Context

This line is written by John in John 1:14.

At the beginning of his gospel, John's talking about Jesus, a.k.a. "the Word," and how God sent him to earth in a human body, a.k.a. flesh. But even though Jesus was made of flesh like the rest of us, he was still full of grace and truth, unlike most of the rest of us.

Where you've heard it

This one could come up anytime someone's talking about the written word—a book, a play, whatever—being brought to life. Some people also apply it to tattoos. Probably not exactly what John had in mind, but hey, whatever works.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

This one might be too theologically heavy to use in most everyday conversations…