CHRIST BEING THE FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD
Colossians 1:18 reveals that Christ is the Firstborn from the dead. He is the Firstborn of all creation, and He is also the Firstborn of all the resurrected ones. According to this verse, He is also the Head of the Body, the church. Christ is so many things.
CHRIST BEING THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT
Isaiah 9:6 is a puzzling verse, containing many points which no theologian can reconcile. It says, “For a child is born to us, / A son is given to us; / And the government / Is upon His shoulder; / And His name will be called / Wonderful Counselor, / Mighty God, / Eternal Father, / Prince of Peace.” According to this verse, the child is the Mighty God and the son is the Eternal Father. Is Christ the Son or the Father?
God is triune—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Yet Isaiah 9:6 says that the Son is the Father. Furthermore, according to 1 Corinthians 15:45b, Christ as the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. This is confirmed by 2 Corinthians 3:17 which says, “And the Lord is the Spirit.” In this verse the Lord is Jesus Christ (4:5). Hence, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Spirit. Is Christ the Son, the Father, or the Spirit? Eventually, we have to say that He is everything.
CHRIST BEING ALL-INCLUSIVE
Many verses in the New Testament show us that Christ is a man (1 Tim. 2:5; John 1:14; 4:29; 19:5; Acts 2:22; Rom. 5:15). Is He man or God? He is both; He is everything. He is God, He is man, He is the Father, He is the Son, He is the Spirit, He is the Creator, and He is also the creature. He is the Firstborn, and He is the last Adam. He is the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 22:13). He is not the first and the last only, He is also the second, the third, the fourth, and every letter. He is the Alpha, the Beta, the Gamma, and ultimately He is the Omega. He is everyone and He is everything (Col. 3:11). According to systematic theology, Christ is the Son only, but the Bible tells us that He is not only the Son, but also the Father and the Spirit. Based upon this word some may think that I am for the “Jesus only” theology. No, I do not care for any theology; I only care for the pure word of the Bible. We must forget all the theologies and teachings that we picked up from Christianity and come back to the pure Word.
In John 14 Philip asked the Lord Jesus to show him the Father. The Lord Jesus rebuked him by saying, “Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how is it that you say, Show us the Father?” (vv. 8-9). In such a word the Lord seemed to say, “I have been with you for three and a half years. Don’t you know Me? Haven’t you seen Me? If you have seen Me, why do you ask Me to show you the Father? Don’t you know that if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father?”
The Lord Jesus is wonderful and all-inclusive. He is all in all. Is there God in this universe? Yes, but without Christ and outside of Christ we cannot find God. God is in Christ, and Christ is God. Is there a real man in this universe? Yes, this real man is Christ. Is there a heavenly Father? Yes, He is Christ. Is there the Son of God? Yes, He is Christ. Is there the Spirit of God? Yes, He is Christ. If we say that Christ is the Son and not the Father or the Spirit, then we cannot say that Christ is all. Yet Christ is all and in all. He is God, He is the Father, He is the Son, He is the Spirit, He is a man, and He is the life. He is everything.
Eventually, Christ is even you and me. Philippians 1:21 says, “For to me, to live is Christ,” and Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” This verse is very puzzling. First, it says that “I am crucified with Christ”; this means that I am brought to an end. Then it says, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me,” yet “I live in faith.” This indicates that, spiritually, Christ has become us. Christ is not only the Head but also the Body (Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 12:12). Christ is everything.
(Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee)
