Having said that we, who believe in Christ, if we wish, become children of God, the Evangelist adds the reason for such a great good. Do you want to know, he says, what this sonship has brought us? - that the Word became flesh. But when you hear that the Word became flesh, do not think that He left His own nature and became flesh (for He would not have been God either, if He had been changed and changed), but that, while remaining what He was, He became what He was not. But Apollinaris the Laodicean composed a heresy from this. He taught that our Lord and God did not take on the whole human nature, that is, the body with a verbal soul, but only flesh without a verbal and rational soul. What need was there for God's soul, when His body was governed by the Divine, just as our body is governed by the soul? And he thought to see the reason for this in the present saying: "And the Word was flesh." He did not say, says the Evangelist, that the Word became man, but "flesh"; this means that He did not take on a rational and verbal soul, but an irrational and dumb flesh. Surely he did not know, unfortunate man, that the Scriptures often call the whole a part. For example, it wants to mention the whole person, but calls him a part, the word "soul". Every "soul" that is not circumcised will be destroyed (Gen. 17:14). So, instead of saying, "Every man," a part is named, namely, "soul." The Scriptures also call the whole man flesh, when, for example, it says: "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Isaiah 40:5). It should be said: every "man," and the name "flesh" is used. In the same way, the Evangelist, instead of saying, "The Word became "man," said, "The Word became "flesh," calling man, consisting of soul and body, one part. And since the flesh is alien to the Divine nature, it is possible that the Evangelist mentioned the flesh with the intention of showing the extraordinary condescension of God, so that we might be amazed at His inexpressible love for mankind, by which for our salvation He took upon Himself that which is different and completely alien to His own nature, namely, the flesh. For the soul has a certain affinity with God, and the flesh has absolutely nothing in common. For this reason I think that the Evangelist used here only the name of the flesh, not because the soul does not partake of what is received (incarnation), but in order to show more how wondrous and terrible the mystery is. For if the incarnate Word did not receive the human soul, then our souls are not yet healed, for what He did not receive, He did not sanctify. And how funny! While the soul was the first to fall ill (for in paradise it surrendered to the words of the serpent and was deceived, and then after the soul, as a mistress and mistress, it was touched by the hand), the flesh was received, sanctified and healed, the servant, and the mistress was left without reception and without healing. But let Apollinaris be mistaken. And we, when we hear that the Word was made flesh, believe that He became perfect man, since it is the custom of the Scriptures to call man one part, flesh and soul. - Nestorius is also overthrown by this saying.

So he is deaf to the truth. For if he had wished, he himself would have heard what this blessed evangelist says, namely, that the Word was made flesh. Isn't there a rebuke obvious to him here? For the Word Himself became Man. The Evangelist did not say: "The Word, having found man, was united with him, but He Himself became Man." - By this saying, Eutyches, Valentinus, and Manes are overthrown. They said that the Word of God appeared illusory. Let them hear that the Word was "made" flesh; it is not said: the Word was presented or appeared to be flesh, but "became" it in truth and in essence, and not by a ghost. For it is absurd and unreasonable to believe that the Son of God, in essence and in name is Truth (John 14:6), lied in the incarnation. And a deceptive ghost would undoubtedly have led to this thought.

And it dwelt with us. 

Since the Evangelist said above that the Word was made flesh, so that no one should think that Christ finally became one Nature, he adds: "dwelt among us," in order to show two Natures: one is ours, and the other is the Word. For just as the abode is of another nature, and of another nature dwelling in it, so the Word, when it is said of Him that He dwelt in us, that is, in our nature, must be of a nature other than ours. Let the Armenians, who worship one Nature, be ashamed. Thus, by the words: "The Word was made flesh" we learn that the Word Himself became Man and, being the Son of God, became also the son of a woman, who is truly called the Mother of God, as having given birth to God in the flesh. By the words: "dwelt among us," we learn to believe that in one Christ there are two natures. For although He is one in Hypostasis, or in Person, yet in His Natures He is twofold – God and Man, and the Divine nature and the human cannot be one, although they are contemplated in one Christ.

    Full of grace and truth; and we have seen His glory, the glory as the Only Begotten of the Father. 

Having said that the Word was made flesh, the Evangelist adds: "We have seen the glory of "Him," that is, of Him who is in the flesh. For if the Israelites could not look at the face of Moses, illumined by communion with God, then the apostles would not have been able to bear the pure (without covering) Only-begotten Divinity, if He had not appeared in the flesh. We have not seen such glory as Moses had, or with which the cherubim and seraphim appeared to the prophet, but such glory as befitted the Only-begotten Son, as was inherent in Him by nature from God the Father. The particle "as" here does not mean assimilation, but affirmation and indubitable determination. Seeing the king coming with great glory, we say that he came as a king, instead of saying, "Truly royal." Likewise, here we must understand the words "as the Only-begotten" in this way; the glory we saw was the true glory of the true Son, full of grace and truth. The word "full of grace" because His teaching was, so to speak, blessed with grace, just as David says: "Grace flowed out of Thy mouth" (Psalm 44:3), and the Evangelist remarks that everyone was amazed at the "words of grace" that proceeded out of His mouth (Luke 4:22), and because He gave healing to all who needed them. "Full of truth" because all that the prophets and Moses himself said or did were types, and what Christ said and did is full of truth, since He Himself is grace and truth, and distributes them to others. "Where did they see this glory?" One may think with some that the Apostles saw this glory of Him on Mount Tabor, but it is also fair to understand that they saw it not only on this mountain, but in everything that He did and said.

  John bears witness to Him, and exclaiming, he says, "This was the One of whom I said, that He who came after me stood before me, because he was before me."