Church Fathers Commentary John 1:16-17

"For of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." — John 1:16-17 (ASV)

Origen of Alexandria: This should be considered a continuation of the Baptist’s testimony to Christ. This point has escaped the attention of many, who think that from this verse until the phrase, He has declared Him, the Apostle John is speaking. But the idea that the Baptist’s discourse would be interrupted so abruptly and, it would seem, inappropriately by a speech from the disciple is inadmissible. Anyone who can follow the passage will discern a very obvious connection here.

For after saying, He is preferred before me, for He was before me, he continues with the reason: From this I know that He is before me, because I and the prophets who preceded me have received from His fullness, and grace upon grace (the second grace for the first). For they too, by the Spirit, penetrated beyond the symbol to the contemplation of the truth. And so, receiving from His fullness as we have, we conclude that the law was given by Moses, but that grace and truth were made by Jesus Christ—made, not given. The Father gave the law through Moses, but made grace and truth through Jesus.

But if it is Jesus who says later, I am the Truth (John 14:6), how is truth made by Jesus? We must understand, however, that the substantial Truth itself—from which the First Truth and its Image are engraved as many truths upon those who handle the truth—was not made through Jesus Christ or through anyone. Only the truth that is in individuals, such as in Paul or the other apostles, for example, was made through Jesus Christ.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, John the Evangelist here adds his testimony to that of John the Baptist, saying, And of his fullness have we all received. These are not the words of the forerunner but of the disciple, as if he meant to say, “We also—the twelve, and the whole body of the faithful, both present and to come—have received from His fullness.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: But what have you received? Grace for grace. Therefore, we are to understand that we have received something from His fullness, and on top of this, “grace for grace.” We have first received from His fullness a first grace, and then we have received “grace for grace.” What grace did we first receive? Faith, which is called grace because it is given freely. This, then, is the first grace the sinner receives: the remission of his sins.

Again, we have “grace for grace”—that is, in place of the grace by which we live by faith, we are to receive another, namely, eternal life. For eternal life is, as it were, the wages of faith. And so, just as faith itself is a good grace, so eternal life is “grace for grace.” There was no grace in the Old Testament, for the law threatened but did not assist; it commanded but did not heal; it showed our weakness but did not relieve it. However, it prepared the way for a Physician who was about to come with the gifts of grace and truth. This is why the following sentence says, For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth were made by Jesus Christ. The death of your Lord has destroyed death, both temporal and eternal. That is the grace that was promised, but not contained, in the law.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, we have received “grace for grace,” that is, the new covenant in place of the old. For just as there is one kind of justice and another, one adoption and another, one circumcision and another, so there is one grace and another. The one is a type, the other the reality. He introduces these words to show that the Jews, as well as we, are saved by grace, since it was by mercy and grace that they received the law.

Next, after saying, “Grace for grace,” he adds something to show the magnitude of the gift: For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth were made by Jesus Christ. When John the Baptist was comparing himself with Christ earlier, he had said, He is preferred before me. But the Evangelist now draws a comparison between Christ and someone held in much greater admiration by the Jews than John: namely, Moses.

Observe his wisdom. He does not compare the persons but the things, contrasting grace and truth with the law. He says the law was given, a word that applies only to an administrator, whereas grace and truth were made, as we would speak of a king who does everything by his own power. Yet with this King, it was also done with grace, because by His power He remitted all sins. Now, His grace is shown in the gift of Baptism, our adoption by the Holy Spirit, and many other things. But to gain a better insight into what this “truth” is, we should study the types of the old law. For what was to be accomplished in the New Testament was prefigured in the Old, and Christ at His coming fulfilled the type. Thus, the type was given by Moses, but the truth was made by Christ.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Alternatively, we may connect grace to knowledge and truth to wisdom. Among the events of time, the highest grace is the uniting of man to God in one Person. In the eternal world, the highest truth pertains to God the Word.