- GODHEAD NEVER DIVIDED

The Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory… full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
Many years ago Alexander Patterson wrote a great and compelling book titled The Greater Life and Work of Christ. I think it has been out of print for some years but it deserves to be reprinted. In his volume, this great preacher attempts to go back into the basic foundation of things and to encourage Christians to believe and trust and exalt Jesus Christ for being much more than the Redeemer of mankind.
I agree with him completely that Christ Jesus is not only Redeemer, but the Sustainer, the Creator, the Upholder, the One who holds all things together, the adhesive quality of the universe. To those who believe, Christ Jesus is the medium through whom God dispenses grace to all of His creatures, including those to be redeemed and those who do not need to be redeemed.
It is true that there are orders upon orders and ranks upon ranks of creatures that do not need to be redeemed. Yet, it is also true, that they live by grace as well as the lowest sinner who is converted.
Through the Apostle John, the Holy Spirit tells us that the eternal Son, the Word who became flesh, is full of grace and truth.
Everything by grace
Let us remember this: everything God does is by grace, for no man, no creature, no being deserves anything. Salvation is by grace, the Creation is by grace—all that God does is by grace and every human being has received of His fullness.
This boundless grace must operate wherever that which is not God appeals to that which is God; wherever the voice of the creature crosses the vast gulf to the ears of the Creator.
How do the angels get their broad wings?
Out of His grace.
How do the principalities and powers, the ranks and the columns of shining creatures appearing through the pages of the Bible get what they have?
Out of His grace upon grace.
I dare to ask in this context: What have you received of His grace and mercy?
Even though you may still be unconverted and going your own way, you have received much out of the ocean of His fullness. You have received the pulsing life that beats in your bosom. You have received the brilliant mind and brain within the protective covering of your skull. You have received a memory that strings the events you cherish and love as a jeweler strings pearls into a necklace and keeps them for you as long as you live and beyond.
All that you have is out of His grace. Jesus Christ, the eternal Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us, is the open channel through which God moves to provide all the benefits He gives to saints and sinners.
And what about the years, the rest of your existence?
You cannot believe that you have earned it.
You cannot believe that it has something to do with whether you are good or bad.
Confess that it is out of His grace, for the entire universe is the beneficiary of God’s grace and goodness.
In the fifth chapter of Revelation, John bears record of the whole universe joining to give praise to the Lamb that was slain. Under the earth and on the earth and above the earth, John heard creatures praising Jesus Christ, all joining in a great chorus and
In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (John 5:12-13).
Yes, surely the entire universe is a beneficiary of God’s rich grace in Jesus Christ.
When we faithfully witness and present Christ to men and women in our day as Lord and Savior, we should remember that they are already receiving benefits of grace, and we are only presenting Jesus Christ to them in a new office—that of Redeemer.
When we say to an unbelieving man, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we are actually saying to him: “Believe on the One who sustains you and upholds you and Who has given you life. Believe on the One who pities you and spares you and keeps you. Believe on the One out of whom you came!”
Never anything apart from Jesus
It is the truth that God has never done anything apart from Jesus Christ. The stars in their courses, the frogs that croak beside the lake, the angels in heaven above and men on earth below all came out of the channel we call the eternal Word. While we are busy presenting Jesus as Lord and Savior, it is true that we have all received out of His fullness.
Now, some time ago I wrote in an editorial concerning Jesus Christ that there can be no Saviorhood without Lordship. This was not original with me because I believe that the Bible plainly teaches that Jesus Christ is both Lord and Savior; that He is Lord before He is Savior; and that if He is not Lord, He is not Savior.
I repeat: when we present this Word, this eternal Word who was made flesh to dwell among us, as Lord and Savior, we present Him also in His other offices—Creator, Sustainer, and Benefactor.
It is the same Lord Jesus—and of Him John gives the faithful record: “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
I guess we all agree that the Law was given by Moses, and at this point I am not employing any contrast between Old and New Testaments. Any theological position that pits one Testament of the Bible against the other must come from a false theory.
