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THE MESSAGE

John 1:16

We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after gift. We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving, This endless knowing and understanding— all this came through Jesus, the Messiah. No one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse. This one-of-a-kind God-Expression, who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him plain as day.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Blessing;   Confession;   Gospel;   Jesus, the Christ;   Regeneration;   Scofield Reference Index - Faith;   Grace;   Life;   Thompson Chain Reference - Emptiness-Fulness;   Fulness;   The Topic Concordance - Word of God;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Grace;   Rivers;   Types of Christ;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Love;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Anthropomorphism;   Fullness;   Grace;   Miracle;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Universalists;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Fulness;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Baptism;   High Priest;   Holy Spirit, the;   Jesus Christ;   John, the Gospel According to;   Messiah;   Paul;   Zechariah, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Baptism;   Christ, Christology;   Fullness;   John, the Gospel of;   John, the Letters of;   Word;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - John the Baptist;   John, Gospel of;   Logos;   Pleroma;   Trinity;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Atonement (2);   Attributes of Christ;   Communion (2);   Creator (Christ as);   Example;   Faith ;   Fulness ;   Gospel (2);   Grace ;   Graciousness;   John the Baptist;   Light;   Manuscripts;   Mental Characteristics;   Merit;   Philo;   Pre-Existence;   Religious Experience;   Righteous, Righteousness;   Thirst;   Truth (2);   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Oil;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Genealogy;   Jesus christ;   Smith Bible Dictionary - John, Gospel of;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Fulness;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Law of Moses, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Fullness;   Grace;   John, Gospel of;   Logos;   Ostraca;   Prologue;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for December 2;   Every Day Light - Devotion for November 30;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness,
King James Version (1611)
And of his fulnesse haue all wee receiued, and grace for grace.
King James Version
And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
English Standard Version
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
New American Standard Bible
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
New Century Version
Because he was full of grace and truth, from him we all received one gift after another.
Amplified Bible
For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift].
New American Standard Bible (1995)
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
Legacy Standard Bible
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
Berean Standard Bible
From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
Contemporary English Version
Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another.
Complete Jewish Bible
We have all received from his fullness, yes, grace upon grace.
Darby Translation
for of his fulness we all have received, and grace upon grace.
Easy-to-Read Version
Yes, the Word was full of grace and truth, and from him we all received one blessing after another.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And of his fulnesse haue all we receiued, and grace for grace.
George Lamsa Translation
And of his fulness we have all received, grace for grace.
Good News Translation
Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another.
Lexham English Bible
For from his fullness we have all received, and grace after grace.
Literal Translation
And out of His fullness we all received, and grace on top of grace.
American Standard Version
For of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace.
Bible in Basic English
From his full measure we have all been given grace on grace.
Hebrew Names Version
From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.
International Standard Version
From his fullness we have all received one gracious gift after another.grace for grace">[fn]John 3:34; Ephesians 1:6-8; Colossians 1:19; 2:9-10;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
And from his fulness we all have received, and grace for grace.
Murdock Translation
And of his plenitude have we all received, and grace for grace.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And of his fulnesse haue all we receaued, and grace for grace.
English Revised Version
For of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace.
World English Bible
From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And out of his fulness have we all received, even grace upon grace. For the law was given by Moses,
Weymouth's New Testament
For He it is from whose fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and of the plente of hym we alle han takun, and grace for grace.
Update Bible Version
For of his fullness we all received, and grace for grace.
Webster's Bible Translation
And of his fullness have we all received, and grace for grace.
New English Translation
For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another.
New King James Version
And [fn] of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
New Living Translation
From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.
New Life Bible
From Him Who has so much we have all received loving-favor, one loving-favor after another.
New Revised Standard
From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Because, out of his fulness, we all, received, even favour over against favour.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And of his fulness we all have received: and grace for grace.
Revised Standard Version
And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And of his fulnes have all we receaved even (grace) for grace.
Young's Literal Translation
and out of his fulness did we all receive, and grace over-against grace;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and of his fulnesse haue all we receaued grace for grace.
Mace New Testament (1729)
and of his Plenitude have we all received, even abundant grace.
Simplified Cowboy Version
This cowboy, the Word, is the source of all good things that are given to us.

