The Wednesday after the Second Sunday after the Epiphany of our Lord
Posted on January 22, 2025 by under
Scripture: St. John 1:15-18 (NKJV)
1:15 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.’”
16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Devotion
Unbelievers can know some things about God. They can know basic facts about His existence, His power, His wisdom, and His glory. They can even know the basic laws that God has commanded; for example, that He has forbidden murder, adultery, and theft. But God’s grace and the truth of our salvation are revealed only in Jesus Christ, who in turn is revealed by His witnesses in the Scriptures and the pastoral office. John the Baptist was one of those witnesses, and he testified that Jesus is the Son of God, begotten of the Father from eternity, the Word made flesh. Christ is full of His Father’s grace and truth.
If we believe in Christ, we will receive from His fullness. The great pleasure which the Father has toward His beloved Son will be shown to us also. This is what is indicated by “grace for grace.” Jesus, being full of His Father’s grace, redirects that grace toward us. Instead of receiving the wrath our sins deserve, we receive His abundant favor.
But we cannot discover this grace for ourselves. Before we can believe that God loves us, this fact must be revealed to us. This is the mission of those who are Christ’s witnesses, that you might “know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19).
Collect: Almighty and Everlasting God, Who dost govern all things in heaven and earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of Thy people, and grant us Thy peace all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
