The Vision of the Tabernacle |
The Revelation of the Tabernacle |
John said that Christ, the Word, became flesh and tabernacled among us, full of grace (1:14). What is grace? A common understanding is that grace is an undeserved gift that we receive from God. This is correct, but it is very superficial. A proper understanding of the Bible and of genuine Christian experience shows that grace is God in Christ as enjoyment to His children. When we enjoy God and partake of Him, this is grace.
When we contact the word of God in a living way, taking it as spiritual food, seeking in it not merely doctrinal knowledge but the very Christ, then in a very spontaneous way we receive more grace.
Christ was also filled with reality. In John’s writings, truth means reality; a divine reality embodied and revealed in Christ, as opposed to everything that is empty and vain. Every time we enjoy God in Christ, we not only have grace but also reality. When we enjoy God, we have joy, and this is grace. When we have this joy, we sense how real God is and we experience Him as a real and living Person. In this way, grace is God enjoyed by us, and reality is God realized by us for our enjoyment.
John 1:17 says, “For the law was given by Moses; grace and reality came through Jesus Christ.” The law makes demands on man according to God’s holiness and righteousness, but grace supplies him with the very life and nature of God that he might satisfy His demands. At most, the law was only a testimony of what God is (Exo. 25:21), and therefore was given through a man. But the truth is the substantiation of what God is and came through Christ, a God-man.
John also mentioned the word glory in verse 14. When Christ was in the flesh He was the dwelling place of God on earth; He was the tabernacle where the God of glory, who is invisible and unapproachable, was hidden. One day, when Christ was on the mountain with three of His disciples, He was transfigured before them (Matt. 17:2; 2 Pet. 1:17-18). This signifies that the God of glory who was dwelling in Him came out of the tabernacle. The God of glory who was hidden within Jesus’ body was manifested on the mountain. Hence, we can say that glory is God manifested.
Today we can also have practical experiences of God’s glory. Every time we enjoy Him in a living way we receive more of His grace. In this way we sense how real He is, and a desire rises up within us to present and express Him to others. Then when we speak to someone about our beloved Lord, we are manifesting and partaking of His glory.
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