Jesus was received in fullness

JESUS WAS RECEIVED IN FULLNESS
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 1:16 16Outof his fullness we have all received
grace in place of grace alreadygiven.
The Fullness Of Christ—Received!
BY SPURGEON
“And of His fullness have all we received.”
John 1:16
THERE is no occasion to inform the Christian heart who the Person is to whom reference is here
made. The name of Jesus is to you a household word. No, it is the word which will be found
written upon your hearts when you die. That immortal word shall be the keynote of your eternal
song when you shall enter into the immortality which remains for God’s people. Jesus! How
sweet is Your name to Your people. It is a sonnet of itself. It is the sum of all music summed up
in two syllables. It is a hallelujah and the groundwork of an eternal hosanna in five letters. Jesus!
We defy earth to equal it and Heaven itself to excel it. Jesus is Heaven’s highest melody–as it is
earth’s sweetest delight.
The text informs us that there is a fullness in Christ. There is a fullness of essential Deity, for “in
Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead.” There is a fullness of perfect Manhood, for in Him
bodily, that Godhead was revealed. Partaker of flesh and blood, made in all things like unto His
brethren, there was nothing lacking that was necessary to the perfection of humankind in Him.
There is a fullness of atoning efficacy in His blood, for “the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son,
cleans us from all sin.” There is a fullness of justifying righteousness in His life, for “there is
therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.”
There is a fullness of divine Providence in His plea, for “He is able to save to the uttermost them
that come unto God by Him; seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.” There is a
fullness of victory in His death, for through death He destroyed him that had the power of death,
that is the devil. There is a fullness of efficacy in His resurrection from the dead, for by it “are
begotten again to a lively hope.” There is a fullness of triumph in His ascension, for “when He
ascended up on high He led captivity captive and received gifts for men.” There is a fullness of

blessings unspeakable, unknown. A fullness of grace to pardon, of grace to regenerate, of grace
to sanctify, of grace to preserve and of grace to perfect.
There is a fullness at all times. A fullness by day and a fullness by night. A fullness of comfort in
affliction, a fullness of guidance in prosperity, a fullness of every Divine attribute, of wisdom, of
power, of love. A fullness which it were impossible to survey, much less to explore. There is
everything summed up in a total–“the gathering together of all things in One” in Jesus. “It
pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.” In vain we strive to recount the holy
wonder. It were a theme which would exhaust an angel’s tongue to tell–the fullness which
resides in Jesus our Head and ever abides to answer our need.
And now what shall we say to these things? “Of His fullness have all we received.” The text
seems to me to suggest four reflections. First, an appeal to our gratitude. “Glory be to Christ! For
of His fullness have all we received.” Secondly, a notion of character, “Thus may you know the
people of God, for of His fullness have they all received.” Thirdly, a sentence of admonition to
believers, “Be wise, oh you people of God, be grateful and be humble, for it is of His fullness
you have received.” And in the last place here is to the sinner a word of sweet encouragement,
“Come, all the saints invite you, for of His fullness have all they received.”
To begin with the first the text constrains us to say, “GLORY BE UNTO CHRIST FOR HIS
FULLNESS, for of it have all the saints received.”
Appeal to those who died before the flood. Ask those who trod in the steps of Enoch. Go forward
to Noah, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Put the question to David and Samuel–come on through
the Prophets, to Isaiah and Jeremy–ask them all, “From where came your faith? From where
your power to suffer and your strength to conquer?” With united breath they answer, “Of His
fullness who as yet had not come in the flesh we by faith received.” Ask the saints in later times.
I summon you, oh you bright Apostles of the Lamb, “From where came your noble testimony
and your unwavering constancy?” They reply with the voice of John, their leader, “Of His
fullness have all we received.”
Appeal to the martyrs on their racks, on their blood-stained gibbets, on their stakes and glowing
fires. In their dungeons and damp dying places–ask the tenants of ten thousand graves, “From
where came your triumph?” And they reply at once, “We have overcome through the blood of
the Lamb.” “Of His fullness have all we received.” You should go through the list of the
Reformers. You should ask Luther and Calvin and Zwingle and Melancthon and Wickliffe and
Huss and Jerome and Knox. And there is not one of them who will dare to say that he had
anything of his own.
You should turn over the list of the great preachers and summoning them one by one, you should
say to Augustine, to Chrysostom, to Bernard and to those in later days, such as Latimer, Tindal
and Hooper and to later still the men with Whitfield and with Wesley preached the Word, “From
where came your boldness in confession? From where your strength to bear the calumny of the
age and to be the butt of human scorn and yet never to flinch, much less to withdraw your
testimony.” And they all reply, “Of His fullness have all we received.”
Brethren, what a fullness must this be–when you think that a multitude which no man can
number–a company beyond all human count have all received Him! And there is not one of them
that has received too little–they are all, as Rutherford has it–“drowned debtors to His grace.” Or,
as we put it, “over head and ears” in debt to Him. They are so indebted that they will never know
how much they owe but they feel that an eternal song will not be too long to utter their grateful

praise. Fullness, indeed, must there be in Him when all these streams have been continually
flowing and yet He is not dry–when all there mouths have been filled and yet the granary is not
empty. When all these thirsty ones have had their drink and yet the well springs up as free, as
rich, as full as ever.
But you must note again, to the praise of Christ, not only did they all receive of His sense, they
all received all that they had. They had not, any of them, a part of their own. No Apostle could
say, “So far I am a debtor. But here I stand and claim the honor for myself.” With sin begins and
ends the whole story of man. But where good appears, there grace begins. Or, rather, the grace
began before the good. For every good desire, for every holy thought, for every well-spoken
word, for every deed of daring, for every act of self-sacrifice let Christ be honored–for
everything has come of Him. If there is any virtue, any praise–anything that is lovely or of good
report–go and cast it at His feet, for from Him it came. He sowed the seed out of which it grew.
He created the nature out of which these good things sprung.
Oh what must the fullness be from which all the saints received all that they have! But there is
another way of estimating the fullness–by remembering that, albeit, all the saints have received
all these things, yet it remains undiminished–a fullness still. There is not a drop less in Christ
though oceans have been taken away. There is not a spark less in that furnace though many fires
have been kindled therefrom. There is not a farthing less in that treasury though millions of souls
have been enriched. There is not a grain less in that granary nor shall there be a grain less even
when the whole world shall be sown–and all these sheaves shall come to the harvest.
It is always blessed for the child of God to know that in Christ there is enough for all the saints,
enough for each, enough for evermore. And when they have had all and everything that they can
have still there is as much left as when they began. I noticed in Venice at the wells that the
people came to them early in the morning because very soon afterward they were almost dry and
it needed some two or three hours for the well to spring up again. Ah, but it is never so with
Christ. Come early in the morning, O you thousands of seekers and that well is full–come you at
hot noon tide, O you thirsty ones and the well is full–come when the sun is going down, you that
are wearied with your day of toil, for the well is ever full.
Ah, come at midnight, you whose sun is set, who are lost in the darkness of despair, for still you
shall find that the well is full–never exhausted. No, never diminished–always springing up,
always overflowing. So long as there shall be souls found who need to drink of His fullness, the
supply shall be abundant.
Though there are many things to say on each division of my subject, you must excuse me if I say
but little. You must take the text home and think of it for yourselves. Spirits around the Throne, I
hear you sing tonight, “Of His fullness have all we received.” Saints on earth, speeding your way
to the eternal triumphs, join their song and say, “Of His fullness have all we received.” Let no
voice be silent, let no tongue be dumb, but let every soul say, “Of His fullness, too, have I
received and glory be unto His name.”
II. Now for our second point. The text also teaches us HOW TO KNOW WHO IS THE
CHRISTIAN, for it says, “Of His fullness have all we received.”
There are some in this world who obtain their religion from their fathers and mothers. They go to
church, or perhaps to chapel, because there is a family pew there and all their family used to go.
They speak about “our church” and “our denomination” as though their grandfather had left his
religion in his last will and testament for a legacy to them. Let such know that religion is not to

be inherited. It is a personal matter. No man can stand sponsor for another. One of the most
ridiculous and pestilent of human inventions is the idea of making one man stand representative
for another, or an adult for a child–everyone must appear before God and be judged for
ourselves.
Jesus Christ is the only Surety. Verily, we should have enough to do to answer for ourselves at
the last, without attempting to make a reply for other people. To our own Master we must stand
or fall. We have a divinely appointed Substitute. Therefore we shall all gather around the
judgment seat of Christ. But you have received your grace, you say, from your parent. If you
have got it anywhere but from Christ then please remember you do not belong to the family of
Christ. Others there are who have a religion of their own–they have got it by good works. They
have always acted uprightly. They have shut their shops on a Sunday. They do not cheat–at least
not often, not more than other people. They speak the truth and they endeavor to do their best.
They would not mind helping a poor neighbor. Or if they are in richer circumstances, their
guinea is always ready whenever the subscription list is placed before them. And they say,
“Well, if it does not go well with me, it will be hard with a great many people.” That is quite
correct–indeed it will go very hard with a great many people. But this religion of theirs is of their
own making. Then sometimes when men get rich they think they will, as it were, put the finest
fruit on the top of the bushel and they leave a donation to some society. A very good plan,
indeed, by the way–but a pitiful thing if it is left with the view of getting merit by it. So now they
say, “It will all be well–there will be two or three alms-houses built. I have been a good fellow
while I have lived and it will surely be well with me at the end.”
You do not belong to the same company as the saints who have gone before. You have evidently
nothing to do with the Apostle John–for his fullness came from Christ. It is quite apparent you
can never share his Heaven. You can never enjoy his bliss. You can never enter into his rest.
What he had he owed to grace divine. But it seems what you have is of your own earning. Your
robes are of your own spinning, your fire of your own kindling, your coin of your own minting,
your merits of your own merchandise. Oh, be not deceived, these things will fail you at the last
and you will find them as a dream when one awakes All your fine righteousness shall disappear
as a shadow when your conscience is aroused upon your dying bed.
But others have a better sort of religion than this. They do not believe the Calvinistic doctrine–
that without Christ we can do nothing. They acknowledge that without Him we cannot do much–
still they pretend that with Him they can do just a little. If we cannot save ourselves yet we can
believe in our own strength. So they take the first step. They begin the good work in themselves.
And then their divines teach them that they must persevere–yes, if they do not, if they will not do
their part, God will leave them. The grace of God is dependent upon their good behavior–so they
try to behave themselves to keep the grace of God.
They “use the grace of God” as they call it. They try to hold on to the end of themselves. And
what does it all come to? To which I say, it is very obvious that you do not belong to those old-
fashioned saints who lived in the Bible times–for all they had they received from Christ. They
did not get the beginning from themselves–He was Alpha–they did not get the ending–He was
Omega. They did not get anything from self. They sought and they found Christ for us. If you
had asked an old saint his opinion about salvation he would have replied in the language of
Jonah, “Salvation is of the Lord.”