The idea that the Old Testament is a book of law and the New Testament a book of grace is based on a completely false theory.
There is certainly as much about grace and mercy and love in the Old Testament as there is in the New. There is more about hell, more about judgment and the fury of God burning with fire upon sinful men in the New Testament than in the Old.
If you want excoriating, flagellating language that skins and blisters and burns, do not go back to Jeremiah and the old prophets—hear the words of Jesus Christ!
Oh, how often do we need to say it: the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. The Father in the Old Testament is the Father in the New Testament.
Furthermore, the Christ who was made flesh to dwell among us is the Christ who walked through all of the pages of the Old Testament.
Was it the law that forgave David when he had committed his great sins?
No, it was grace displayed in the Old Testament.
Was it grace that said, Babylon is fallen, the great harlot is fallen, Babylon is fallen? (paraphrase of Revelation 18:2).
No, it was law expressed in the New Testament.
Surely there is not this great difference and contrast between Old and New Testaments that many seem to assume. God never pits the Father against the Son. He never pits the Old Testament against the New.
The only contrast here is between all that Moses could do and all that Jesus Christ can do. The Law was given by Moses—that was all that Moses could do. Moses was not the channel through which God dispensed His grace.
God chose His only begotten Son as the channel for His grace and truth, for John witnesses that grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
All that Moses could do was to command righteousness.
In contrast, only Jesus Christ produces righteousness.
All that Moses could do was to forbid us to sin.
In contrast, Jesus Christ came to save us from sin.
Moses could not save but Jesus Christ is both Lord and Savior.
Grace came through Jesus Christ before Mary wept in the manger stall in Bethlehem.
It was the grace of God in Christ that saved the human race from extinction when our first parents sinned in the garden.
It was the grace of God in Jesus Christ yet to be born that saved the eight persons when the Flood covered the earth.
It was the grace of God in Jesus Christ yet to be born but existing in preincarnation glory that forgave David when he sinned, that forgave Abraham when he lied. It was the grace of God that enabled Abraham to pray God down to ten when He was threatening to destroy Sodom.
God forgave Israel time and time again. It was the grace of God in Christ prior to the Incarnation that made God say, “I have risen early in the morning and stretched out my hands unto you!”
The Apostle John speaks for all of us also when he writes of the eternal Son and reminds us that we have seen his glory.
It is right that we should inquire, “What was this glory? Was it the glory of His works?”
Jesus was not only a worker—He was a wonder worker!
Every part of nature had to yield to Him and His authority.
He turned the water into wine and many people miss the point of His power and authority and argue about the difference between grape juice and wine. It mattered little—He turned water into wine. It was a miracle.
When our Lord came to the sick, He healed them. When He came to the devil-possessed, He commanded the devils to go out. When our Lord stood on the rocking deck of a tiny boat tossed by fierce winds and giant waves, He spoke to the water and rebuked the wind and there came a great calm.
Everything our Lord did was meaningful in the display of His eternal glory.
Think of the tenderness and compassion of the Lord Jesus when He raised the boy and gave him back to his widowed mother en route to the graveyard.
Think of the glory in His tenderness when He raised the little daughter of Jairus and restored her to her father’s love and care.
I think Jesus probably smiled at that little girl after calling her back from her death sleep and said, “Sit up, daughter. Time to go to school.”
You called your children when it was school time. I am sure Jesus used the same simple language of tenderness.
The works of our Lord were always dramatic works. Always they were amazing works. We wonder if John had these things in mind when he said, We have seen his glory, but I think not. I think John had a much greater glory in mind.
We can never know all of the wonderful works of healing and mercy which Jesus performed while on the earth, but we should fix our eyes on His glory which was far greater than the miracles and works of wonder.
Man is more important
Consider the first: what a man is is always more important to God than what he does.
Remember that if a man had the ability to stand up and create pine trees and lakes and hills and was not a good man, through and through a good man, he would still be of no value to God!
