John 1:16 (DBY)

Passage

for of his fulness we all have received, and grace upon grace.

Nearby Context

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father), full of grace and truth;

John 1:15 (John bears witness of him, and he has cried, saying, This was he of whom I said, He that comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me;)

John 1:16 for of his fulness we all have received, and grace upon grace.

John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses: grace and truth subsists through Jesus Christ.

John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, *he* hath declared [him].

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "grace", "fulness", "received", and "upon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "grace" and "fulness", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "John bears witness of him and he..." into verse 17's "For the law was given by Moses...", so "grace" and "fulness" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "grace" and "fulness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.