Free will doctrines, creature power and human strength, were unknown in Bible times. They
were the invention of one Pelagius. They were new vamped and made a little tidy by Van
Harmin, called Arminius. There are some who to this day have adopted “these old shoes and
clouted upon their feet and old garments upon them and all the bread of their provision is dry and
moldy.” And they appear like Gibeonites in the Lord’s hosts. I do not say but what many of then
shall be saved–but they shall be hewers of wood and drawers of water in the midst of the
congregation in their days–for they never can come into the liberty wherewith Christ makes us
free while they believe those adulterated doctrines, those traditions of men, instead of the
doctrine and revelation of Christ Jesus the Lord.
Now, let us try to find out the true Christian–the enlightened Christian. The true Christian has all
from Christ. The Heaven-taught Christian feels it is so. You remember that the Apostle Paul said
of himself that he was the chief of sinners. A little while before he says he was the least of all the
saints and last of all he says, “Though I am nothing.” John Newton says, “Young Christians
think themselves little–growing Christians think themselves nothing–full-grown Christians think
themselves less than nothing.” So as we grow up we grow down. As Christ increases we must
decrease. As He is glorified, the flesh gets dishonored in our esteem.
Now, what do you say, Brothers and Sisters? Did you receive all the grace you have from Christ?
Is He All in All to you? Are you resting wholly and simply and only on Him? Can you say as
poor Jack did in that story I once told you–
“I’m a poor sinner and nothing at all,
But Jesus Christ is my All in All!”
Have you learned to depend on Him for all things and on self for nothing? Have you seen the
rottenness and emptiness of all human merit? Have you learned the deceitfulness and desperate
wickedness of all human trust? If so, rejoice, for you belong to that company who can say, “Of
His fullness have all we received.”
Sometimes the devil will say to us, “Well, you do a great deal in the cause of Christ. You do not
have a moment’s rest from the moment you wake in the morning to the time you go to sleep at
night–always thinking of something for Christ and doing something for Him.” And, then, proud
flesh says, “Ah, you have labored more abundantly than they all.” No, no, my Brethren. When
we come to look upon all our works, those of us who have toiled the most for Christ–I am sure
we cannot find any satisfaction in them. In reviewing all that I have attempted to do, I can only
say, so far as my own personal experience goes, I am as heartily sick of my own righteousness as
I am of my sins.
I feel as much reason to have God’s grace over the best deeds as over the worst. I often lie down
in the very dust of self-abasement feeling that I have not anything–no, not a rag of my own–no,
not a grain of merit, not an atom whereon I can trust. As abject a sinner as there is out of Hell–if
I look into myself–it is my only satisfaction that I am enabled to look to Christ and to Christ
alone. All that is of Nature’s spinning must be unraveled. All that is of Nature’s manufacture
must be broken in pieces. We must unhoof the horses and burn the chariots of human strength in
the fire, for thus says the Spirit, “I will stain the pride of all glory and bring into contempt all the
excellent of the earth.” “Yes, doubtless and we count all things His for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord.” Here is our struggle–“that we may win Christ and be found
in Him, not having our own righteousness which is of the Law, but the righteousness which is of
God by faith.”

III. Thirdly, we draw from the text A SENTENCE OF ADMONITION TO THE BELIEVER–
“Of His fullness have all we received.”
Should not the believer be of all men the most honorable? I have heard sometimes of a man
being a Christian and yet being proud. Now a proud Christian is a singular contradiction. Yet you
do know some–you would not say they were not godly people–but then, their coat is made of the
best broad cloth and they think it would be a little going down if they were to speak to those who
wear fustian or white coats during the week. They are a little better off in the world and so they
do not receive their poorer Brethren. This is the most silly pride in the world. I have not a word
to say about it. It is too mean to be worth a man’s words spent upon it.
But there is some pride which a Christian man will entertain and almost think it is humility. It is
a pride about his experience–a pride of having grown wise at last. He thinks he has learned too
much ever to be proud, which proves that he is puffed up beyond measure. He says, “Well, those
young people are very self-conceited.” He looks down on beginners and says, “Their greatest
danger is to be lifted up with pride.” While as for himself–good sober man, so old and
experienced–it is not possible that he should be proud–yet proud all the while. To such we say,
“What have you that you have not received?” I know people say it is more respectable to owe
thirty thousand pounds than it is to break for three. But if I must be in debt, methinks I would
rather be the smaller debtor.
Yet how many there are because they have received more from God than others–that is they are
greater debtors than others–they are proud. You have more gifts than I have. Well, it only means
you have got twice as much work to do as I have. So you have got more wealth than I. That
means you are more in debt to God than I and are you proud of being in debt? Let the Christian
be a humble-minded man. We talk of humility. What a lump of pride we are–fussy, stuck-up,
wanting to have respect paid to us. If somebody comes between the wind and our nobility, we
are upset. If somebody abuses us, what a state we are in. And oh, if anybody calls us ill-names,
how harshly we consider ourselves treated.
If we thought less of ourselves we should not be quite so sensitive. Where should dust go but on
the dunghill? And where should they put the man who knows himself to be vile but in the worst
place? Yes, let them put us there–they will not give us worse than we deserve if we come to
know ourselves in the sight of God. Yes, we may say of the slanderer, “Man, you have not hit it,
you have not found out my fault. If you knew me better you could hit me harder.” Yes, we might
sometimes say to some cruel enemy, “You have made some mistake there, for I am innocent of
that before God. But if you had read my heart and known how false I have been to my Lord and
how unbelieving, you might have exposed me and hit me in a sore place and smitten me under
the fifth rib.”
I think we ought always to say, “Well, we do not deserve it for that, but we deserve it for
something else, so we will take it patiently and be willing that men should wipe their shoes on us
if it will but glorify Christ.” Yes, let them call us devils if we may but help to do angel’s work in
redeeming men. Let them scout us, hiss at us and say, “Yah! there goes a hypocrite!” or anything
else they like, if we may but magnify Christ while living and enjoy Him when we shall come to
die. Be humble Christian, for what have you that you have not received?
Next, let us be grateful. All that we have we have received from Christ. Let us love Him. When
our friends give us love we give them love in return. But what is that which we owe mother,
father, husband, wife, or friend compared with what we owe to Christ? Let your hearts burn, let

your love be inflamed. Fall at His dear feet–embrace them with affection. Spend and be spent for
Him. Live unto Him and be ready to die for Him. For all you have you have received of His
fullness. I think that what we want as a Church is more recognition of the gifts we have as
coming from Christ. I do not think we have the gratitude we ought to have to Him. We do not
make sacrifices for Him. We give, it is true, to this cause and to that, but are there half-a-dozen
Christians here that have ever made a sacrifice for Christ?
He gives us blood and we give Him a few tears. He gives us sweat and we give Him cold
services. He gives us groans and we give Him languishing hymns. He gives us life and death,
body, soul and spirit and we give Him only what we can spare after we have first looked to
ourselves–and not all that in most cases. Let us feel, O God, let us feel gratitude to Christ–a fire
within our bones and a flame within our hearts and a sevenfold strength in our spirits–not only to
believe in His name, but also to suffer for His sake. Let gratitude be the inspiration of our lives.
IV. I have not time nor strength to enlarge further upon these points. Therefore the last and not
the least important. The text seems to me to be A MOST SWEET INVITATION–A MOST
BLESSED ENCOURAGEMENT TO POORNEEDY SINNERS.
So, Sinner, you need tonight a new heart. You will never be able to make your heart new
yourself–He must give it to you. So, Sinner, you need repentance–you can never repent of
yourself. He is exalted on high to give repentance. So you need a sense of your own sin and
sinfulness–He can make you feel it, for He felt it all Himself. So you do feel your sin, you say
and you want to have it pardoned–He can pardon it and without exception He has power to
forgive sins on earth. Tell me not how vile you have been–He can pardon you. Say you are guilty
of aggravated crimes–He can forgive you. Tell me not, even, that you have stained your hands
with blood–He is able to wash out that stain and make you whiter than snow.
Sinner, Sinner, Sinner! Do you need tonight to have your aching heart filled with peace?–He can
do it. Of His fullness have all the host in Heaven received. Of His fullness have all the saints on
earth received. And you, poor weeping Sinner, you may, you shall receive, too. They had
nothing to bring to Him any more than you have. They came to Him black in sin–as black as you
and He washed them. They came to Him lost–lost as you can possibly be–He saved them and He
can save you. He asks you to do nothing of yourself, but to trust Him and Him alone. He is God.
Oh, trust the Omnipotent One. He is perfect Man. Oh, trust the Meritorious One. He died. Oh,
trust His dying sacrifice.
He lives. Oh, trust His authoritative plea. Sinner, if we asked you to trust a man, we should think
it right that you should object. If he pretended to be a priest and asked you to trust him, you
might turn upon your heel with a sneer. But I bid you trust in no mere man but in Him that died
upon the Cross. And He is worthy of your trust. Yonder millions redeemed from death and Hell
will tell you, “Worthy is the Lamb!”–and thousands here below will tell you, too, “That He is
worthy of all your confidence.” May the Spirit of God graciously lead you out of self into Christ
and enable you once for all to put your trust in Him.
I will tell you, tonight, an anecdote which I think I have repeated before, but not in this house.
There was a poor man who had been a long while burdened in spirit–one night he had a dream.
To dreams we attach no importance. But this dream happens to be an allegory. He dreamed that
he stood at the gates of Heaven, longing to enter but he dared not and could not, for sin had shut
him out. He was longing to come but he dared not. At length he saw approaching the pearly gates
a company of men who came on singing. They were goodly to look upon, dressed in white robes.

