JOHN 1:15-18 THE WITNESS OF JOHN ABOUT JESUS CHRIST

John 1:15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'" 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

             In this section of scripture we see the use of courtroom terms giving us the legal witness of John the Baptist about Jesus and who He is.  We see that John talks about Jesus being the preeminent one and that we see all of God in Him.  That He gives Grace whereas Moses gave the law which could only condemn.  Lastly we see that Jesus is the one who explains to us who the Father is.

 Verse 15- John the Baptists testimony corroborates John the apostles statement regarding the eternality of The Incarnate Word.

Verse 16- Grace for grace This phrase emphasizes the superabundance of grace that has been displayed by God toward mankind especially believers.

Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace

 Ephesians 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Verses 17 and 18 shows that the law given by Moses was not a display of God’s grace, but God’s demand for holiness. God designed the law as a means to demonstrate the unrighteousness of man in order to show the need for a Savior Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. 21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:10,14 and 21-26 also speak of this

The law revealed only part of the truth and was given to prepare men for the full truth, the reality towards which the law pointed came in the person of Jesus Christ.

Verse 18- Who is in the bosom of the Father – tells of the mutual intimacy, love, and knowledge existing in the Godhead(three in one God) Luke 16:22 The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

Declared- Theologians-men who study religion derived the term exegesis which means to interpret

John meant that all Jesus is and does interprets who God is and what He does.