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John 1:14

ESV And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
NIV The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
NASB And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
CSB The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
NLT So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
KJV And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
NKJV And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

What does John 1:14 mean?

This verse mentions the third of John's seven names for Jesus: "the Son of God."

A critical facet of the gospel is the fact that Jesus was truly, fully, physically human. The first eighteen verses of John's gospel not only introduce Jesus, they also counter false spiritual beliefs. One of these errors is the idea that Jesus was only a mirage, or an illusion. This is not true: Christ was a one hundred percent authentic human being. John makes this explicitly clear using the name of "the Word," while saying very directly that He "became flesh," living among human beings. This means Jesus was not a hologram, or a ghost disguised as a person. He was a real, living, breathing person. As a result, He could claim to have experienced everything we do as mortal people (Hebrews 4:15).

The Greek word used here is skēnoō, which suggests the tabernacle of the Old Testament. The tabernacle was a temporary structure, symbolic of God's "dwelling" with His people, while at the same time a literal physical place (Hebrews 9:24). Jesus is with us and among us, in human form, much as God was among His people in the tabernacle.

Also appearing here is a critical term, found also in John 1:18 and John 3:16: monogenēs. This is the source of the phrase, "one and only," or "only begotten," and it means that Jesus is of the exact same "stuff" as God (Hebrews 1:3).
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