John 1:9,14 NASB95
There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. [14] And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among (in) us, and we saw the glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. How did the incarnation of Christ – His coming into the world – enlighten every man? Jesus came to reveal the truth about God – John 1:18. He also came to reveal the truth about man, for the truth about man is that we were created to reveal the truth about God. The eternal Word became flesh and dwelt in us (“among” is actually the Greek word “in”). Jesus clothed Himself in the likeness of our sinful flesh – without ever sinning. As the second Adam, Jesus clothed Himself in our fallen humanity and lived victoriously in our place and on our behalf, enlightening all humanity as to the stunning possibility of the new creation for which He was the prototype. Someone has said that Jesus wasn’t just an example for us but was an example of us. Even though Jesus was never anything less than 100% God, He was also 100% human, and He laid down his right to act out of His deity and lived as aSpirit–filled man – the author and perfecter of faith – so that all humanity would be enlightened to the truth of God’s vision of us restored in Christ. We were created to co-mingle with and reveal God’s glory. Glory is the presence and nature of God on display, and we were created to contain His presence and to experience His presence and nature revealed in us and through us, thus revealing His likeness. Jesus did not just come to die and rise again for us. He came to live for us – to show us what living the abundant life actually looks like, enlightening every human to the kind of glorious life we can live instead of the broken, dark, and hopeless life that most people, and sadly many Christians, have settled for. The incarnate Christ was normal humanity, from God’s perspective, on display. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27