So he stepped up to one of them and he said to them, “Who are you?” And they replied, “We are
the goodly fellowship of the Prophets.” He said, “Alas! I cannot enter with you.” And he
watched them until they had passed the gates and he heard from outside the voice of song as they
were received with welcome. Cast down and troubled, he watched until he saw another company
approach and they came with music and rejoicing. He said to them, “Who are you?” They were
great hosts who had washed their robes and they replied, “We are the noble army of martyrs.” He
said, “I cannot go with you.” And when he heard the shouts a second time ascending from within
the gates, his heart was heavy within him at the thought that it was not possible for him to enter
there.
Then came a third company and he detected in the main the Apostles and after them there came
mighty preachers and confessors of the Word. He said in his heart, “Alas! I cannot go with you,
for I am no preacher and I have done nothing for my Master.” His heart was ready to break, for
they entered and were lost to his sight. And he heard the triumphant acclamations as the Master
said, “Well done, enter into the joy of your Lord.” But as he waited, he saw a greater company
approaching. He marked in the forefront Saul of Tarsus, Mary Magdalene, the thief that died
upon the Cross. And they came streaming on.
So he said to one of them, “Who are you?” And they replied, “We are a company of sinners
whom no man can number. We are saved by blood–through the rich, free, sovereign grace of
God.” Indeed, all the companies might have said the same and the dream would have been more
complete. But as this poor man, with the tears in his eyes heard this word, he said, “Thank God, I
can go with you, for I am a sinner like you and like you I trust in the merit of Him that died on
Calvary.” So he joined their ranks and was about to enter but he said in his heart, “When we
come, there shall be no songs. They will admit us, but it will be in silence, for we bring no honor
to God. We have done nothing for Him–there will be no voices of music when we come in.”
But to his surprise the acclaim was louder, the music was more melodious and the shouts of
acclamation were louder far, while they said, “Here are they who come to complete the number
of the host whom Jesus bought with His blood.”
Now, Sinner, let your ear be attentive and let your heart bow down to listen while I admonish
you. What? Though you are a poor sinner–if you believe in Christ, you can come in as a poor
sinner! Indeed, this is the way we all must come, for there are not, after all–though our
imagination, like the dream, may suggest it–there are not two ways of entrance. We all come to
Him empty–to be filled– naked, to be clothed–lost to be saved. Let me, then, just put the way of
salvation plainly to you all.
“He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” So said Christ. This was the commission which
He gave to His Apostles. What is it to believe? To believe is to trust Christ. To put it as the
Negro said, “Massa, I fall flat down on de promise.” That is to believe–to fall flat on the finished
work and sure promise of Christ.
The Lord enable you to be rid of self and self-confidence and to trust Christ. Then let Hell roar,
let earth rage, let the Law thunder, let the precept threaten, let condolence accuse. But oh, let the
Son of God arise. Bound by His Word, He will display a strength proportioned to your day. He
will never suffer you to perish, neither shall any pluck you out of His hand. Amen.

BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Inference From The Human To The Divine
John 1:14
J.R. Thomson
The parenthesis in this verse is remarkable as written in the first person.
There must be a reasonfor the evangelist's departure from his ordinary
practice of writing in the narrative style. It seems that John was so impressed
by the solemnity and value of the witness he was bearing, that he was
constrainedto break his own rule, and. to speak explicitly of what he himself
had actually seen, and of what he himself had come firmly to believe.
Regarding this parenthesis only, we find here the recordof personal
observation, and, in closestconnectiontherewith, the declarationof personal
conviction.
I. THE STATEMENTOF THE WITNESS. "We beheldhis glory."
1. John and his fellow apostles knew Christ in his humanity - in the "flesh" as
the expressionis in this passage.
2. They knew him as he "tabernacled" among them. John and Andrew, when
the Baptistdirected their attention to Jesus, inquired of him, "Where dwellest
thou?" and at his invitation visited him and abode with him. The writer of this
Gospelenjoyed peculiar opportunities of acquaintance, nay, of intimacy, with
the Prophet of Nazareth, whose beloveddisciple he became. If one human
being ever knew another, John knew Jesus;he not only was constantlywith
him, his disposition and characterrenderedhim speciallyfit for judging and
appreciating him.
3. John and his colleaguesbore witness that they recognizedtheir Master's
"glory." Why is such language used? Why his "glory"? He was a peasant
woman's Son, and remained in the condition of life to which he was born.
There was nothing in his garb, his appearance, his associations,the outward
circumstances ofhis lot, which, in the view of men generally, could justify
such an expression. These men must have had their own conceptionof
"glory." As spiritual Hebrews, they had a noble idea of the majesty, the
righteousness, the purity of God, and also of the moral splendour of the Divine
Law. Thus it came to pass that, enlightened by the Spirit, they discernedglory
where to the eyes of others there was only humiliation. They saw the moral

glory of purity and benevolence in the Lord's Personand character, in the
"grace"whichhe displayed in dealing with suppliants and penitents, in the
"truth" which he uttered and embodied. They could not fail to remark the
glory of his miracles, of his transfiguration, of his victory overdeath, of the
manner in which he quitted the earth in which he had sojourned. All this, as
intelligent and sympathetic witnesses, Johnand his companions beheld, and to
this they testified.
II. THE INFERENCEOF THE CHRISTIAN. The glory was "ofthe Only
Begottenofthe Father." They knew well that the world to which Jesus came
needed a Divine Saviour. Such a Saviour they were encouragedby the word of
prophecy to expect. And their familiarity with the characterand the mission
of Jesus led them to hail the Sonof man as Son of God. If Jesus were notthe
Only Begottenof the Father, how could they accountfor the facts of his
ministry, for the authority he wielded, the claims he made? He had called
himself the Son of God; he had lived like the Son of God; he had wrought the
works of God. He had been addressedas the Son of the living God, and had
acceptedthe appellation. Were the disciples to forget all this; to persuade
themselves that they had been in a mist of bewilderment; to give up their
deepestconvictions, their purest and most ennobling beliefs? If not, then they
must needs asserttheir belief that the glory they had seenwas that of the Only
Begottenofthe Father. The same inference is binding upon us. To deny of
Jesus whatJohn here affirms of him is to leave the Church without a
foundation, the heart without a refuge, the world without a hope. If Christ be
not what John represents him as being, then the world can never know and
rejoice in a full and personalrevelation of the supreme mind and heart and
will. It may be said that this is the misfortune of humanity, and that it must be
acceptedas inevitable. But the text points out to us a better way. The sincere
and impressive language ofJohn encouragesus first to realize to ourselves the
unique moral majesty of Jesus, and then to draw from this the inference
which he and other witnessesofJesus'characterand life drew so firmly and
conclusively- the inference, namely, that he was none other than the Son of
God, deserving of human reverence and faith, love and devotion. The witness
of Christ's companions we cannotreject. Their convictions concerning their
Masterand Friend we are abundantly justified in sharing. If we have a heart
capable of appreciating the Saviour's moral glory, we shall not be without
guidance in estimating the justice of his claim to superhuman dignity - to
Divine authority. - T.

Biblical Illustrator
Of His fulness have all we received.
John 1:16
The fulness of Christ
W. Bridge, M. A.
The word "fulness" is given to vessels thatare brimful of liquor, and so is
metaphorically applied to Christ, who is brimful of grace.
I. Take graceforLOVE, so there is a fulness of love in Christ.
1. Of pardoning love (Luke 23:24). When on earth He did not pardon once,
but againand again, and that without upbraiding.
2. Of compassionating love (Matthew 5:3-4). When poor souls could not come
to Him He went to them.
3. Of speciallove to His disciples (Matthew 12:47-50).
II. Take grace forHOLINESS, and there is a fulness of holiness in Him. Holy
things, the law, priests, temple, were only types of Him. If there were not a
fulness of holiness in Him —
1. How is it possible that God and man could be brought so near who were so
far apart?
2. How should He be anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows
(Ephesians 1:23). The saint's fulness is only particular, His is universal
(Colossians1:19). Their's ebbs and flows and is often empty.
III. Take grace forGIFTS, and there is a fulness of excellencyin Christ.
1. Kingly (Hebrews 1:3, 8).

2. Prophetical(ver. 17).
3. Priestly (John 16:7, 10).
4. In general(Haggai2:7; Colossians 1:11).
IV. WHAT IS OUR DUTY FLOWING FROM HENCE? If there be such a
fulness then —
1. Let all men come to Him. All have wants.
2. Let us trust to Him.
3. Leg us draw forth from Him.
(1)By a serious, frequent considerationof His fulness (2 Corinthians 3:18).
(2)By resting upon it in time of temptation.
(3)By giving forth of it, as the conduit receives more waterby letting out.
4. Let us labour to be like Him, full of grace.
5. Let us take heed how we do anything that may rob Christ of the glory of
His fulness.
(W. Bridge, M. A.)
The communication of Christ's fulness
W. Bridge, M. A.
There is a dealing out of His fulness.
I. BY THE UNION THERE IS BETWEENCHRIST AND A BELIEVER.
Union is the cause of communion or communication. Breadis united to a man
by his eating of it.
II. BY THE OVERFLOW OF HIS INFINITE GRACE HE IS ABLE —
1. To succourand supply those who are tempted (Hebrews 2:18).
2. Whatevergrace Christ hath receivedHe hath receivednot for Himself but
for others (Ephesians 4:8; John 17:19;Isaiah 61:1, 2).
3. There is an infinite willingness in Him to communicate this grace (Hebrews
3:2; Psalm16:2; Job 4:24).
4. As He is willing nothing can hinder Him (Isaiah 43:13; Titus 2:14).
III. WHY THEN ARE BELIEVERS SO EMPTYOF GRACE?
1. The fulness of grace in a believer is many times hid from the world and
from Himself.

2. Sometimes the avenues of grace in a believer are chokedor broken.
3. This grace is communicated in proportion. What is your want? go to Christ
and getthat supplied.
IV. APPLICATION:
1. See the transcendentexcellencyof the saints.
2. What an encouragementthere is here to come to Christ and partake of His
fulness.
3. Acting upon this believers are firm againstall temptations,
discouragements,afflictions.
4. Then believers should labour to strengthentheir assurance ofunion with
Christ.
(W. Bridge, M. A.)
The receptionof Christ's fulness
W. Bridge, M. A.
Whatevergrace the saints have they have it all in the way of receiving.
1. The grace and mercy of justification and remissionof sins (Romans 5:11).
2. Of adoption (Galatians 4:5).
3. Of sanctification(Galatians 3:2).
4. Of the gifts of the Spirit (Acts 10:46, 47).
5. In generalall is by way of receiving (Colossians2:6; 1 Corinthians 4:7).
This will appear—
I. FROM MAN'S NATURAL INABILITY —
1. To overcome sin, be it never so small (1 Corinthians 15:57).
2. To rise againafter falling. Petermust have a look from Christ before he
could repent.
3. To stand and continue.
4. To prepare himself unto what is good(Ephesians 2:1, 5; John 6:44).
II. FROM THE SUPERNATURALITYOF GRACE. (Ephesians 2:10)
III. FROM THE SHORTNESSOF THE MEANS OF GRACE. The means as
it is in itself, without God's appointment, is utterly inefficient.

