Grace for Grace

[agedman]

In John 1 one may read:

16From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God andd is at the Father’s side, has made Him known. (Berean Study Bible)

16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (KJV)
​

How do you explain “grace for grace?”

Is it, as the Berean Study Bible renders the passage, a grace “upon” grace. Am I to suppose grace has some limited amount, so there is extra added?

Is it, as the KJV renders the passage, a grace “for” grace. Am I to suppose something lesser is exchanged for better?

Your thoughts?

I will give my own thinking further in the thread.

 

[Bible Thumpin n Gun Totin]

I've understood it as "grace upon grace" as you mentioned in the first translation. I.E it would've been amazing if God gave us Grace once, but he continually gives us Grace over and over. Therefore His Grace and Mercy are far beyond measure, which is what I think that verse is trying to get at.

It's sort of like infinity vs infinity squared. Infinity is already immeasurable, and infinity squared is another level of incomprehensibility . Like squashing an ant with a 80lb bag of concrete vs a 5-ton truck. Both are incomprehensible to the ant, but one is bigger than the other.

Look forward to your thoughts Bro.

 

[Silverhair]

The NET bible renders it well
Joh 1:16 For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another.

 

[AustinC]

In John 1 one may read:

16From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God andd is at the Father’s side, has made Him known. (Berean Study Bible)

16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (KJV)
​

How do you explain “grace for grace?”

Is it, as the Berean Study Bible renders the passage, a grace “upon” grace. Am I to suppose grace has some limited amount, so there is extra added?

Is it, as the KJV renders the passage, a grace “for” grace. Am I to suppose something lesser is exchanged for better?

Your thoughts?

I will give my own thinking further in the thread.

Here I appreciate the NLT.
John 1:16-18

From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

God not only graciously saves, God also extends grace (unmerited favor) to all humans every day.

John, in writing to believers, reminds us that grace is given every moment of our lives. Like a stream of life giving water, so God gives grace to daily sustain us.

 

[Dr. Bob]

As each wave of God's grace flowing over us ebbs, a new wave replaces it. Grace to His people is continuous, never exhausted, without interruption or limit. [adapted from Morris]

 

[Dr. Bob]

"When I speak of a man “growing in grace,” I mean simply this – that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual-mindedness more marked. He feels more of the power of godliness in his own heart. He manifests more of it in his life. He is going on from strength to strength, from faith to faith, and from grace to grace."
~Bishop J.C. Ryle

 

[agedman]

All your replies are very good. But I do think perhaps there is an aspect in the passage being missed.

“For the Law…” this was a certain Grace extended by the OT sacrificial system.

“But grace and truth came through Jesus Christ…”. This is the new covenant grace of which believers now have access. Not by the OT system, but based upon the truth of the Word.

“No person has seen God…” and we have the witness of those who saw the fullness of God in Christ. An immeasurable Grace passed onto us.

Therefore, we have received grace FOR grace, and we have the embellished grace that you good folks mentioned, not so much by adding but by application of grace now to all who believe, and not by Law.

I may not be right,


But, I am unanimous in Him.

 

[Dr. Bob]

"for" is one of those English catch-all words and gets twisted like a pretzel

anti - in Greek - has much more direct meaning. Opposite or "instead of" in requital. Not in addition.

So I would think a NEW "grace" from the Messiah's atoning sacrifice instead of the OLD "grace" of the temporary sacrificial system.

Like you, still thinking this through