Contextual Overview

15 John pointed him out and called, "This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word." 16We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after gift. We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving, This endless knowing and understanding— all this came through Jesus, the Messiah. No one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse. This one-of-a-kind God-Expression, who exists at the very heart of the Father, has made him plain as day.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

of his: John 3:34, John 15:1-5, Matthew 3:11, Matthew 3:14, Luke 21:15, Acts 3:12-16, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 1:4, 1 Corinthians 1:5, Ephesians 4:7-12, Colossians 1:19, Colossians 2:3, Colossians 2:9, Colossians 2:10, 1 Peter 1:11

and grace: Zechariah 4:7, Matthew 13:12, Romans 5:2, Romans 5:17, Romans 5:20, Ephesians 1:6-8, Ephesians 2:5-10, Ephesians 4:7, 1 Peter 1:2

Reciprocal: Genesis 28:20 - vowed Exodus 37:10 - General Exodus 40:14 - General Leviticus 14:17 - General Psalms 45:7 - above Psalms 84:11 - the Lord Psalms 87:7 - all my Psalms 119:17 - Deal Isaiah 9:6 - Counsellor Isaiah 12:3 - with joy Ezekiel 45:17 - the prince's Hosea 14:8 - From me Matthew 25:4 - oil John 1:14 - full John 17:22 - the glory Acts 1:2 - through Acts 4:33 - grace Romans 1:5 - we have Romans 3:3 - faith Romans 5:21 - grace 1 Corinthians 4:7 - and what 1 Corinthians 12:13 - by 2 Corinthians 9:15 - his 2 Corinthians 13:14 - The grace Ephesians 1:23 - fulness Ephesians 3:8 - unsearchable Ephesians 3:19 - that ye Ephesians 4:10 - that he Colossians 1:18 - in all Titus 2:11 - the grace Titus 3:6 - he shed Revelation 3:1 - he that

Cross-References

Genesis 1:9
God spoke: "Separate! Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place; Land, appear!" And there it was. God named the land Earth. He named the pooled water Ocean. God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:14
God spoke: "Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven's sky! Separate Day from Night. Mark seasons and days and years, Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth." And there it was.
Psalms 8:3
I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?
Psalms 19:6
That's how God's Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset, Melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith.
Matthew 24:29
"Following those hard times, Sun will fade out, moon cloud over, Stars fall out of the sky, cosmic powers tremble.
Matthew 27:45
From noon to three, the whole earth was dark. Around midafternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"
Revelation 21:23
Everything New I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea. I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband. I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They're his people, he's their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone." The Enthroned continued, "Look! I'm making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate." Then he said, "It's happened. I'm A to Z. I'm the Beginning, I'm the Conclusion. From Water-of-Life Well I give freely to the thirsty. Conquerors inherit all this. I'll be God to them, they'll be sons and daughters to me. But for the rest—the feckless and faithless, degenerates and murderers, sex peddlers and sorcerers, idolaters and all liars—for them it's Lake Fire and Brimstone. Second death!" One of the Seven Angels who had carried the bowls filled with the seven final disasters spoke to me: "Come here. I'll show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb." He took me away in the Spirit to an enormous, high mountain and showed me Holy Jerusalem descending out of Heaven from God, resplendent in the bright glory of God. The City shimmered like a precious gem, light-filled, pulsing light. She had a wall majestic and high with twelve gates. At each gate stood an Angel, and on the gates were inscribed the names of the Twelve Tribes of the sons of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, three gates on the west. The wall was set on twelve foundations, the names of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb inscribed on them. The Angel speaking with me had a gold measuring stick to measure the City, its gates, and its wall. The City was laid out in a perfect square. He measured the City with the measuring stick: twelve thousand stadia, its length, width, and height all equal. Using the standard measure, the Angel measured the thickness of its wall: 144 cubits. The wall was jasper, the color of Glory, and the City was pure gold, translucent as glass. The foundations of the City walls were garnished with every precious gem imaginable: the first foundation jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate a single pearl. The main street of the City was pure gold, translucent as glass. But there was no sign of a Temple, for the Lord God—the Sovereign-Strong—and the Lamb are the Temple. The City doesn't need sun or moon for light. God's Glory is its light, the Lamb its lamp! The nations will walk in its light and earth's kings bring in their splendor. Its gates will never be shut by day, and there won't be any night. They'll bring the glory and honor of the nations into the City. Nothing dirty or defiled will get into the City, and no one who defiles or deceives. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life will get in.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And of his fulness have all we received,.... These are the words not of John the Baptist; but of the evangelist carrying on his account of Christ, after he had inserted the testimony of the Baptist, in connection with John 1:14 where he is said to be full of grace and truth; and which fulness is here intended; for the fulness of the Godhead in trim is incommunicable; and the fulness of his fitness, and ability for his office, as Mediator, was for himself; but his fulness of grace and truth is dispensatory, and is in him, on purpose to be communicated unto others: and "of it", the evangelist says, "have all we received"; not all mankind, though they all receive natural light and life from trim; nor merely all the prophets of the Old Testament, though they had their gifts and grace from him, who then was, as now, the head of the church; nor only all the apostles of Christ, though these may be principally intended; but all believers, who, though they have not all the same measure of grace, nor the same gifts, yet all have received something: nor is there any reason for discouragement, envy, or reproach. Faith is the hand which receives Christ, and grace from him; and the act of receiving, being expressed in the past tense, seems to regard first conversion, when faith is first wrought, and along with it abundance of grace is received; for a believer has nothing but what is given him, and what he has, is in a way of receiving; so that there is no room for boasting, but great reason for thankfulness, and much encouragement to apply to Christ for more grace, which is the thing received, as follows:

