand years, it has been the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ who have earnestly brought the knowledge of God to many people in the world. As a result, today, most people in the world have heard about God and the Gospel of Salvation. What remains is whether each person who has heard and has been enlightened is willing to receive the Light or not. Each person has the freedom of choice that God has given to mankind.

God Himself, in the person of the God, also testified concerning the Lord Jesus Christ by affirming that He is the ″Beloved Son″ (Matthew 3:17; 17:5).

The Apostle John also affirmed that John the Baptist was not the Light but was only a witness to the Light.

Therefore, we need to understand that when the noun ″Light″ is used for the Lord Jesus, it implies that He is the Source of Light. But when it is used for anyone else, as when the Lord Jesus used it for His disciples, it implies that the person reflects Christ, proclaiming the knowledge of God that He has given them.

John 1:9

9 That was the true Light which lightens every man coming into the world.

All the pronouns ″He″ used in John chapter 1 refer to God in the person of the Word and to God in the person of a man bearing the name Jesus.

God the Word is always the True Light because He is the One who continually reveals God and the will of God faithfully. In Genesis chapter 1, we read that the revelation of God’s will through His seven spoken commands brought things into existence out of nothing in God’s work of creation.

The True Light can only be God, because no one else can know God as God Himself does.

The Bible tells us that Satan disguises himself as a messenger of light. That means Satan pretends to be a messenger proclaiming God, but in reality, Satan proclaims many false gods, many false Jesus Christs, many false spirits, and many false gospels:

″And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.″ (2 Corinthians 11:14).

Throughout the world, billions of people believe in false light within religions that claim to worship the God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Most recently, we have seen the World Mission Society Church of God. This ″church″ appointed a South Korean man named Ahn Sahng-hong as the God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. After Ahn Sahng-hong passed away, his tombstone labeled him as the Prophet Elijah [1]. This ″church″ also appointed a South Korean woman as ″God the Mother.″ Her name is Jang Gil Ja; she has two children and divorced her husband to follow the ″church.″ The World Mission Society Church of God claims that Ahn Sahng-hong is the Alpha and Jang Gil Ja is the Omega mentioned in Revelation 22:13 [2]. The church was founded by Ahn Sahng-hong in 1964 in South Korea. According to statistics, by 2008, the church had one million members, and by 2017, it had over 7,000 ″churches″ in 150 countries [3]

God the Word is the One who came into the world, enlightening every person, meaning He reveals God and God’s will to each person. The phrase ″every man″ implies anyone who sincerely seeks God. For only those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find:

″For everyone that asks receives, and he that seeks finds, and to him that knocks, it shall be opened.″ (Matthew 7:8; Luke 11:10)

That revelation comes directly from Him when He was still walking in human form on earth or through visions and dreams after He had ascended, as in the case of the Apostle Paul. That revelation also includes the indirect way through the preaching and lifestyle of His disciples. When the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ preach about God and the Gospel, He Himself works together with them (Mark 16:20).

John 1:10

10 He was in the world, and the world came to be through Him, and the world did not know Him.

In Greek, the verb ἦν (ēn) in John 1:10 is the imperfect tense, which often indicates an ongoing or continuous action in the past. The clause ″He was in the world″ implies that from the time God the Word became incarnate as a man in the world, He continued to remain in the world. His continual presence in the world includes two phases: the physical phase and the spiritual phase. The physical phase is from the time He was born as a man until His ascension. The spiritual phase is from His ascension until His second coming to earth at the end of the age. He Himself confirmed:

″Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.″ (Matthew 28:19-20)

We can understand that even before becoming incarnate as a man, the Word was already present in the world because He created it.

The noun ″world″ (G2889) used in this verse means the inhabitants of the earth. All the peoples on the earth came into existence through Him, for He is the One who created mankind and gave them the ability to multiply. Yet, the peoples of the earth did not recognize Him, even though He came and remained in the world. Even when He revealed Himself, only a few believed in Him. In reality, He was killed by mankind because He revealed Himself.

