SEV Biblia, Chapter 1:14
Y aquella Palabra fue hecha carne, y habit entre nosotros; (y vimos su gloria,) gloria como del Unignito del Padre, lleno de gracia y de verdad.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - John 1:14
Verse 14. And the Word was made flesh] That very person who was in the beginning-who was with God-and who was God, ver. 1, in the fullness of time became flesh-became incarnated by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin. Allowing this apostle to have written by Divine inspiration, is not this verse, taken in connection with ver. 1, an absolute and incontestable proof of the proper and eternal Godhead of Christ Jesus? And dwelt among us] kai eskhnwsen en hmin, And tabernacled among us: the human nature which he took of the virgin, being as the shrine, house, or temple, in which his immaculate Deity condescended to dwell. The word is probably an allusion to the Divine Shechinah in the Jewish temple; and as God has represented the whole Gospel dispensation by the types and ceremonies of the old covenant, so the Shechinah in the tabernacle and temple pointed out this manifestation of God in the flesh.
The word is thus used by the Jewish writers: it signifies with them a manifestation of the Divine Shechinah.
The original word, skhnow, from skia, a shadow, signifies: 1. To build a booth, tent, or temporary hut, for present shelter or convenience; and does not properly signify a lasting habitation or dwelling place; and is therefore fitly applied to the human nature of Christ, which, like the tabernacle of old, was to be here only for a temporary residence for the eternal Divinity.
2. It signifies to erect such a building as was used on festival occasions, when a man invited and enjoyed the company of his friends. To this meaning of the word, which is a common one in the best Greek writers, the evangelist might allude, to point out Christ's associating his disciples with himself; living, conversing, eating, and drinking with them: so that, while they had the fullest proof of his Divinity by the miracles which he wrought, they had the clearest evidence of his humanity, by his tabernacling among, eating, drinking, and conversing with them. Concerning the various acceptations of the verb skhnow see Raphelius on this verse.
The doctrine of vicarious sacrifice and the incarnation of the Deity have prevailed among the most ancient nations in the world, and even among those which were not favoured with the letter of Divine revelation. The Hindoos believe that their god has already become incarnate, not less than nine times, to save the wretched race of man.
On this subject, Creeshna, an incarnation of the supreme God, according to the Hindoo theology, is represented in the Bhagvat Geeta, as thus addressing one of his disciples: "Although I am not in my nature subject to birth or decay, and am the Lord of all created beings, yet, having command over my own nature, I am made evident by my own power; and, as often as there is a decline of virtue and an insurrection of vice and injustice in the world, I make myself evident; and thus I appear from age to age, for the preservation of the just, the destruction of the wicked, and the establishment of virtue." Geeta, pp. 51, 52.
The following piece, already mentioned, Luke i. 68, translated from the Sanscreet, found on a stone, in a cave near the ancient city of Gya in the East Indies, is the most astonishing and important of any thing found out of the compass of the Sacred Writings, and a proper illustration of this text.
"The Deity, who is the Lord, the possessor of all, APPEARED in this ocean of natural beings, at the beginning of the Kalee Yoog (the age of contention and baseness.) He who is omnipresent, and everlastingly to be contemplated, the Supreme Being, the eternal ONE, the Divinity worthy to be adored-APPEARED here, with a PORTION of his DIVINE NATURE.
Reverence be unto thee in the form of (a) Bood-dha! Reverence be unto the Lord of the earth! Reverence be unto thee, an INCARNATION of the Deity, and the Eternal ONE! Reverence be unto thee, O GOD! in the form of the God of mercy! the dispeller of PAIN and TROUBLE, the Lord of ALL things, the Deity who overcometh the sins of the Kalee Yoog, the guardian of the universe, the emblem of mercy towards those who serve thee! (b) O'M! the possessor of all things, in VITAL FORM! Thou art (c) Brahma, (d) Veeshnoo, and (e) Mahesa! Thou art Lord of the universe! Thou art under the form of all things, movable and immovable, the possessor of the whole! And thus I adore thee! Reverence be unto the BESTOWER of SALVATION, and the ruler of the faculties! Reverence be unto thee, the DESTROYER of the EVIL SPIRIT! O Damordara, (f) show me favour! I adore thee who art celebrated by a thousand names, and under various forms, in the shape of Bood-dha, the God of mercy! Be propitious, O most high God!" Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 284, 285.
We beheld his glory] This refers to the transfiguration, at which John was present, in company with Peter and James.