And let us remember, too, that if a man is a good man, through and through a good man, and has no power to perform a miracle or any great work, he would still be one of God’s most valued treasures. God would write his name on His own hands for it is goodness that God is looking for.
So, it was the very person and character of Jesus that was glorious. It was not only what He did—but what He was. What He did was secondary. What He was in His person was primary.
Brethren, there can be no argument about Jesus Christ’s glory—His glory lay in the fact that He was perfect love in a loveless world; that He was perfect purity in an impure world; that He was perfect meekness in a harsh and quarrelsome world.
There is no end to His glory. He was perfect humility in a world where every man was seeking his own benefit. He was boundless and fathomless mercy in a hard and cruel world. He was completely selfless goodness in a world full of selfishness.
John says, “We have seen his glory” (John 1:14). He included the deathless devotion of Jesus; the patient suffering and the unquenchable life and the grace and truth which were in the eternal Word.
I cannot help but think of this during the Christmas season of festive and generally profit-inspired celebrations. As little as it knows about the reasons for Christ coming to earth, the poor blind world is not celebrating the turning of water into wine. The celebration is not for the healing of the sick nor for the raising of the dead. The poor, blind world with what little bit of religious instinct it has really joins in celebrating what He was. Very little is said about what He did but much is said about who He was.
Everyone joins gladly in singing the songs and we all read the editorials and articles about the amazing fact that it was God walking among men; that here was a man acting like God in the midst of sinful men. This is the glory and the wonder of it all.
This is the divine glory that earth’s most famous and capable personalities can never attain. This is the glory that Alexander could never reach.
Think of Alexander for a moment. That wild boy, son of Philip, trampled the civilized world under his feet, conquering everything, and then wept because there were no more worlds to conquer. But Alexander had never conquered himself and history records that he died a disappointed profligate. He was a genius in battle but a spoiled baby in his own house.
The brightness
In contrast, the glory of Jesus Christ shines like the brightness of the sun—for what He was has astonished the world. What He did was wonderful; what He said and taught was amazing; but what He was, the eternal Word made flesh, was the crown upon all that He did and all that He said.
The Bible teaches so clearly and so consistently what John proclaims in the first chapter of His Gospel: “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another” (John 1:16).
Out of His fullness we have received. There is no way that it can mean that any of us have received all of His fullness. It means that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, is the only medium through which God dispenses His benefits to His creation.
Because Jesus Christ is the eternal Son, because He is of the eternal generation and equal with the Father as pertaining to His substance, His eternity, His love, His power, His grace, His goodness, and all of the attributes of deity, He is the channel through which God dispenses all His blessing.
If you could ask the deer that goes quietly down to the edge of the lake for a refreshing drink, “Have you received of the fullness of the lake?” the answer would be: “Yes and no. I am full from the lake but I have not received from the fullness of the lake. I did not drink the lake. I only drank what I could hold of the lake.”
And so, of His fullness, out of the fullness of God, He has given us grace upon grace according to our need, and it is all through Jesus Christ, our Lord. When He speaks, when He provides, while He sustains, it is because it can be said that He upholds all things by the Word of His power and in Him all things consist.
Now, here is a thought I had one day: it could have been very easy for God to have loved us and never told us. God could have been merciful toward us and never revealed it. We know that among humans it is possible for us to feel deeply and still tell no one. It is possible to have fine intentions and never make them known to anyone.
The Scriptures say that “no man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, [some translations say the only begotten God]which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18, KJV).
The eternal Son came to tell us what the silence never told us.
He came to tell us what not even Moses could tell us.
He came to tell us and to show us that God loves us and that He constantly cares for us.
He came to tell us that God has a gracious plan and that He is carrying out that plan.
Before it is all finished and consummated, there will be a multitude that no man can number, redeemed, out of every tongue and tribe and nation.
That is what He has told us about the Father God. He has set Him forth. He has revealed Him—His being, His love, His mercy, His grace, His redemptive intention, His saving intention.
He has declared it all. He has given us grace upon grace. Now we have only to turn and believe and accept and take and follow. All is ours if we will receive because the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us!