John 1:16,17 - Out of His fullness we have all received grace

1:16,17

These two verses draw a contrast between Jesus and the gospel, and Moses and the Law. There are a number of ways in which the latter part of v16 can be translated. NIV has “grace in place of grace already given”; NKJV has “grace for grace”; ESV has “grace upon grace” (also NASB). The grace we receive in Christ is in addition, or on top of, the grace received in the Law. Grace and Law are not opposites, only when someone gets legalistic about things. I.e. man’s interpretation of the Law may have the Law as being antithetical to grace, but God’s interpretation does not! The Pharisees and Scribes had a legalistic approach to the Law, Jesus did not. The giving of the LAw was an act of grace to the Israelites. The Jews would see living under the Law as a receiving of God’s grace, but now a new grace has replaced the grace of the Law. This is a superior and eternal grace. One of the themes in the New Testament, especially in Hebrews, is that the Law was a shadow, and has been replaced by the gospel of Jesus Christ. But we need to appreciate that the Bible does not say the Law and the Gospel are opposed to each other, they are only “opposed” when the place of the Law (or the Gospel) is misunderstood. For example, if someone says “we have the Law, we don’t need the Gospel”, that is a false statement. A more accurate statement for a Jew would be “because we have the Law, we need the Gospel”. And for a Gentile, “because we have the Gospel, we can learn from the Law”. And while the Law came through Moses, “grace and truth” came through Jesus Christ”.