IV. FROM THE WORK AND NATURE OF FAITH There is no grace that
the Scripture puts more upon than faith — in the Old Testamentall victories,
in the New all cures. Yea, the same works thai are given to Christ are given to
faith: sanctification, justification, salvation. Why? Becausefaith is a receiving
grace (ver. 12). So believing is nothing but receiving the grace of God.
V. FROM THE POSTURE AND TRUE BEHAVIOUR OF PRAYER. Prayer
is the soul's begging. A beggarholds forth his hand noting his willingness to
receive (Job 11:13). In conclusion —
1. You saythat this cuts off all endeavour. Notso (see Philippians 2:12).
2. Why is all this?
(1)That all boasting and self-confidence may be taken away(Romans 4:1
Corinthians 4:7).
(2)That Christ may be fully honoured.
(3)That the children of God may live by faith.
3. This doctrine is full of spiritual use.(1)Behold what infinite care God hath
of believers. If a mother would not let her child eat bread but of her own
cutting, or drink waterbut of her own drawing, what carefulness ofher child
that would argue.(2)What comfortable lives believers live — even their
troubles are from God who makes them minister to their good and helps them
in them.
(W. Bridge, M. A.)
The abundance of grace the saints receive from Christ
W. Bridge, M. A.
I. AN ABUNDANCE OF GRACE. "Grace forgrace " like "skinfor skin"
(Job 2:4). All his skins. This suits
(1)the word "and" or "even;"
(2)the attribute of Christ, "fulness;"
(3)the scope of the place where Christ is setabove Moses.
(4)Other Scriptures (Romans 5:15, 17, etc.)
1. Abundance of grace discovered.(1)It will appear if you considerthe several
advances grace hath made from the beginning till now (Genesis 3:15), the
Abrahamic covenant(Genesis 12:3), the Mosaic,the prophecies, Christ, the
preaching of the gospel.(2)The manifestations of grace under the Old

Testamentwere under a veil; that veil is now removed (2 Corinthians 3:18).(3)
There were many doctrines of grace communicatedto the Jews, yetthey were
so tempered by the law that the very gospelseemedlaw unto them. Now the
law is so tempered by the gospelas to seemgospel.(4)Grace was manifested
under the old dispensationby drops and at intervals (Hebrews 1:1), under the
New Wholesale.
2. Abundance of grace exhibited and communicated.Is it not a greatmatter —
1. Foran ungodly man to be justified For a man to be a child of God.
2. To have the image of Christ drawn on a filthy soul.
3. Fora man to be in heaven before he comes there (John 17:3).
4. But we do not see this abundance, objectors say. But —
(1)Though little in quantity it may be great in quality.
(2)Though it be small as a possessionit is greatas an earnest(Colossians
1:12).
II. APPLICATION:
1. Why should any of God's people vilify and degrade the gift of Godwhereby
they are enriched?
2. Beholdwhat great sinners inconsistentprofessors are!
3. What a mighty encouragementthere is here to come to Jesus Christand be
filled!
(W. Bridge, M. A.)
Whatsoevergrace the saints have they have it from Jesus Christ
W. Bridge, M. A.
Grace is sometimes takenfor —
1. The favour of God;
2. God's assistance;
3. Holiness;
4. Gifts;
5. An office in the Church.But whicheverit is it comes from Christ. This will
appear if you consider —
I. THE INSUFFICIENCYOF NATURE (1 Corinthians 3:5; ver. 13).

II. THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST (Revelation1:17; Romans 8:29;
John 14:6).
1. There are three greatdoors which must ordinarily be openedbefore
converting grace cangetinto the soulof man.
(1)A powerful ministry (1 Corinthians 16:9);
(2)The door of the heart (Acts 16:14);
(3)The door of the ear (Job 33:16).
2. Christ has the opening of these doors (Revelation1:18; Revelation3:7).
3. The names which Christ bears witness to, His all-sufficiency, Sun of
Righteousness, Morning Star, Raiment, Breadof Life, Door, GoodShepherd,
etc., are given to Christ to show that He is all they signify to the soul. And they
are not barely given to Him; He is "Good" Shepherd, Bread"of Life," etc.
Therefore, as the apostle says, "He is all in all."
(W. Bridge, M. A.).
The answerablenessofgrace in every Christian to the grace ofChrist
W. Bridge, M. A.
We have receivedgrace in abundance from Christ, but whatevergrace there
is in Him there is somewhatin the saints answerable thereunto, as the
impression answers to the stamp.
1. Take graceas the favour of God: Both Christ and believers are God's
beloved (Matthew 3:17; 2 Samuel 12:25).
2. Forprivilege: Both are called Sons of God (Hebrews 12:6); Heirs (Hebrews
1:2; Romans 8:17); Electand precious (1 Peter 2:6; 1 Peter 1:2); Light (John
8:12; Ephesians 5:8).
3. Forassistance(Psalm22:1 Corinthians 12:9).
4. Forsanctification(John 17:19). The reasonof this —
I. THE UNION BETWEENCHRIST AND HIS PEOPLE (Job14:20).
II. THE RELATIONSHIP OF CHRIST AS THE SECOND ADAM A
COMMON PERSON BETWEEN GOD AND US (Romans 5:15; John 5:26).
III. THE LOVE BETWEENCHRIST AND THE CHRISTIAN. Love loves to
make a thing loved like itself.
IV. THE SAME SPIRIT IS IN A CHRISTIAN THAT IS IN CHRIST (chap.
John 15:26).

(W. Bridge, M. A.)
S. Martin.
This fulness is shown—
I. IN THE DOCTRINESOF SCRIPTURECONCERNING CHRIST.
1. His perfect humanity.
2. His supreme divinity.
II. IN THE POETRYAND METAPHORS WHICH DESCRIBE HIM.
"Ancient of Days, Alpha and Omega, Lion of Judah," "Sure Foundation
Stone," "Sun," "Desire ofall Nations."
III. THE CHARACTERISTICS WHICH HIS FIRST FOLLOWERS MOST
APPRECIATED WERE TRUTHAND GRACE, AND THESE WERE
MANIFESTED IN FULNESS.
1. Truth represents —(1) Intelligence. In Christ there is a fountain of
knowledge inexhaustible. The keenSadducee, the exact Pharisee, the learned
scribe, the eagerMary, all wonder at the gracious words which proceedout of
His mouth. The words of Jesus are a study for one's life, and those who have
studied them most are as far as everfrom exhausting their meaning.(2)
Reality. This was complete in Christ. He was the shadow of no substance, the
image only of the invisible God.
2. The grace of Christ was love in fulness.
IV. THE EXPERIENCE OF ALL HIS DISCIPLES CONFIRMS THE
OBSERVATION OF HIS FIRST FOLLOWERS. Theycould say, "We
beheld"; we "Whom having not seenwe love." What is this grace but grace
superseding grace, grace supplanting grace — as the blossomsupplants the
bud, and as the fruit supplants the blossom — as the noon supersedes the
morning, and as summer supplants spring — grace superseding and
surpassing grace. Whathave you received? Is Christ to you a cisternwhich
you have emptied? A vine stripped of fruit? Breadeatenand gone? Or is
Jesus Christ living bread? A fountain of living water? A tree of life bearing all
manner of fruit? In plain language, does gracesupersede andsupplant grace?
Are you rising higher and yet higher through the uplifting of the hand of this
Saviour? Is sanctificationsupplanting conversion, and is glorying in
tribulation being built upon patience in sorrow? If so, beware of pride, and of
vanity, and of vain-glorying, and of boasting. God forbid that we should glory

save in the fulness of this Jesus Christ. At the same time quiet your fears and
call forth your hopes. All that you have receivedis from fulness. Come again.
Come every hour — for everything. Friends may depart, but friendship in
fulness abides in Jesus. Helpers may become helpless, but might exists in
fulness in Jesus. Riches mayleave you, but in Christ there are riches
unsearchable. Health may sink, but strength undecaying is in Jesus.
(S. Martin.)
Fulness of grace
C. H. Spurgeon.
I have heard our Lord likened to a man carrying a water-pot, and as he
carried it upon his shoulder, the waterfell dropping, dropping, dropping, so
that every one could track the water-bearer. So should all His people be,
carrying such a fulness of grace that every one should know where they have
been by that which they have left behind. He who hath lain in the beds of
spices will perfume the air through which he walks. One who, like Asher, has
dipped his foot in oil, will leave his footprints behind him. When the living and
incorruptible seedremains within, the Divine instincts of the new nature will
guide you to the wisestmethods of activity. You will do the right thing under
the inward impulse rather than the written law, and your personalsalvation
will be your prime qualification for seeking out others of your Master's flock.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
All fulness in Christ
A. Maclaren, D. D.
God cannot give you anything more than He gave you 1,800 years ago.It was
all in Christ. Take a very vulgar illustration, which is altogetherinadequate
for a greatmany purposes, but which may serve. Suppose some man tells you
that there was a thousand pounds paid into your credit into a London bank,
and that you were to getthe use of it, as you drew cheques againstit. The
money is there, is not it; the gift is given, and yet for all that you may be half
dead, a pauper. In the very last of the Arctic expeditions, last year or the year
before, they found an ammunition chestthat Commander Parry had left there
fifty years ago, safe under a pile of stones, the provisions inside being perfectly
sweetand goodand eatable. There it had lain all those years, and men had
died of starvation within arm's length of it. It was there all the same. And so,
if I may venture to vulgarise the greattheme that I am trying to speak about,

