“John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, “He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.”’ And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
John 1:15–17

In verse 14, we saw that God’s final message to mankind came in the form of a Man. We are told that John bore witness of this One and declared, “He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.” John was actually born six months before the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:36), but he was not speaking of the physical order of things. He was clearly referring to the eternal preexistence of the Lord Jesus. As the Son of God and the Eternal Word, the Lord Jesus existed long before John was ever conceived.

We understand that grace is God’s undeserved favor toward us, even though we deserve nothing. Our verses go on to tell us that those who believe on the Lord Jesus have received grace out of His fullness. There is no end to His fullness. He continually showers us with His gracious favor. It is grace upon grace.

Think of standing by the ocean, watching wave after wave after wave roll onto the shore. This is the picture before us. His supply of grace flows out of His infinite fullness, and there is no end to it. It is grace upon grace.

The Law told man what was right but gave him no power to fulfill the righteous demands of a holy God. But grace and truth—the perfect balance—came through the perfect Man and provided the salvation we so desperately needed: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8–9).

You and I are not only saved by this grace, but we are also set apart by it so that we might live for the glory of God.

God’s message to us is that through His grace we can be saved for eternity, set apart for His glory, and serve Him as a testimony to a dying world. This is possible by grace alone.

Anchor For Today:
Take a moment today to meditate on God’s inexhaustible supply of grace, which He continually pours out upon us, accomplishing for us what we could never do for ourselves. What a message of love and grace! It is indeed grace upon grace.