“For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:16
Have you seen Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark? Do you remember that one scene where Indie is face to face with the idol on a pedestal, and he’s trying to figure out how he can remove the idol without setting off the traps? You know, this one:
He realizes that in order to remove the idol without setting off the traps, he must remove it and replace it with something of equal weight so quickly that the absence of the idol is never detected, the pedestal never notices the lack of the idol’s weight.
Interestingly, that’s the same idea in John 1:16. The word for “upon” in “grace upon grace” means “in the place of.” Grace in the place of grace. It’s the same idea as that of Indie removing the idol and replacing it with the bag of equal weight without the pedestal realizing the idol has been removed. For believers, God always replaces grace with more grace so quickly that we are never one moment without grace. Every time God removes one grace from our lives, He replaces it with another so quickly that we never even notice the switch.
This is an ongoing process in the Christian life. We always receive grace upon grace upon grace upon grace…(and so on and so forth for forever). What amazing news! Do you realize the greatness of this news, Christian? You and I are never one moment, one second, one nanosecond without the grace of God in our lives!
How is this possible? The answer comes in v14 of John 1: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is full of grace and truth…”and from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” Jesus has enough grace for you because He is full of grace. Jesus has enough grace to cover your sins. Jesus has enough grace to forgive all your wrongdoings. Jesus has enough grace to bear with you as you struggle and stumble. Jesus has enough grace to sustain you. Jesus is full of grace, and as believers, we are never one moment without that grace.
Today, take time to reflect on the grace of Jesus. Take time to consider how you have benefited from the grace of Jesus. Take time to consider all the various ways you have experienced the grace of Jesus in your life. Take time to consider how you have never been one moment, as a believer, without the grace of Jesus. Then respond to that grace with praise and thanksgiving. Like Paul said in Ephesians 1:6, Jesus saved us “to the praise of His glorious grace,” so let us respond in praise to Jesus for His glorious grace!