God has given us His Son, and in Him all that pertains to life and all that
pertains to godliness. My brothers, take the things that are freely given to men
of God.
(A. Maclaren, D. D.)
How grace is received
A. Maclaren, D. D.
Here on the one hand is the boundless oceanof the Divine strength,
unfathomable in its depth, full after all draughts, tideless and calm, in all its
movements never troubled, in all its repose never stagnating;and on the other
side is the empty avidity of our poor, weak natures. Faith opens these to the
impulse of that greatsea, and "according to our faith," in the exactmeasure
of our receptivity, does it enter our hearts.
(A. Maclaren, D. D.)
J. Bates.
I have found it an interesting thing to stand on the edge of a noble rolling
river, and to think, that although it has been flowing on for six thousand
years, watering the fields, and slaking the thirst of a hundred generations, it
shows no signs of waste or want; and when I have watchedthe rise of the sun,
as he shotabove the crestof the mountain, or in a sky draped with golden
curtains sprang up from his oceanbed, I have wondered to think that he has
melted the snows of so many winters, and renewedthe verdure of so many
springs, and painted the flowers of so many summers, and ripened the golden
harvests of so many autumns, and yet shines as brilliant as ever, his eye not
dim, nor his natural strength abated, nor his floods of light less full for
centuries of boundless profusion. Yet what are these but images of the fulness
that is in Christ?
(J. Bates.)
Grace to receive grace
The Duchess ofGordon and a companion were visiting at a cottage in
Scotlandwhen a pedlar came in, threw down his pack, and askedfor a drink
of water. The woman of the house handed the water to him, and said, "Do you

know anything of the water of life?" "By the grace of God I do." He drank the
water, and then said, "Let us pray." And this was his prayer: "Oh, Lord, give
us grace to feelour need of grace. Oh, Lord, give us grace to receive grace.
Oh, Lord, give us grace to ask for grace. Oh, Lord, give us grace to use grace
when grace is given." He then took up his pack and went away, having
preacheda powerful sermonin those few words.
On a tradesman's table I noticed a book labelled "WantBook." Whata
practicalsuggestionfora man of prayer! He should put down all his needs on
the tablets of his heart, and then present his want book to his God. If we knew
all our need, what a large want book we should require! How comforting to
know that Jesus has a supply book, which exactlymeets our want book!
Promises, providences, and Divine visitations, combine to meet the necessities
of all the faithful.
The riches of Christ's grace
C. H. Spurgeon.
There is a story of RowlandHill, which I have no doubt is true, because it is so
characteristic ofthe man's eccentricityand generosity. Some one or other had
given him a hundred pounds to send to an extremely poor minister, but,
thinking it was too much to send him all at once, he sent him five pounds in a
letter with simply these words inside the envelope, "More to follow." In a few
days' time, the goodman had another letter by the post, and letters by.the
post were rarities in those days; when he opened it there was five pounds
again, with just these words, "And more to follow." A day or two after there
came another, and still the same words, "And more to follow." And so it
continued twenty times, the goodman being more and more astounded at
these letters coming thus by post with always the sentence, "And more to
follow." Now, everyblessing that comes from God is sent in just such an
envelope, with the selfsame message,"And more to follow." "I forgive you
your sins, but there is more to follow. I justify you in the righteousness of
Christ, but there's more to follow." "I adopt you into my family, but there's
more to follow." "I educate you for heaven, but there's more to follow." "I
have helped you even to old age, but there's still more to follow." "I will bring
you to the brink of Jordan, and bid you sit down and sing on its black banks,
on the banks of the black stream, but there's more to follow. In the midst of
that river, as you are passing into the world of spirits, My mercy shall still

continue with you, and when you land in the world to come there shall still be
more to follow."
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Grace obstructed
Samuel Martin.
When our spiritual supplies fail, the channel is sometimes at fault, and not the
stream; the hindrance to their coming lies with us and not with our heavenly
Father. The supply of fuel to our city in midwinter sometimes fails, not
because the coal-fields are exhausted, but because the weatherhas frozen our
rivers, detained our colliers in the Channel, and blockedup our railways. The
supply of wateror of gas to our houses is sometimes insufficient, not because
the reservoirs are low, but because the pipes which connectour dwellings with
the main service are chokedup or broken. News fail to reachus, not because
our correspondenthas neglectedto write, but because the means of
transmissionhave been imperfect.
(Samuel Martin.)
Grace preferred to earthly honour
J. Cope.
— Having rendered some service to Lord North, the Prime Minister, during
the American war, he receiveda polite communication from that nobleman,
desiring to know if he stoodin need of anything which it was in his powerto
bestow. Mr. Fletchermodestly replied: — " He was sensible of the Minister's
kindness, but he only wanted one thing, which he could not grant him, and
that was more grace."It is a high attainment to prefer the grace of God to
earthly honours and emoluments. None but God, the author of grace, can
incline the heart to this.
(J. Cope.)
A precious plentitude
C. H. Spurgeon., J. Calvin.
I. THE FULNESS.
1. The fulness belongs to Christ personally. In His complex nature He
possesses fulness.(1)In Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. The

fulness of omnipotence, omnipresence, wisdom, justice, mercy. The attributes
of God make up a perfecttotal. The unity, with all its uniqueness is His. The
fractionalparts are ours.(2) There was also a fulness of Christ in respectto
His manhood. Nothing was lacking in Him to constitute human perfection —
sinlessness, sympathy, the virtues of both sexes, human nature in its
completeness.
2. In Christ is an acquired fulness. His perfect obedience securedan
everlasting wellspring of merit; and now risen from the dead there is a fulness
of prevalence in His intercession, ofcleansing power, and of peace, whenthe
Spirit applies the blood to the guilty conscience.
3. A fulness of dignity, prerogative, and qualification. He is a perfect prophet,
priest, and king. Join all the qualities involved in name or fame and you shall
find that He comprises them all in liberal, lavish fulness.
4. A fulness of every kind of perfection. All that is virtuous, amiable, noble or
illustrious.
5. A fulness of the Spirit. The Lord gives not the Spirit by measure unto Him.
6. An abiding fulness. All the saints of every age have drawn their supplies
from Him, but He is just as full as ever. He is never less, He can never be more
than full.
II. THE FILLING.
1. Surely, then, the saints were empty before. All alike are empty of merit and
satisfaction.
2. The filling is universal. All the saints partake of it.
3. There must be a personalreceptionin every case. Grace cannotbe derived
or transmitted from one individual to another.
4. It is gratuitous "Grace forgrace";not purchased or earned but received.
All the doing to receive it is an undoing: the soul empties itself to be filled.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
I. We are shownthat we ARE ALL UTTERLY DESTITUTE AND EMPTYof
spiritual blessings. The abundance in Jesus Christ is intended —
1. To supply our deficiency.
2. To relieve our poverty.
3. To satisfy our hunger and thirst.
II. We are warned THAT AS SOON AS WE HAVE DEPARTEDFROM
CHRIST IT IS VAIN TO SEEK FOR HAPPINESS, becauseGodhath

determined that whateveris God's shall reside in Him alone. Accordingly we
shall find angels and men to be dry, heaven to be empty, the earth to be
unproductive, and, in short, all things to be of no value, if we wish to be
partakers of the gifts of God in any other way than through Christ.
III. We are assuredthat WE HAVE NO REASON TO FEAR THE WANT
OF ANYTHING, provided that we draw from the fulness of Christ, which is
in every respectso complete as to be inexhaustable.
(J. Calvin.)
Christ's fulness
C. H. Spurgeon.
There is a fulness of atoning efficacyin His blood, for "the blood of Jesus
Christ His son cleansethus from all sin"; of justifying righteousness inHis
life, for "there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ
Jesus";of Divine prevalence in His plea, for "He is able to save to the
uttermost them that come unto Godby Him; seeing He ever liveth to make
intercessionfor them"; of victory in His death, for through death He
destroyedhim that had the power of death, that is, the devil; of efficacyin His
resurrectionfrom the dead, for by it "We are begottenagain to a lively hope";
of triumph in His ascension, for"whenHe ascendedup on high He led
captivity captive, and receivedgifts for men"; of blessings unspeakable,
unknown; grace to pardon, regenerate,sanctify, preserve, and perfect. There
is a fulness at all times; a fulness by day and by night; of comfort in affliction,
of guidance in prosperity, of every Divine attribute, of wisdom, of power, of
love; a fulness which it were impossible to survey, much less to explore.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The fulness of Christ received
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. AN APPEAL TO OUR GRATITUDE. Glory be unto Christ for His fulness,
for of it have all the saints received — Old Testamentsaints and New,
martyrs, reformers, saints on earth, saints in glory, etc., etc. And they all
receivedall that they had.
II. A DISCRIMINATION OF CHARACTER. Thus may we know the people
of God, for of His fulness all have received.

1. There are some who receive their religion from their fathers and mothers;
but religion is not to be inherited; it is a personalmatter.
2. There are those who have gottheir religion from goodworks. They do not
belong to John's company.
3. Others get their religion partly from self and partly from Christ; but to
John's company Christ is all in all. The true Christian gets all from Christ.
Even Paul was the chief of sinners, less than the leastof all saints, and
confessedthat he was nothing.
III. A SENTENCEOF ADMONITION TO BELIEVERS. Shouldthey not be
—
1. Mosthumble. Pride, and indebtedness to Christ for all, is a contradiction.
2. Mostgrateful. When our friends love us we love them in return. So Christ
deserves that we should spend the spirit for Him.
IV. A WORD OF SWEET ENCOURAGEMENTTO THE SINNER. You
need a new heart, repentance, a sense of sinfulness, pardon. He cangive you
all, no matter how guilty you are.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ's inexhaustible fulness
C. C. Tittman, D. D.
I. THERE IS IN CHRIST A FULNESS, the greatestabundance of blessings of
every description. It is such a fulness as is in God, for John tells us that Christ
is —
1. The Creatorand Preserverof all things.
2. The Author of human redemption.
3. The fountain of life and light.
4. The Author and Dispenserof salvation.
II. CHRISTIANS HAVE RECEIVED OF THIS FULNESS —
1. Many blessings, suchas spiritual illumination, faith, pardon, acceptance,
the aids of the Spirit, sanctification, hope, and the happiness begun in this
world, and perfectedin the world to come.
2. These many blessings in greatabundance, "and in everything have been
enriched by Him."
III. "ALL HAVE RECEIVED."

1. All men if they were willing; and what is there to hinder all men from
receiving them? Even now, and at all times, may not all receive them? All may
receive to the utmost extent of their desires.
2. All men, of every class and condition; for different men, according to the
variety of their situation and circumstances, standin need of different
blessings;and all may have those blessings whichtheir necessitiesrequire.
3. All men, in every age, and in every part of the world.
4. There is a "fulness" of blessings in Christ sufficient for the present and
eternal salvationof the whole human race.
5. In Christ there is —(1) An open fountain, to which all have access, from
which all may draw, the righteous and the wicked, the joyful and the
sorrowful, the living and the dying.(2) A copious fountain, from which all may
draw in abundance.(3) An inexhaustible fountain which never canbe drained,
howevergreatbe the number of those who draw from it.
4. A perpetual fountain, flowing to all eternity, from which all who are willing
may continually draw.
(C. C. Tittman, D. D.)
The fulness of Christ the treasury of the saints
C. H. Spurgeon.
(cf. Colossians 1:19): —
I. THERE IS A GLORIOUS FULNESS IN JESUS. Why, then, are we so
weak, unfurnished, and unhappy? There is that in Jesus which —
1. Can enable us to rise to the highest degree of grace.(1)If sin is to be
overcome the conquering powerdwells in Him in its fulness.(2)If virtue is to
be attained, sanctifying energyresides in Him to perfection.(3)Without Him
we can do nothing, but we can do all things through Him. There are many
barely Christians who have scarcelyenoughgrace to float them into heaven,
their keelgrating all the way; and yet their privilege is to reach the deep
watererand have so much grace that they may sail like a gallant bark on the
broad ocean, with a glorious cargo and all colours flying, so that there may be
administered an abundant entrance.
2. Sufficient for the conquestof the world.(1) All the might for the conquestof
heathenism.(2)All the strength for victory over vice and infidelity at home.(3)
Every weaponrequired for the fight, Fulness for teaching, convincing,
converting, sanctifying.