and grace for grace: according to the different senses of the preposition αντι, different interpretations are given of this passage; as that signifies a substitution of a person, or thing, in the room of another, the sense is thought to be, the Gospel, instead of the law; or the grace of the present dispensation, instead of the grace of the former dispensation; grace, different from the former grace, as Nonnus expresses it. If it designs the original, and moving cause, the meaning is, grace is for the sake of grace; for there is no other cause of electing, justifying, pardoning, adopting, and regenerating grace, and even eternal life, but the grace, or free favour of God; and the one is the reason why the other is received: if it signifies the end, or final cause, then it is explained in this way; the disciples received the grace of apostleship, or gift, of grace, in order to preach the Gospel of the grace of God, and for the implanting and increasing grace in men; and grace also, in this life, is received, in order to the perfection of grace, or glory, in the other: if it denotes the measure and proportion of a thing, as one thing is answerable to another, then if may be interpreted after this manner; the saints receive grace from the fulness of Christ, according, or answerable to the grace that is in him; or according to the measure of the gift of Christ, and in proportion to the place, station, and office they bear in the church. Some think the phrase only designs the freeness of grace, and the free and liberal manner in which it is distributed, and received; along with which, I also think, the abundance of it, at first conversion, with all after supplies, is intended; and that grace for grace, is the same with grace upon grace, heaps of grace; and that the phraseology is the same with this Jewish one k, טיבו על ההוא טיבו, "goodness upon that goodness", an additional goodness; so here, grace upon grace, an abundance of it, an addition to it, and an increase of it: so חדו על חדו l, joy upon joy, is an abundance of joy, a large measure of it; and "holiness upon holiness" m, abundance of it.

k Zohar in Exod. fol. 45. 1. l lb. in Lev. fol. 28. 1. & in Num. fol. 69. 2. & 71. 2. m lb. fol. 40. 3. & in Num. fol. 61. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Of his fulness - In John 1:14 the evangelist has said that Christ was “full of grace and truth.” Of that “fullness” he now says that all the disciples had received; that is, they derived from his abundant truth and mercy grace to understand the plan of salvation, to preach the gospel, to live lives of holiness; they “partook” of the numerous blessings which he came to impart by his instructions and his death. These are undoubtedly not the words of John the Baptist, but of the evangelist John, the writer of this gospel. They are a continuation of what he was saying in John 1:14, John 1:15 being evidently thrown in as a parenthesis. The declaration had not exclusive reference, probably, to the apostles, but it is extended to all Christians, for all believers have received of the “fulness of grace and truth” that is in Christ. Compare Ephesians 1:23; Ephesians 3:19; Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9. In all these places our Saviour is represented as the fulness of God - as “abounding” in mercy, as exhibiting the divine attributes, and as possessing in himself all that is necessary to fill his people with truth, and grace, and love.