John 1:11

11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

The phrase ″His own″ in verse 11 implies all the peoples of the earth. God’s purpose in creating mankind was to seek a holy lineage to inherit the inheritance of the God, which is the entirety of God’s creation:

″And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed.″ (Malachi 2:15a)

″Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, reserved in the heavens for you, who by the power of God are being guarded through faith for the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.″ (1 Peter 1:3-5)

″He that overcomes I shall give to him these things, and I shall be God to him, and he shall be to Me a son.″ (Revelation 21:7)

The disobedience of mankind to God brought sin into the world. Sin separated mankind from God, causing humanity to lose their status as children of God and forfeiting their right to inherit His inheritance. Because of this, God had to become incarnate as a man, preaching about God and God’s salvation to those who repent and desire to return to God. It was also God Himself who carried out the redemption of mankind by dying in human form to bear the punishment of sin on behalf of humanity. Through this, whoever believes in His atoning death is forgiven, cleansed from sin, made new, and granted the status of a child of God, inheriting the inheritance of the God. The inheritance of the God is the Eternal Kingdom of the God.

Regrettably, there are too many people in the world who belong to Him but do not believe in Him. They belong to Him because they were created by Him. They do not believe in Him because they want to live according to their own desires, satisfying sinful cravings. Some even accepted Him but later rejected Him because they could not endure suffering for His name or because they lusted after comforts and immoral pleasures in this life. Most of them are proud and love themselves above all else.

John 1:12

12 But as many as received Him, He gave them the authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name;

Anyone who has received God the Word in human form, that is, who believes in His name, Jesus Christ, is given the authority by Him to become a child of God, meaning a child of God the Father. The name Jesus means: the Self-Existing and Eternal One who is the Savior. The name Christ means: the One whom the God has given the office, authority, and power to accomplish the God’s will in the salvation of mankind.

The verb ″receive″ (G2983) means to extend the hand to take, to possess, or to carry with oneself for use. To receive God the Word in human form means to acknowledge that He is God and your Savior, to fully believe and obey all His commands, to remain forever with Him, connected to Him like a branch attached to the vine, and to enjoy all blessings from Him. Among these blessings, the greatest is salvation; the second greatest is becoming a child of God and inheriting the eternal inheritance of the God.

While the verb ″receive″ is used in the second Aorist tense to indicate an action that happened once in the past, the participle ″believing″ is used in the present tense, implying that the act of believing is ongoing. To believe in His name means to believe in the name Jesus Christ.

To believe in the name Jesus is to believe that He is the Self-Existing and Eternal God and the Savior of mankind. To believe in the name Christ is to believe that He is the prophet who preached about God, the high priest who offered His own life to the God as the atoning sacrifice for mankind, and the king who rules over those who believe in Him and reigns over the Kingdom of the God.

The noun “authority” (G1849) refers to the right and power to act, including both permission and the ability to do so. The authority to become children of God means being granted both permission and the ability to become children of God. The Lord Jesus grants those who receive Him and believe in His name the right and power to become children of God. A person only has this authority when they are made new and filled with the holy spirit (power) of God.

When the Bible uses the phrase ″children of God″ in reference to mankind, it emphasizes the fact that the physical bodies of those who believe the Gospel will be mysteriously born of the God, just as the physical body of the Lord Jesus was. This will happen on the day Christ comes to take the Church out of the world. That day is not far off and could come at any moment. Based on the prophecies, we can understand that this day may not extend beyond the year 2027. Please read the article: ″The End of the World and the Year 2027″ [4].

Although we do not know the exact day and hour of the coming of Christ, we know the time period of His coming. For the Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught that we can observe the signs of the times to know the time of His coming (Matthew 16:3). The signs of the time of His coming were prophesied by Him in Matthew chapter 24, especially through the parable of the fig tree, which foretold the restoration of the nation of Israel, an event that occurred on May 14, 1948, and the complete control of Jerusalem, which happened on June 7, 1967.

When the Bible uses the phrase ″children of God″ in reference to mankind, it emphasizes the fact that mankind is both created and reborn by the Triune God.

The noun ″children″ (G5083) used in John 1:12 includes both males and females, as God’s Word teaches:

″I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.″ (2 Corinthians 6:18)

The noun ″sons″ (G5207) in Revelation 21:7 literally means ″male children″ but figuratively refers to those who have the right to inherit the inheritance. According to the customs of the people of Israel, only sons had the right to inherit their father’s estate. Therefore, when the Bible uses this noun to refer collectively to God’s people, it emphasizes their status as children who inherit the inheritance, regardless of gender. For this reason, we choose to translate it as ″children.″

Additionally, the Hebrew and Greek grammar of the Bible uses the masculine plural noun to refer generally to a group composed either entirely of males or a mixed group of males and females.

John 1:13

13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Those ″who were born″ are those who have received God the Word in human form and have believed in His name, Jesus Christ. Their souls have been born again by the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17); their spirits have been born again by God the Spirit (John 3:6); and they have been sanctified by God in their present physical bodies (2 Thessalonians 2:13; Jude verse 1).