The glory as of the only begotten] That is, such a glory as became, or was proper to, the Son of God; for thus the particle wv should be here understood. There is also here an allusion to the manifestations of God above the ark in the tabernacle: see Exodus xxv. 22; Num. vii. 89; and this connects itself with the first clause, he tabernacled, or fixed his tent among us. While God dwelt in the tabernacle, among the Jews, the priests saw his glory; and while Jesus dwelt among men his glory was manifested in his gracious words and miraculous acts.
The only begotten of the Father] That is, the only person born of a woman, whose human nature never came by the ordinary way of generation; it being a mere creation in the womb of the virgin, by the energy of the Holy Ghost.
Full of grace and truth.] Full of favour, kindness, and mercy to men; teaching the way to the kingdom of God, with all the simplicity, plainness, dignity, and energy of truth.
(a) Bood-dha. The name of the Deity, as author of happiness.
(b) O'M. A mystic emblem of the Deity, forbidden to be pronounced but in silence. It is a syllable formed of the Sanscreet letters a, o o, which in composition coalesce, and make o, and the nasal consonant m. The first letter stands for the Creator, the second for the Preserver, and the third for the Destroyer. It is the same among the Hindoos as hwhy Yehovah is among the Hebrews.
(c) Brahma, the Deity in his creative quality.
(d) Veeshnoo. He who filleth all space: the Deity in his preserving quality.
(c) Mahesa. The Deity in his destroying quality. This is properly the Hindoo Trinity: for these three names belong to the same God. See the notes to the Bhagvat Geeta.
(f) Damordara, or Darmadeve, the Indian god of virtue.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 14. And the word was made flesh , etc.] The same word, of whom so many things are said in the preceding verses; and is no other than the Son of God, or second person in the Trinity; for neither the Father, nor the Holy Ghost, were made flesh, as is here said of the word, but the Son only: and flesh here signifies, not a part of the body, nor the whole body only, but the whole human nature, consisting of a true body, and a reasonable soul; and is so called, to denote the frailty of it, being encompassed with infirmities, though not sinful; and to show, that it was a real human nature, and not a phantom, or appearance, that he assumed: and when he is said to be made flesh, this was not done by the change of one nature into another, the divine into the human, or the word into a man; but by the assumption of the human nature, the word, taking it into personal union with himself; whereby the natures are not altered; Christ remained what he was, and became what he was not; nor are they confounded, and blended together, and so make a third nature; nor are they separated, and divided, so as to constitute two persons, a divine person, and an human person; but are so united as to be but one person; and this is such an union, as can never be dissolved, and is the foundation of the virtue and efficacy of all Christs works and actions, as Mediator: and dwelt among us ; or tabernacled among us; in allusion to the tabernacle, which was a type of Christs human nature: the model of the tabernacle was of God, and not of man; it was coarse without, but full of holy things within; here God dwelt, granted his presence, and his glory was seen; here the sacrifices were brought, offered, and accepted. So the human nature of Christ was of Gods pitching, and not mans; and though it looked mean without, the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in it, as well as a fulness of grace and truth; in the face of Christ the glory of God is seen, and through him, even the vail of his flesh, saints have access unto him, and enjoy his presence; and by him their spiritual sacrifices become acceptable to God: or this is observed, in allusion to the feast of tabernacles, when the Jews dwelt in booths, in remembrance of their manner of living in the wilderness: the feast of tabernacles was typical of Christ, and of his tabernacling in our nature. Solomons temple, which was also a type of Christ, was dedicated at the time of that feast; and it seems probable, that our Lord was born at that time; for as he suffered at the time of the passover, which had respect unto him, and the pouring forth of the Spirit was on the very day of Pentecost, which that prefigured; so it is highly probable, that Christ was born at the time of the feast of tabernacles, which pointed out his dwelling among us; and is therefore very pertinently hinted at, when mention is here made of his incarnation. However, reference is manifestly had to the Shekinah, and the glory of it, in the tabernacle and temple; and almost the very word is here used. The Targumists sometimes speak of the Shekinah of the word dwelling among the Israelites: so Onkelos in ( Numbers 11:20) where the Israelites are threatened with flesh, until they loath it; because, says the paraphrast, ye have loathed the word of the Lord, whose Shekinah dwelleth among you.
Jonathan ben Uzziel, on the same place, expresses it thus; because ye have loathed the word of the Lord, the glory of whose Shekinah dwelleth among you.
