Grace and truth are inextricably related to God. Grace is God's saving nature. Truth is God's righteous character. According to the Apostle John, Jesus embodied these two intrinsic qualities of God in His Personhood.

 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 (ESV)

 

Consider what John says about Jesus:

 

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:17 (ESV)

 

Because Jesus is fully grace and truth, the gospel is also fully grace and truth. Anything less than this indicates that the gospel is no longer the gospel. There is no greater error than looking at the gospel in any other way.

Grace and truth are distinct, but not mutually exclusive. However, when people focus on one without the other, they frequently end up in one of two extremes. They either believe in a "grace without truth" gospel or a "truth without grace" gospel.

Grace without truth is not really grace. Truth without grace is not really truth. Grace without truth pampers. Truth without grace hammers.

Grace without truth is love without correction. Truth without grace is correction without love. Grace without truth is mercy without justice. Truth without grace is justice without mercy.

Grace without truth is soft and spoils people. Truth without grace is harsh and crushes people. Grace without truth is freedom without responsibility. Truth without grace is responsibility without freedom.

Neither extreme is of Christ or the gospel.

Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus exuded both grace and truth without contradiction. The gospel tells us that Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9:10-11; 11:19; Mark 2:16; Luke 7:34), and yet He never compromised His principles to gain the acceptance of others.

People were astounded by Jesus' authority whenever He spoke. His authority came from the Father (John 12:49). Jesus was not giving them opinions, but rather he was revealing the Father's love. Jesus was not showing them a higher standard of behaviour, but rather urging them to live a life in which He is the centre of everything.

Living in Jesus' grace and truth is even more radical or revolutionary than following Moses' law. Moses represents the Old Covenant and Jesus represents the New Covenant.

The Old Covenant assesses you according to how far and how much you can keep the Law, whereas the New Covenant measures you according to how well you receive God's grace in Christ to live fully for Him.

The Old Covenant is about one’s ability to obey and keep the Law, and when you break it, the penalty is death. The New Covenant is you resting on Christ's ability to fulfil the Law, which He fully succeeded through His finished work on the Cross.

Because of what Jesus did, you are now in a better place with God than you were before, enjoying a better relationship based on better promises.

To become like Christ (which is the reality and power of His grace and truth living inside you), you must now rely on the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit rather than the natural power of your flesh. In other words, there is no way you can produce His life of grace and truth by your own human ability, but when you enter into a personal and living relationship with Christ, He will reproduce His grace and truth in you.

The more you grow in your understanding of His divine nature, the more you will reflect His divine qualities in your life.