II. THE FULNESS IS IN JESUS NOW.
1. The glory of the past depresses many Christians. Scarcelyany Church
realizes that it cando what its forefathers did. A people are in an evil ease
when all their heroism is historical. But the fulness upon which Paul, Luther,
Whitefield drew is unexhausted.
2. The mass of professors have their eyes on the future. Yet, if the texts are
true, all that is to be done canbe done now. Want of faith in Christ's fulness
makes them dote on the Millennium.
3. Our Churches believe that there is fulness in Christ, and that sometimes
they ought to enjoy it. But it is not the Lord's purpose that a fulness should
reside in Jesus during revivals. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever,
and that being the case, the higheststate of revival should be the normal
condition of the Church.
III. THE POSITION OF THE FULNESS IS RICHLY ENCOURAGING TO
US IN THE MATTER OF OBTAINING IT. In Christ:
1. Where we canreceive it now.
2. In Him who loves to give it.
3. With Him who is Himself ours. If God, had put it in an angelwe should not
feel greatlydrawn to Him; but He has placed it where we love to have it,
where we feel at home, where we are glad to go often, where we would abide.
IV. FROM THIS FULNESS MANY OF US HAVE RECEIVED.
1. This should encourage us to further exercises offaith,
2. What restrains us from receiving.(1)I cannot be a Christian of the highest
type. Why not? If you have received life you canreceive it more
abundantly.(2) I cannot hope to be as useful as some. Why not? According to
your faith it shall be done unto you. What you have receivedis a pledge of
what you may receive.
V. THE RECEIPTSWE HAVE ALREADY HAD ARE NOT TRIFLES. "He
that sparednot His own Son," etc. He has given to all such grace as they have
capacityto receive. SO on to perfection.
1. Believe in greatthing';.
2. Expectgreatthings.
3. Attempt greatthings.
4. Don't talk about this but set about it.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)

I. The ONE GLORIOUS PERSON concerning whom this verse is written.
1. The Word or speechand revelation of God. "Wouldstthou have me see
thee," said Socrates"thenspeak." Wouldstthou see God? Listen to Christ.
2. Lest Christ should be regardedas a mere utterance, John is careful to show
that He is a Divine Person.
3. Christ was also man.
4. Lest others should come into comparisonwith Him they are all barred out.
Angels, John, Moses.
II. The TWO PRECIOUS DOCTRINES.
1. That all grace is treasured up in Christ Jesus. His is an immeasurable
fulness of grace and truth.
(1)Of grace — pardoning, justifying, and sanctifying. Of this He is always full.
(2)Of truth.
2. All the saints have receivedall of grace out of the fulness of Christ.
(1)All of them.
(2)Very abundantly.
III. THREE EXPERIENCES.
1. Our ownemptiness.
2. A personalreceptionof Christ Jesus.
3. The discovery that all we receive comes to us by grace.
IV. FOUR DUTIES. If we have receivedChrist then —
1. Let us praise Him.
2. Let us repair to Him again.
3. Try and obtain more.
4. Encourage others to receive Him.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Grace for grace
A. Raleigh, D. D.
I. THE EXPOSITION.

1. Some take the phrase to have reference to the Law and the Gospel;but St.
John is speaking of what takes place afterChrist comes and the Law is
abandoned.
2. Others to faith in Old Testamentsaints and light in New Testamentsaints.
That does not hold, because both had faith and light.
3. Others, grace in the believer resembling grace in the Saviour; but that
would only give us the moral qualities of Christ, and leave us destitute of those
evangelicalblessingswhichHe came especiallyto bestow.
4. The real sense is that of exchange;"for" — insteadof a new grace coming
in the place of the old, and, when that is done with, another fresh from the
fulness, and so on until grace becomesglory.
II. THE ILLUSTRATION:
1. Grace in the believer dies, wastes away, as allliving things do, and the
fasterthey live, the fasterthey die. Granite rocks might last for ever, their life
and motion are so slow; but the most exquisite flowers stand in their prime
rich-blossomedstate only for a short time. "You must come to-day," we say,
"or you will not see the best of it." So with that most living thing calledgrace.
Indestructible in its fountain and principle, it yet comes and goes, flowing in,
flowing out, blossoming, fading. In the human soul, if there were not
replenishment, grace for grace, it would soonbe empty and dead.
2. This does not mean simply a steady continuance of the same class of
gracious ministration. You stand by a river and watch the flow, the drops of
watercoming and going to the ocean. But then other drops succeedthem, and
others them, so evenly and incessantlythat we hardly realize that the waters
are passing away. So with the supply of grace. Suppose the colourof the river
should change with the day, now black from muddy hills, now yellow as the
Tiber, now blue as the Rhone, now crystalas the Tweed, it would be a
singular phenomenon; but grace for grace means a change like that. There is
an element of samenessin all graces, justas wateris water, but in many
respects one kind of grace is not like another.
3. There is no invariable order, but in general —(1) The grace offorgiveness is
the first bestowed. This may come after much anxiety, or quite gently; but,
come as it will, peace is a specialgrace.(2)Butthe believer dots not rest long
in his peace. Nextcomes a totally different kind of grace — active strength
and the spirit of boldness. Notthat he is deprived of his peace, but that
becomes secondary. This is very necessary, as uniform tranquillity would be
injurious. To root the tree firmly rough winds are necessary.(3)The grace of
patience for the grace of active strength. Working time comes to an end, or

work goes on, patience comes to prevent discouragement.(4)The grace of
victory for the grace ofpreservationin battle. As thy day so shall thy strength
be. Not dying grace till death.
III. THE APPLICATION:
1. Do not try to live in or by the past. Live in it by a grateful memory that will
help you; but not so as to geta present living nourishment out of states, and
frames, and feelings that are dead and gone. You would not geton in June
seeking the withered leaves oflast autumn. Let them sink into the soil. Trust
nature to getall the goodthat is in them, and send that goodup again.
2. We ought to be afraid of stagnation, but never of new experiences or
enterprises.
3. Christ offers grace for — not grace, you have none, brother sinner; you
would never take it — but for sin and its condemnation.
(A. Raleigh, D. D.)
Grace for grace
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. GRACE BY DEGREES;grace upon grace;a little grace to begin with, but
more grace afterwards. "He giveth more grace," gracefollowing in grace, and
further in superabounding grace, when grace turns into glory.
II. GRACE TO PREPARE FOR FURTHER GRACE — the grace ofa
broken heart — to make room for repentance; the grace of hatred of sin to
make way for the grace of holy and careful walking;the grace ofcareful
walking to make room for the grace ofclose communion with Christ; the
grace ofclose communion with the Lord Jesus Christ to make room for the
grace offull conformity to His image;perhaps the grace ofconfortuity to His
image to make room for the higher grace ofbrighter views of Himself, and
still closerincomings into the very heart of the Lord Jesus. It is grace that
helps us on in grace. Whena beggerasks you for a penny, and you give him
one, he does not ask you for a sixpence;or if you give him a shilling, he would
not considerthat an argument why you should give him a sovereign. But you
may deal thus with God. The grace you have expands your heart, and gives
you capacityfor receiving yet more grace. You send your child to schoolto
learn A B C, the grace oflearning his alphabet. But it is preparatory to the
spelling book, a preparation for further acquisition of knowledge.

III. GRACE ANSWERABLE TO GRACE. Let God give me grace to be a
preacher, and He will give me grace to discharge the office. If you have the
grace ofresignationyou may need the grace ofpatience. Or grace receivedby
us answerable to the grace that is in Christ. A young heir to a large estate,
though not of full age, generallygets an allowance suitable to the position he is
to occupy. If he has £100,000 a yearin prospect, he would hardly be limited to
a penny a week. When I see one child of God always mourning, another
always doubting, and yet another always scheming, I see they are living below
their privileges. They do not seemto have grace in possessionanswerable to
the grace they have in reversion. We always inculcate the propriety, on the
part of all our people, of living within their incomes;but the child of God
cannot live beyond his income in a spiritual sense.
IV. GRACE IN ABUNDANCE. Like the waves ofthe sea, where one comes
there is another close behind it.
V. GRACE FROM HIM TO PRODUCE GRACE IN US. The grace of
gratitude should be produced in us by the grace of generosityfrom God.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ's fulness
A. Beith, D. D.
As the sea is not diminished by the treasures of rain which it yields, and which
are dispensedto the earth to fertilise and refresh it, or as the sun is not
wasted, that he has imparted light to all past generations ofmen; so Christ has
not been affectedin His fulness, though from Him has proceededall the good
that has ever been bestowedon every creature. That in the beginning He laid
the foundations of the earth, and that He then spread forth the heavens like a
curtain, has not diminished His strength. That He brought into being all the
families of life, in their innumerable and varied forms, has not exhaustedHis
resources.
(A. Beith, D. D.)
Christ's fulness and our receptionof it
R. Cudworth., Luther.
We all receive of His fulness grace for grace, as allthe stars in heaven are said
to light their candles at the sun's flame. For though His Body be withdrawn
from us, yet by the lively and virtual contactof His Spirit He is always

kindling, cheering, quickening, warming, enlivening, hearts: nay, this Divine
life, begun and kindled in any heart, wheresoeverit be, is something of God in
the flesh, and in a sober and qualified sense, Divinity Incarnate, and all
particular Christians, that are possessedofit, so many mystical Christs.
(R. Cudworth.)If any one is to obtain grace, His fulness must do it: our
crumbs and morsels, our tiny drops and bits, they verily will not do it. All,
whether Jews orGentiles, if indeed they would obtain grace and be really
found before God, are required (and indeed they cando no other) to fill their
little flasks from this well — a well which flows and overflows for ever and
ever; they must drink their fill from this fountain-head of living water,
springing up into eternallife. In short, His fulness is without measure or end;
therefore draw manfully and without fear, and drink with pleasure and joy!
For here is overflowinglyenough, even into eternalLife; in this you will have
enough to praise and thank God for to all eternity.
(Luther.)
The plenteousness ofgrace
Dr. C. Robinson.
The philosophic Hamerton tells us the story of a woman who worked in a
cottonfactory in one of the greatmanufacturing towns in Lancashire, and
who, in an excursion, went for the first time to the coast. Whenshe caughtthe
earliestglimpse of the Irish Sea, the expanse lying out before her eyes, looking
like the limitlessness of the oceanin its rush and roll of billows, she exclaimed,
as she drew one boundless breath of freshness and glory: "At last, here comes
something there is enough of!"
(Dr. C. Robinson.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(16) And of his fulness.—Nota continuance of the witness of John, but the
words of the evangelist, and closelyconnectedwith John 1:14. This is seenin
the “allwe,” and in “fulness” (“full”) and “grace,” whichare key-words of
both verses.
Fulness is a technicaltheologicalterm, meeting us againin this sense in the
Epistles to, as here in the Gospelfrom, the Asiatic Churches. (Comp.