And it follows here, and we beheld his glory ; the glory of his divine nature, which is essential to him, and underived, is equal to the Fathers glory, is transcendent to all creatures, and is ineffable, and incomprehensible; some breakings forth of which there were in his incarnate state, and which were observed by the evangelist, and his companions; who, in various instances, saw plainly, that Christ was possessed of divine perfections, such as omniscience, and omnipotence; since he knew the thoughts of the heart, and could do the things he did: his Father declared him to be his beloved Son; and the miracles he wrought, and the doctrines he taught, manifested forth his glory; and not only there were some beams of his glory at his transfiguration, which were seen by the apostles, among which the Evangelist John was one, and to which he may have here a particular reference; but even at his apprehension, and death, and especially at his resurrection from the dead. The Jews speak of the glory of the Messiah to be seen in the world to come. They say f31 , If a man is worthy of the world to come, (i.e. the times of the Messiah,) he shall see the glory of the King Messiah.
And of Moses, they say f32 , there was (or will be) no generation like that in which he lived, until the generation in which the King Messiah comes, which shall behold the glory of the holy, blessed God, as he.
This our evangelist, and the other disciples of Christ have seen: the glory, as of the only begotten of the Father ; a glory becoming him, suitable to him as such; the very real glory of the Son of God; for the as, here, is not a note of similitude, but of certainty, as in ( Matthew 14:5, Psalm 2:8) and the word is here called, the only begotten of the Father; which cannot be said of Christ, as man; for as such, he was not begotten at all: nor on the account of his resurrection from the dead; for so he could not be called the only begotten, since there are others that have been, and millions that will be raised from the dead, besides him: nor by reason of adoption; for if adopted, then not begotten; these two are inconsistent; besides, he could not be called the only begotten, in this sense, because there are many adopted sons, even all the elect of God: nor by virtue of his office, as magistrates are called the sons of God; for then he would be so only in a figurative and metaphorical sense, and not properly; whereas he is called Gods own Son, the Son of the same nature with him; and, as here, the only begotten of the Father, begotten by him in the same nature, in a way inconceivable and inexpressible by us: full of grace and truth ; that is, he dwelt among men, and appeared to have a fulness of each of these: for this clause is not to be joined with the glory of the only begotten, as if this was a branch of that; but regards him as incarnate, and in his office, as Mediator; who, as such, was full of grace; the Spirit, and the gifts of the Spirit; of all the blessings of grace, of justifying, pardoning, adopting, sanctifying, and persevering grace; of all the promises of grace; of all light, life, strength, comfort, peace, and joy: and also of truth, of all Gospel truths; and as he had the truth, the sum, and substance of all the types and prophecies concerning him in him; and as he fulfilled all his own engagements, and his Fathers promises; and as possessed of sincerity towards men, and faithfulness and integrity to God.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 6-14 - John the Baptist came to bear witness concerning Jesus. Nothing mor fully shows the darkness of men's minds, than that when the Light ha appeared, there needed a witness to call attention to it. Christ wa the true Light; that great Light which deserves to be called so. By his Spirit and grace he enlightens all that are enlightened to salvation and those that are not enlightened by him, perish in darkness. Chris was in the world when he took our nature upon him, and dwelt among us The Son of the Highest was here in this lower world. He was in the world, but not of it. He came to save a lost world, because it was world of his own making. Yet the world knew him not. When he comes as Judge, the world shall know him. Many say that they are Christ's own yet do not receive him, because they will not part with their sins, no have him to reign over them. All the children of God are born again This new birth is through the word of God as the means, 1Pe 1:23, an by the Spirit of God as the Author. By his Divine presence Chris always was in the world. But now that the fulness of time was come, he was, after another manner, God manifested in the flesh. But observe the beams of his Divine glory, which darted through this veil of flesh. Me discover their weaknesses to those most familiar with them, but it wa not so with Christ; those most intimate with him saw most of his glory Although he was in the form of a servant, as to outward circumstances yet, in respect of graces, his form was like the Son of God His Divin glory appeared in the holiness of his doctrine, and in his miracles. He was full of grace, fully acceptable to his Father, therefore qualifie to plead for us; and full of truth, fully aware of the things he was to reveal.
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 CONJ ο 3588 T-NSM λογος 3056 N-NSM σαρξ 4561 N-NSF εγενετο 1096 5633 V-2ADI-3S και 2532 CONJ εσκηνωσεν 4637 5656 V-AAI-3S εν 1722 PREP ημιν 2254 P-1DP και 2532 CONJ εθεασαμεθα 2300 5662 V-ADI-1P την 3588 T-ASF δοξαν 1391 N-ASF αυτου 846 P-GSM δοξαν 1391 N-ASF ως 5613 ADV μονογενους 3439 A-GSM παρα 3844 PREP πατρος 3962 N-GSM πληρης 4134 A-NSF χαριτος 5485 N-GSF και 2532 CONJ αληθειας 225 N-GSF
