THE WITNESS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

READ JOHN 1:15=18

15-16) What did John Witness? 1) One greater than himself that has come, 2) One who existed before him, 3) One who gives fullness (abundance), and 4) One who gives grace for grace (the richest abundance of grace).
17) In the Old Testament the believers were saved by faith through the sacrificial system - it was temporary (Hebrews 9:18-28) Having the Law, given by Moses, was good, but Jesus was better.
Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. The far better grace is Jesus' sacrificial offering which is permanent and binding. (See Romans 3:24-26; Gal. 3:24-29; Hebrews 10:4-14).
Definitions taken from Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
TRUTH - as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of His purpose through Christ, and respecting the duties of man (absolute). (In other words truth is the reality of God fully seen in Jesus and the work He has done on the cross. It also constitutes the responsiblity of man, who can come to the Father only through Jesus. See John 14:6)
GRACE - through pity for sinful men Christ left His state of blessedness with God in heaven and voluntarily underwent the hardship and miseries of human life and by His suffering and death procured salvation for mankind.
18) It is Jesus who has the knowledge to explain God, "...THE WORD WAS WITH GOD AND THE WORD WAS GOD. HE WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH GOD." John 1:1-2. (See also John 6:46; Col. 1:15)
IN THIS WORLD THERE ARE NO ABSOLUTE TRUTHS, BUT AS A BELIEVER WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD AND CAN HAVE CONFIDENCE IN GOD'S ABSOLUTE TRUTH: PEOPLE ARE LOST AND IN NEED OF A SAVIOR AND THAT SAVIOR IS JESUS CHRIST.