especiallyColossians 1:19;Colossians2:9; Ephesians 1:23; Ephesians 3:19;
Ephesians 4:13.)The exposition belongs to the Notes on these passages.Here it
means the plenitude of divine attributes, the “glory. . . full of grace and
truth.” “Of,” or better, out of this fulness does eachindividual receive, and
thus the ideal church becomes “his body, the fulness of him that filleth all
things in all.”
Have all we received.—Better, we all received. The point of time is the same as
in John 1:12, and the “we all” is co-extensive with “as many as.” The powerto
become children of God was part of the divine fulness which they receivedin
receiving him.
And grace for grace.—Perhaps, evengrace forgrace gives the meaning less
doubtfully. The thought is, We all receivedof His fulness, and that which we
receivedwas grace for grace. The originalfaculty of receptionwas itself a free
gift, and in the use of this grace there was given the greaterpower. The words
mean “grace in exchange for, insteadof, grace.” The fulness of the supply is
constant;the powerto receive increaseswiththe use, or diminishes with the
neglect, of that which we already have. “Whosoeverhath, to him shall be
given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoeverhath not, from him
shall be taken awayeven that he hath” (Matthew 13:12). No truth is in
precept or in parable of the GreatTeachermore constant than this; no lesson
is more brightly or more sadly illustrated in the lives of those who heard Him.
What instances of its meaning must have crowded on the writer’s mind in the
nation, in the disciples, in the Twelve, and even in the differing powerof
perception in the inner circle of the Three!“We all received,” but with what
difference of degree!
MacLaren's Expositions
John
THE FULNESS OF CHRIST
John 1:16.
What a remarkable claim that is which the Apostle here makes for his
Master!On the one side he sets His solitary figure as the universal Giver; on
the other side are gatheredthe whole race of men, recipients from Him. As in

the wilderness the children of Israelclustered round the rock from which
poured out streams, copious enough for all the thirsty camp, John, echoing his
Master’s words, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink,’ here
declares ‘Of His fulness have all we received.’
I. Notice, then, the one everfull Source.
The words of my text refer back to those of the John 1:14 : ‘The Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.’ ‘And of His fulness
have all we received.’The ‘fulness’ here seems to mean that of which the
Incarnate Word was full, the ‘grace and truth’ which dwelt without measure
in Him; the unlimited and absolute completeness and abundance of divine
powers and glories which‘tabernacled’ in Him. And so the language ofmy
text, both verbally and really, is substantially equivalent to that of the Apostle
Paul. ‘In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godheadbodily; and ye are
complete in Him.’ The whole infinite Majesty, and inexhaustible resources of
the divine nature, were incorporated and insphered in that Incarnate Word
from whom all men may draw.
There are involved in that thought two ideas. One is the unmistakable
assertionofthe whole fulness of the divine nature as being in the Incarnate
Word, and the other is that the whole fulness of the divine nature dwells in the
Incarnate Word in order that men may getat it.
The words of my text go back, as I said, to the previous verse;but notice what
an advance upon that previous verse they presentto us. There we read, ‘We
beheld His glory.’ To behold is much, but to possessis more. It is much to say
that Christ comes to manifest God, but that is a poor, starved accountof the
purpose of His coming, if that is all you have to say. He comes to manifest
Him. Yes! but He comes to communicate Him, not merely to dazzle us with a
vision, not merely to show us Him as from afar, not merely to make Him
known to understanding or to heart; but to bestow-inno mere metaphor, but
in simple, literal fact-the absolute possessionof the divine nature. ‘We beheld
His glory’ is a reminiscence that thrills the Evangelist, though half a century
has passedsince the vision gleamedupon his eyes;but ‘of His fulness have all
we received’ is infinitely and unspeakablymore. And the manifestationwas
granted that the possessionmight be sure, for this is the very centre and heart

of Christianity, that in Him who is Christianity God is not merely made
known, but given; not merely beheld, but possessed.
In order that that divine fulness might belong to us there was neededthat the
Word should be made flesh; and there was further needed that incarnation
should be crownedby sacrifice, and that life should be perfected in death. The
alabasterbox had to be broken before the house could be filled with the odour
of the ointment. If I may so say, the sack, the coarse-spunsack ofChrist’s
humanity, had to be cut asunder in order that the wealth that was stored in it
might be poured into our hands. God came near us in the life, but God
became ours in the death, of His dear Son. Incarnation was neededfor that
greatprivilege-’we beheld His glory’; but the Crucifixion was neededin order
to make possible the more wondrous prerogative:‘Of His fulness have all we
received.’God gives Himself to men in the Christ whose life revealedand
whose death imparted Him to the world.
And so He is the sole Source. All men, in a very realsense, draw from His
fulness. ‘In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.’ The life of the
body and the life of the spirit willing, knowing, loving, all which makes life
into light, all comes to us through that everlasting Word of God. And when
that Word has ‘become flesh and dwelt among us,’ His gifts are not only the
gifts of light and life, which all men draw from Him, but the gifts of grace and
truth which all those who love Him receive at His hands. His gifts, like the
waterfrom some fountain, may flow underground into many of the pastures
of the wilderness;and many a man is blessedby them who knows not from
whence they come. It is He from whom all the truth, all the grace which
illuminates and blesses humanity, flow into all lands in all ages.
II. Consider, then, again, the many receivers from the one Source. ‘Of His
fulness have all we received.’
Observe, we are not told definitely what it is that we receive. If we refer back
to words in a previous verse, they may put us on the right track for answering
the question, What is it that we get? ‘He came unto His own,’ says John 1:11,
‘and His own receivedHim not; but as many as receivedHim, to them gave
He power,’ etc. That answers the question, What do we receive? Christis

more than all His gifts. All His gifts are treasured up in Him and inseparable
from Him. We get Jesus Christ Himself.
The blessings that we receive may be stated in many different ways. You may
say we get pardon, purity, hope, joy, the prospectof Heaven, powerfor
service;all these and a hundred more designations by which we might
describe the one gift. All these are but the consequencesofour having got the
Christ within our hearts. He does not give pardon and the rest, as a king
might give pardon and honours, a thousand miles off, bestowing it by a mere
word, upon some criminal, but He gives all that He gives because He gives
Himself. The real possessionthat we receive is neither more nor less than a
loving Saviour, to enter our spirits and abide there, and be the spirit of our
spirits, and the life of our lives.
Then, notice the universality of this possession. Johnhas said, in the previous
words, ‘We beheld His glory.’ He refers there, of course, to the comparatively
small circle of the eye-witnessesofour Master’s life; who, at the time when he
wrote, must have been very, very few in number. They had had the
prerogative of seeing with their eyes and handling with their hands the Word
of life that ‘was manifestedunto us’; and with that prerogative the duty of
bearing witness of Him to the restof men. But in the ‘receiving,’John
associateswithhimself, and with the other eyewitnesses, allthose who had
listened to their word, and had receivedthe truth in the love of it. ‘We beheld’
refers to the narrowercircle; ‘we all received’to the wider sweepof the whole
Church. There is no exclusive class, no specialprerogative. EveryChristian
man, the weakest, the lowliest, the most uncultured, rude, ignorant, foolish,
the most besottedin the past, who has wanderedfurthest awayfrom the
Master;whose spirit has been most destitute of all sparks of goodnessand of
God-receives fromout of His fulness. ‘If any man have not the Spirit of Christ
he is none of His.’ And every one of us, if we will, may have dwelling in our
hearts, in the greatness ofHis strength, in the sweetnessofHis love, in the
clearness ofHis illuminating wisdom, the Incarnate Word, the Comforter, the
All-in-all whom ‘we all receive.’
And, as I said, that word ‘all’ might have even a wider extensionwithout
going beyond the limits of the truth. Foron the one side there stands Christ,
the universal Giver; and grouped before Him, in all attitudes of weaknessand
of want, is gatheredthe whole race of mankind. And from Him there pours

out a streamcopious enough to supply all the necessities ofevery human soul
that lives to-day, of every human soul that has lived in the past, of every one
that shall live in the future. There is no limit to the universality except only
the limit of the human will: ‘Whosoeverwill, let him take the waterof life
freely.’
Think of that solitaryfigure of the Christ reared up, as it were, before the
whole race of man, as able to replenish all their emptiness with His fulness,
and to satisfy all their thirst with His sufficiency. Dearbrother! you have a
greatgaping void in your heart-an aching emptiness there, which you know
better than I can tell you. Look to Him who can fill it and it shall be filled. He
can supply all your wants as He can supply all the wants of every soul of man.
And after generations have drawn from Him, the waterwill not have sunk one
hairsbreadth in the greatfountain, but there will be enough for all coming
eternities as there has been enough for all past times. He is like His own
miracle-the thousands are gatheredon the grass, they do ‘all eat and are
filled.’ As their necessitiesrequired the bread was multiplied, and at the last
there was more left than there had seemedto be at the beginning. So ‘of His
fulness have all we received’;and after a universe has drawn from it, for an
Eternity, the fulness is not turned into scantiness oremptiness.
III. And so, lastly, notice the continuous flow from the inexhaustible Source.
‘Of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.’
The word ‘for’ is a little singular. Of course it means instead of, in exchange
for; and the Evangelist’s idea seems to be that as one supply of grace is given
and used, it is, as it were, given back to the Bestower, who substitutes for it a
fresh and unused vessel, filled with new grace. He might have said, grace upon
grace;one supply being piled upon the other. But his notion is, rather, one
supply given in substitution for the other, ‘new lamps for old ones.’
Just as a careful gardenerwill stand over a plant that needs water, and will
pour the wateron the surface until the earth has drunk it up, and then add a
little more; so He gives step by step, grace for grace, anuninterrupted
bestowal, yetregulated according to the absorbing powerof the heart that
receives it. Underlying that great thought are two things: the continuous
communication of grace, and the progressive communicationof grace. We

have here the continuous communication of grace. Godis always pouring
Himself out upon us in Christ. There is a perpetual out flow from Him to us: if
there is not a perpetual inflow into us from Him it is our fault, and not His. He
is always giving, and His intention is that our lives shall be a continual
reception. Are they? How many Christian men there are whose Christian lives
at the best are like some of those Australian or Siberian rivers; in the dry
season, a pond here, a stretch of sand, waterlessand barren there, then
another place with a drop of muddy waterin some hollow, and then another
stretch of sand, and so on. Why should not the ponds be linked togetherby a
flashing stream? God is always pouring Himself out; why do we not always
take Him in?
There is but one answer, and the answeris, that we do not fulfil the condition,
which condition is simple faith. ‘As many as receivedHim, to them gave He
powerto become the sons of God; even to them that believed on His name.’
Faith is the condition of receiving, and wherever there is a continuous trust
there will be an unbroken grace;and wherever there are interrupted gifts it is
because there has been an intermitted trust in Him. Do not let your lives be
like some dimly lighted road, with a lamp here, and a stretch of darkness, and
then another twinkling light; let the light run all along the side of your path,
because atevery moment your heart is turning to Christ with trust. Make
your faith continuous, and God will make His grace incessant, and out of His
fulness you will draw continual supplies of needed strength.
But not only have we here the notion of continuous, but also, as it seems to me,
of progressive gifts. Eachmeasure of Christ received, if we use it aright,
makes us capable of possessing more of Christ. And the measure of our
capacityis the measure of His gift, and the more we can hold the more we
shall get. The walls of our hearts are elastic, the vesselexpands by being filled
out; it throbs itself wider by desire and faith. The wider we open our mouths
the largerwill be the gift that God puts into them. Eachmeasure and stage of
grace utilised and honestly employed will make us capable and desirous, and,
therefore, possessors, ofmore and more of the grace that He gives. So the
ideal of the Christian life, and God’s intention concerning us, is not only that
we should have an uninterrupted, but a growing possession, ofChrist and of
His grace.