On the day the Lord Jesus Christ comes to take the Church out of the world, the God will resurrect their physical bodies, either by raising their bodies from the dust of the earth or by transforming their living bodies into new, glorified, immortal physical bodies, like the resurrected physical body of Christ.

The birth of those people:

• ″Not of blood″ means not by the physical inheritance of ethnic groups within mankind. In other words, not born by the physical union of father and mother from any ethnic group. In Greek, the noun ″blood″ is used in the plural form to refer to the lineages of many peoples.
• ″Nor of the will of the flesh″ means not by the physical desire or reasoning of mankind’s fleshly mind.
• ″Nor of the will of man″ means not by the will contained within mankind’s spirit.
• ″But of God″ means that it is solely by the holy will of the Triune God that a person is born again and made new when they receive God the Word in human form, believe in His name Jesus Christ, and sincerely repent of their sins.

A person’s birth as a child of God is entirely according to the will and action of the Triune God.

John 1:14

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

God in the person of the Word becoming flesh is a mystery, and He Himself affirmed this to mankind through the Apostle John.

The ″flesh″ spoken of here refers to the physical body of a human being. This means that God took on human nature, becoming fully a man, just like any one of us.

• The verb ″became″ (G1096) is used in the aorist tense, middle voice, and indicative mood.
• The aorist tense is used to describe an action that has occurred.
• The middle voice in Greek indicates that the subject performs an action on itself.
• The indicative mood states a fact or reality.

In Greek grammar, ″The Word became flesh″ means that the Word Himself performed the action of becoming flesh, and this action is a fact, an event that truly happened. Philippians 2:7 confirms the event that God the Word became flesh.

We can understand that God the Word created for Himself the form of a human fleshly cell. Then God, in the person of the Word, united that cell with the egg inside the Virgin Mary’s womb to form the fetus. Next, the Spirit empowered the development of the fetus. Finally, Mary gave birth to His physical body, and that human being was named Jesus.

The day when the fleshly cell of mankind, belonging to God the Word, was united by God the Father with the egg in the womb of the virgin Mary to form the fetus Jesus is the day God the Father gave birth to the physical body of the Lord Jesus, as God the Word Himself prophesied in the Psalms:

″I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.″ (Psalm 2:7; see also Hebrews 1:5)

The day Mary gave birth to Jesus is the day God sent His Son from within the Virgin Mary into the world (John 3:17).

There is no truth in the idea that God the Father gave birth to the Word or that the Word was sent by the God from heaven into the world. The truth is: the Word Himself became flesh, was born as a man by God the Father in the womb of the virgin Mary, and was born into the world by the virgin Mary. The birth of the Lord Jesus into the world is precisely the sending of Him by God the Father into the world. Just as John the Baptist’s birth into the world is also called God sending him into the world.

Only the human nature of the Word is called the Son of the God and is born of humanity. But His divine nature always exists and is equal with God the Father and God the Spirit.

Because He is God who Himself became flesh and accepted being born of a woman, Mary, she is the physical mother of the fleshly man Jesus. But Mary cannot be the mother of God as taught by Catholic doctrine. God is eternal and existed from eternity past, while Mary is a created being made by God.

Although the human Jesus is also God, before He completed the work of saving mankind, He had to be born, grow up, and live as a human being. He had to temporarily set aside all the authority and power of God. The Bible clearly records:

″Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming to be in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.″ (Philippians 2:6-8)

From eternity past, He existed in the form of God because He is God. When the appointed time came, He relinquished the attributes and privileges of God to become a man, fully human in every way. Only after He completed the work of saving humanity and His human physical body was raised from the dead did He fully regain all the attributes and privileges of God. Since then, His human physical body has remained a human body but operates with all the attributes and privileges of God, because His divine nature and human nature have been mysteriously united forever.

The phrase ″dwelt among us″ implies that He lived among mankind during our temporary earthly life. The Bible teaches that human life on earth is temporary, like that of a sojourner:

″These all died according to faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and welcoming them, and confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.″ (Hebrews 11:13)

The Israelites were very familiar with a nomadic lifestyle, living in tents. The God also gave them the Feast of Tabernacles to remember their wandering for 40 years in the wilderness because of their rebellion against Him; at the same time, it reminded them that human life on earth, after sin entered the world, is only temporary.