Grace for grace - Many interpretations of this phrase have been proposed. The chief are briefly the following:

  1. “We have received under the gospel, grace or favor, ‘instead of’ those granted under the law; and God has added by the gospel important favors to those which he gave under the law.” This was first proposed by Chrysostom.
  2. “We, Christians, have received grace ‘answering to,’ or corresponding to that which is in Jesus Christ. We are ‘like’ him in meekness, humility,” etc.
  3. “We have received grace ‘as grace’ - that is, freely. We have not purchased it nor deserved it, but God has conferred it on us ‘freely’” (Grotius).
  4. The meaning is, probably, simply that we have received through him “abundance” of grace or favor. The Hebrews, in expressing the superlative degree of comparison, used simply to repeat the word - thus, “pits, pits,” meaning many pits (Hebrew in Genesis 14:10). So here grace for grace may mean “much” grace; superlative favors bestowed on man; favors superior to all that had been under the law - superior to all other things that God can confer on men. These favors consist in pardon, redemption, protection, sanctification, peace here, and heaven hereafter.



Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse John 1:16. This verse should be put in place of the fifteenth, and the 15th inserted between the 18th and 19th, which appears to be its proper place: thus John's testimony is properly connected. John 1:15-19

And of his fulness — Of the plenitude of his grace and mercy, by which he made an atonement for sin; and of the plenitude of his wisdom and truth, by which the mysteries of heaven have been revealed, and the science of eternal truth taught, we have all received: all we apostles have received grace or mercy to pardon our sins, and truth to enable us so to write and speak, concerning these things, that those who attend to our testimony shall be unerringly directed in the way of salvation, and with us continue to receive grace upon grace, one blessing after another, till they are filled with all the fulness of God. I believe the above to be the meaning of the evangelist, and think it improper to distract the mind of the reader with the various translations and definitions which have been given of the phrase, grace for grace. It is only necessary to add, that John seems here to refer to the Gospel as succeeding the law: the law was certainly a dispensation both of grace and truth; for it pointed out the gracious design of God to save men by Christ Jesus; and it was at least a most expressive and well-defined shadow of good things to come: but the Gospel, which had now taken place, introduced that plenitude of grace and truth to the whole world, which the law had only shadowed forth to the Jewish people, and which they imagined should have been restrained to themselves alone. In the most gracious economy of God, one dispensation of mercy and truth is designed to make way for, and to be followed by, another and a greater: thus the law succeeded the patriarchal dispensation, and the Gospel the law; more and more of the plenitude of the grace of the Gospel becomes daily manifest to the genuine followers of Christ; and, to those who are faithful unto death, a heaven full of eternal glory will soon succeed to the grace of the Gospel. To illustrate this point more fully, the following passage in Philo the Jew has been adduced: "God is always sparing of his first blessings or graces, (πρωτας χαριτας,) and afterwards gives other graces upon them, (αντ εκεινων,) and a third sort upon the second, and always new ones upon old ones, sometimes of a different kind, and at other times of the same sort." Vol. i. p. 254, ed. Mang. In the above passage the preposition αντι for, is used thrice in the sense of επι, upon. To confirm the above interpretation Bp. Pearce produces the following quotations. Ecclus xxvi. 15: Χαρις επι χαριτι γυνη αισχυντηρα - A modest woman is a grace upon a grace, i.e. a double grace or blessing. Euripides uses the very same phrase with John, where he makes Theoclymenus say to Helena. Χαρις αντι χαριτος ελθετω, May grace upon grace come to you! Helen v. 1250. ed. Barn.


 
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