Is that the case withyou, my friend? Can you hold more of God than you
could twenty years ago? Is there any more capacityin your soulfor more of
Christ than there was long, long ago? If there is you have more of Him; if you
have not more of Him it is because you cannotcontain more; and you cannot
contain more because you have not desired more, and because youhave been
so wretchedly unfaithful in your use of what you had. The ideal is, ‘they go
from strength to strength,’ and the end of that is, ‘every one of them
appeareth before God.’
So, dear brother, as the dash of the waves will hollow out some little
indentation on the coast, and make it largerand largeruntil there is a great
bay, with its headlands miles apart, and its deep bosomstretching far into the
interior, and all the expanse full of flashing waters and leaping waves, so the
giving Christ works a place for Himself in a man’s heart, and makes the spirit
which receives and faithfully uses the gifts which He brings, capable of more
of Himself, and fills the widened space with larger gifts and new grace.
Only remember the condition of having Him is trusting to His name and
longing for His presence. ‘If any man open the door I will come in.’ We have
Him if we trust Him. That trust is no mere passive reception, such as is the
case with some empty jar which lies open-mouthed on the shore and lets the
sea washinto it and out of it, as may happen. But the ‘receive’of our text
might be as truly rendered ‘take.’Faith is an active taking, not a passive
receiving. We must ‘lay hold on eternallife.’ Faith is the hand that grasps the
offered gift, the mouth that feeds upon the bread of God, the voice that says to
Christ, ‘Come in, Thou blessedof the Lord; why standestThou without?’
Such a faith alone brings us into vital connectionwith Jesus. Without it, you
will be none the richer for all His fulness, and may perish of famine in the
midst of plenty, like a man dying of hunger outside the door of a granary.
They who believe take the Saviour who is given, and they who take receive,
and they who receive obtain day by day growing grace from the fulness of
Christ, and so come ever nearer to the realisationof the ultimate purpose of
the Father, that they should be ‘filled with all the fulness of God.’
BensonCommentary
John 1:16. And of his fulness have all we received — These are not the words
of the Baptist, as the expression, we all, shows;for those to whom he
addressedhimself do not appear to have receivedgrace from Christ. But here
the evangelistconfirms the Baptist’s words, spokenin the preceding verse; as

if he had said, He is indeed preferred before thee: so we have experienced:for
we all, that is, I, John, the apostle, and my brethren, the other apostles, and all
that truly believe in him, have receivedfrom his fulness, from the plenitude of
truth and grace which are in him, all the blessings we enjoy, whether as men,
as Christians, or as apostles. “Butwhat,” says Dr. Campbell, “is the import of
the clause, graceforgrace? Is it that we receive grace in return for the grace
we give? So says Le Clerc, availing himself of an ambiguity in the Greek word
χαρις, which (like grace in French) signifies not only a favour bestowed, but
thanks returned: and maintaining that the sense is, that God gives more grace
to those who are thankful for that formerly received;a position which,
howeverjust, it requires an extraordinary turn of imagination to discoverin
this passage. Is it, as many render it, grace upon grace, thatis, grace added to
grace? Ishould not dislike this interpretation, if this meaning of the
preposition, αντι, in Scripture, were well supported. It always there denotes, if
I mistake not, instead of, answering to, or in return for. Is it a mere pleonasm?
Does it mean (as Grotius would have it) grace gratuitous? I do not saythat
such pleonastic expressions are unexampled in SacredWrit; but I do say, that
this sense givento the idiom is unexampled. The word in such cases is δωρεαν,
as Romans 3:24, Διακαιουμενοιδωρεαντη αυτου χαριτι, justified freely by his
grace. If, insteadof giving scope to fancy, we attend to the context, and the
constructionof the words, we shall not need to wanderso far in quest of the
meaning. In John 1:14 we are informed that the word became incarnate, and
sojourned among us, full of grace and truth. It is plain that the 15th verse,
containing the Baptist’s declaration, must be understood as a parenthesis.
And it actually is understood so by all expositors;inasmuch as they make
αυτου [his] here refer to λογος [the Word] in John 1:14. The evangelist,
resuming the subject which (for the sake of inserting John’s testimony) he had
interrupted, tells us, that all we his disciples, particularly his apostles, have
receivedof his fulness. But of what was he full? It had been said expressly,
that he was full of grace. When, therefore, the historian brings this additional
clause concerning grace in explanation of the former, is it not manifestly his
intention to inform us, that of every grace wherewithhe was filled, his
disciples receiveda share? The Word incarnate, he says, resided among us,
full of grace and truth; and of his fulness all we have received, even grace for
his grace;that is, of every grace, orcelestialgift, conferred above measure
upon him, his disciples have receiveda portion according to their measure. If
there should remain a doubt whether this were the sense of the passage, the
words immediately following seemcalculatedto remove it. For the law was
given by Moses, the grace and the truth came by Jesus Christ. Here the
evangelistintimates, that Jesus Christ was as truly the channel of divine grace

to his disciples, as Moses hadbeen of the knowledge ofGod’s law to the
Israelites.” If, however, the reader prefer adhering to the common translation,
it seems it may be supported by the frequent use of the preposition αντι. Thus
Romans 12:17, Recompense to no man (κακοναντι κακου)evil for evil, or, in
return for evil. According to this translation, the meaning of the passagewill
be, that under the gospeldispensation, all men receive grace forgrace, that is,
privileges and advantages, in proportion to the improvement which they make
of those already bestowedon them.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
1:15-18 As to the order of time and entrance on his work, Christ came after
John, but in every other way he was before him. The expressionclearlyshows
that Jesus had existence before he appearedon earth as man. All fulness
dwells in him, from which alone fallen sinners have, and shall receive, by
faith, all that renders them wise, strong, holy, useful, and happy. Our
receivings by Christ are all summed up in this one word, grace;we have
receivedeven grace, a gift so great, so rich, so invaluable; the goodwill of God
towards us, and the goodwork of God in us. The law of God is holy, just, and
good;and we should make the proper use of it. But we cannot derive from it
pardon, righteousness, orstrength. It teaches us to adorn the doctrine of God
our Saviour, but it cannot supply the place of that doctrine. As no mercy
comes from God to sinners but through Jesus Christ, no man cancome to the
Father but by him; no man can know God, exceptas he is made known in the
only begottenand beloved Son.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Of his fulness - In John 1:14 the evangelisthas saidthat Christ was "full of
grace and truth." Of that "fullness" he now says that all the disciples had
received;that is, they derived from his abundant truth and mercy grace to
understand the plan of salvation, to preach the gospel, to live lives of holiness;
they "partook" ofthe numerous blessings which he came to impart by his
instructions and his death. These are undoubtedly not the words of John the
Baptist, but of the evangelistJohn, the writer of this gospel. Theyare a
continuation of what he was saying in John 1:14, John 1:15 being evidently
thrown in as a parenthesis. The declarationhad not exclusive reference,
probably, to the apostles, but it is extended to all Christians, for all believers
have receivedof the "fulness of grace and truth" that is in Christ. Compare
Ephesians 1:23; Ephesians 3:19; Colossians 1:19;Colossians2:9. In all these
places our Saviour is representedas the fulness of God - as "abounding" in
mercy, as exhibiting the divine attributes, and as possessing in himself all that
is necessaryto fill his people with truth, and grace, and love.

Grace for grace - Many interpretations of this phrase have been proposed.
The chief are briefly the following:
1. "We have receivedunder the gospel, graceorfavor, 'instead of' those
granted under the law; and Godhas added by the gospelimportant favors to
those which he gave under the law." This was first proposed by Chrysostom.
2. "We, Christians, have receivedgrace 'answering to,'or corresponding to
that which is in Jesus Christ. We are 'like' him in meekness, humility," etc.
3. "We have receivedgrace 'as grace' - that is, freely. We have not purchased
it nor deservedit, but God has conferredit on us 'freely'" (Grotius).
4. The meaning is, probably, simply that we have receivedthrough him
"abundance" of grace orfavor. The Hebrews, in expressing the superlative
degree of comparison, usedsimply to repeat the word - thus, "pits, pits,"
meaning many pits (Hebrew in Genesis 14:10). So here grace for grace may
mean "much" grace;superlative favors bestowedon man; favors superior to
all that had been under the law - superior to all other things that God can
conferon men. These favors consistin pardon, redemption, protection,
sanctification, peace here, and heaven hereafter.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
Joh 1:16-18. Same SubjectContinued.
16. of his fulness—of"grace andtruth," resuming the thread of Joh 1:14.
grace for grace—thatis, grace upon grace (so all the bestinterpreters), in
successive communications and largermeasures, as eachwas able to take it in.
Observe, the word "truth" is here dropped. "Grace" being the chosenNew
Testamentword for the whole fulness of the new covenant, all that dwells in
Christ for men.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
And of his fulness have all we received;of that plenty of grace which Christ
hath, (who hath not the Spirit given him by measure, John 3:34, as other
saints have, Acts 2:4,6,8), we who by nature are void of grace, whethertaken
for the favour of God, or gracious habits, have received, as the skirts of
Aaron’s garment receivedthe oil which was plentifully poured out on Aaron’s
head.
And grace for grace:nor have we receiveddrops, but grace upon grace;not
only knowledge andinstruction, but the love and favour of God, and spiritual
habits, in proportion to the favour and grace which Christ hath (allowing for

Jesus was received in fullness

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