“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” John 1:16.

From his fullness we have all received,

Grace upon Grace (John 1:16)

There are many different translations of this verse. The version translated here in the English Standard Version, shows that God is adding grace to what was already given, meaning humanity is getting more. The New American Bible Revised Edition translates this verse as, “From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace.” This implies that the New Covenant of Jesus is replacing the Old Covenant with the Hebrew people of Israel.  Regardless of the translation that we may choose to read, one clear message can be heard from them all: “We have all received grace”.  This is a powerful message! 

Listen to it again: “We have all received grace”.  This is past tense, meaning that the gift has already been given. We do not have to work for it, or do anything. The gift has already been given. In the season of Advent and Christmas, the concept of gift giving gets a lot of attention globally. These days “Black Friday” is extended to the whole month of November so that people can start buying the required gifts for their family and friends. Culturally, it is almost understood that we all give and receive gifts around the holidays. 

My teenage son asked me recently, “Why do kids who are bad get Christmas gifts? Some kids are doing drugs and are just jerks in general, and their parents still get them Christmas presents. Why?” My son asked a great question! My answer was essentially, “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:11). This unconditional love, this unquestionable knowledge that parents give good gifts to their children, is actually part of human nature. 

Where does this natural disposition of gift giving come from? I believe it comes from the Divine model that we received from our Creator. “We have all received grace.” The verse implies that from our very origins, we already received the grace. The word grace has so many meanings. Webster’s dictionary defines “Grace” as: “unmerited divine assistance”; “Approval” or a “Special privilege”; “Mercy or Pardon”, among others. It is amazing to think that humanity started out already receiving a “special privilege” or “divine assistance”, inherent in our natural being. That is the truth of what the Gospel of John is saying here. 

What would our life be like if we truly believed that we have already received “divine assistance”? We could trust and not worry that the prayer is already answered. We could trust and not worry that “good things” are already on the way.  Just like my teenage son knows that no matter what he did this year, I am going to give him Christmas gifts because I have unconditional love for him. We know this because “we have all received grace” from God at our birth. That is the Divine model. Let’s live today with the faith and confidence that “good things” are our birthright.