John Calvin Commentary John 1:16

"For of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace." — John 1:16 (ASV)

And out of his fullness. He begins now to preach about the office of Christ, that it contains within itself an abundance of all blessings, so that no part of salvation must be sought anywhere else. True, indeed, the fountain of life, righteousness, virtue, and wisdom, is with God, but to us it is a hidden and inaccessible fountain.

But an abundance of those things is exhibited to us in Christ, so that we may turn to him; for he is ready to flow to us, provided that we open up a channel by faith. He declares in general that outside of Christ we should not seek anything good, though this statement itself has several aspects.

1. He shows that we are all utterly destitute and empty of spiritual blessings, for the abundance which exists in Christ is intended to supply our deficiency, to relieve our poverty, and to satisfy our hunger and thirst.

2. He warns us that as soon as we have departed from Christ, it is in vain for us to seek a single drop of happiness, because God has determined that whatever is good will reside in him alone.

3. Accordingly, we will 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 partake of the gifts of God in any other way than through Christ. He assures us that we will have no reason to fear lacking anything, provided that we draw from the fullness of Christ, which is in every respect so complete that we will experience it to be a truly inexhaustible fountain. John also includes himself with the rest, not for the sake of modesty, but to make it more evident that no one is excepted.

It is indeed uncertain whether he speaks generally of the whole human race, or means only those who, after the manifestation of Christ in the flesh, have been made more fully partakers of his blessings. All the godly, no doubt, who lived under the Law, drew out of the same fullness; but as John immediately afterwards distinguishes between different periods, it is more probable that here he especially highlights that rich abundance of blessings which Christ displayed at his coming.

For we know that under the Law the gifts of God were more sparingly tasted, but that when Christ was manifested in the flesh, they were poured out, as it were, with a full hand, even to satiety.

Not that any of us has obtained a greater abundance of the grace of the Spirit than Abraham did, but I speak of God’s ordinary dispensation, and of the way and manner of dispensing.

John the Baptist, so that he might more freely invite his disciples to come to Christ, declares that in him is laid up for all an abundance of the blessings of which they are destitute.

And yet if anyone chooses to extend the meaning further, there will be no absurdity in doing so. Or rather, it will agree well with the tenor of the discourse, that all the fathers, from the beginning of the world, drew from Christ all the gifts which they possessed; for though the law was given by Moses, yet they did not obtain grace by it.

But I have already stated what appears to me to be the preferable view: namely, that John here compares us with the fathers, so as to magnify, by means of that comparison, what has been given to us.

And, grace for grace. How Augustine explains this passage is well known—that all the blessings which God bestows upon us from time to time, and finally life everlasting, are not granted as the reward due to our merits, but that it proceeds from pure liberality that God thus rewards former grace and crowns his own gifts in us.

This is piously and judiciously said but has nothing to do with the present passage. The meaning would be simpler if you were to take the word for (ἀντὶ) comparatively, as meaning that whatever graces God bestows on us proceed equally from the same source.

It might also be taken as pointing out the final cause: that we now receive grace so that God may one day fulfill the work of our salvation, which will be the fulfillment of grace.

For my own part, I agree with the opinion of those who say that we are watered with the graces which were poured out on Christ. For what we receive from Christ, he does not bestow upon us as being God; rather, the Father communicated to him what would flow to us as through a channel.

This is the anointing with which he was anointed, that he might anoint us along with him. Hence, too, he is called Christ (the Anointed), and we are called Christians.