The fact that the Word ″dwelt among us″ signifies that God became incarnate as a human to share in all the joys and sorrows of human life. He shared every emotion and circumstance of humanity, including the experience of facing temptation and bearing the punishment for sin. He experienced physical death when His fleshly body was nailed to the cross. He experienced spiritual death, the separation from God, when He bore the penalty on behalf of humanity. It was then that He cried out in anguish, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34).

God the Word in human form is full of grace and truth. Grace includes all good gifts from God. Truth is God Himself and all His spoken words. In the Lord Jesus Christ, humanity receives all the good gifts of God. In the Lord Jesus Christ, humanity gains understanding of God, of all God’s will for mankind, and is able to live by God’s Word.

God the Word became a man like us, living among us just like any one of us. However, in the context, the pronoun ″us″ here also specifically refers to the Apostle John and God’s people who were contemporaries with him, because he then speaks about the experience of beholding Him.

The glory that John and the other disciples of the Lord beheld was both the radiant glory on the Mount of Transfiguration and the love, holiness, and righteousness manifested in the life of Christ through all His gestures, words, and actions.

The phrase ″the glory as of the only begotten of the Father″ implies that whether it is the dazzling glory shining on the Mount of Transfiguration or the glory expressed through His virtues, it is complete and absolute, able to come only from one who is the Son of the God, without sin.

The term ″only begotten″ is used here because, at that time, the Lord Jesus was the only one begotten by the God. When many come to believe in the salvation of God and are born again by the God, then the Lord Jesus becomes the Firstborn:

″Because whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.″ (Romans 8:29)

It is not that God the Word appeared in the form of a man like angels appear to humans. Nor is it that God the Word indwelt the physical body of some person. Rather, God the Word truly became flesh Himself, being conceived, born, growing up, and living in the physical body of a human being, in a human person named Jesus, with the title Christ, as Lord of all creation. The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. The divine person of the Word has been completely united with His human person. Therefore, He can be the Mediator between God and mankind:

″For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.″ (1 Timothy 2:5)

The term “Mediator” means standing in the middle to guarantee and vouch for two or more parties entering into a covenant with each other. To guarantee means to ensure that all representations and commitments made by each party are true. To vouch means to take responsibility if any party fails to fulfill their obligations as agreed in the covenant.

The Mediator on God’s side must have full knowledge of God, including God’s love and will for mankind, in order to reveal these truths to humanity. Therefore, the Mediator on God’s side must be God Himself.

The Mediator on humanity’s side must be a perfect person, without sin, capable of fully understanding God’s holy will, and authorized to come near to God on behalf of humanity to establish a covenant with Him.

The Mediator between God and mankind must simultaneously be both God and man. Therefore, God the Word became incarnate as a human to become the Mediator between God and mankind.

Because there is only one Mediator between God and mankind, all dealings between God and mankind must go through that Mediator. God can only reveal Himself and grant salvation to mankind through the Mediator. Likewise, mankind can only know God and receive God’s salvation through the Mediator.

Thank God for His boundless love and grace given to us, that God the Word became flesh to be our Savior and to be the Mediator between God and mankind.

Thank our loving God the Father in heaven, for He has accepted us as His sons and daughters and granted us His eternal inheritance.

Thank the Lord Jesus Christ, our Beloved Savior, for granting us to be united with Him, becoming His members in a mysterious way, forever.

Thank the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, for helping us understand the Word of God and generously granting us the power of God so that we may joyfully live in the love and grace of God.

We conclude this lesson here.

May the Holy Spirit guide us into all the truths of God’s Word (John 16:13). May the Word of God sanctify us (John 17:17). May the Faithful *God of Peace Himself sanctify our spirit, soul, and body entirely, without blame (1 Thessalonians 5:23), at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Beloved Savior. Amen!

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
09/02/2022

Notes:

[1] https://www.examiningthewmscog.com/ahnsahnghongs-tombstone-says-the-prophet-elijah-not-jesus/

[2] https://www.examiningthewmscog.com/who-is-zahng-gil-jah/

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Mission_Society_Church_of_God

[4] https://preachingfromthebible.net/067-the-end-of-the-world-and-the-year-2027/

About Using “*God”, “the God” and “holy spirit”

Wherever the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of the Bible use a definite article with a noun to denote GOD, we translate it into English as *God or “the God” to refer to God the Father. We understand that “God,” without a definite article, was used as a collective noun for all and any of the three Persons of the Godhead. And “God,” with a definite article, was used to refer to God the Father.

In the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the term “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) without the definite article “the” (το) is used to denote the power of God, which is given by God the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit” (το πνευματι το αγιω) is God, and “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) is the power that comes from God.