I. IN ADDITION TO THE ITEMS OF CHRIST
UNVEILED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
The further revelation of Christ concerning His all-inclusiveness in the Gospel of John is in addition to the items in the Old Testament unveiling the all-unlimitedness of Christ in God’s commission to Him, as God’s anointed One, for the universe, for fallen man, and for God’s kingdom.
II. IN HIS PERFECT REDEMPTION
AND IN HIS COMPLETE SALVATION
The New Testament unveils Christ in His perfect redemption through His death judicially and in His complete salvation by His life organically for the carrying out of God’s eternal economy.
A. God
Christ is God, who is the source of all things and especially the source of the divine life that flows out for its dispensing into God’s elect as their life and everything (John 1:1, 14; 20:28; Rom. 9:5). John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Then verse 14 says that "the Word became flesh." The Word is Christ as the definition, explanation, and expression of God. In John 20:28 Thomas said to the resurrected Christ, "My Lord and my God!" The Gospel of John proves strongly that the man Jesus is the very God (1:1-2; 5:17-18; 10:30-33; 14:9-11).
Romans 9:5 says, "Whose are the fathers, and out of whom, as regards what is according to flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a subtle, evil, and satanic way to distort this verse. We must be clear that Christ is God over all, which means that He is above all the created things, and He is blessed forever. The word blessed here means praised, well spoken of, with adoration of respect and desire. We adore God with our respect to Him and our desire for Him. We worship Him in this way. We desire to have Him, and we love Him. We have to speak well of Christ as God to tell the whole universe what He is. This is our blessing Him to praise Him with our adoration. Christ is our God above all things and is worthy to be praised with well-speaking of adoration, respect, and desire.
Colossians 2:9 says, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." This verse reveals that in Christ the man dwells all the fullness of the Godhead. The word bodily points to the physical body that Christ put on in His humanity, indicating that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ as the One who has a human body. Before Christ’s incarnation, the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him as the eternal Word, but not bodily. From the time that Christ became incarnate, clothed with a human body, the fullness of the Godhead began to dwell in Him in a bodily way; and in His glorified body (Phil. 3:21) now and forever it dwells.
(Crystallization-Study of the Gospel of John, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
