March 1

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.— John 1:4.

IN Jesus, as the divine Son of God, every glory and excellency are combined. He is the fountain of all good, the source of all blessedness. Existence itself, without which there can be no consciousness, dwells essentially in Christ. He is the depository of life—from him and by him all things exist, whether they be things in heaven or things on earth. His existence alone is underived—he had life in himself. In him it was as water in the channels of the sea, or as light in the sun, or as heat in the element of fire. The world, therefore, derived its being from him; for without him was not anything made that was made. So that what the heathen poet said is only true, when applied to Christ. We are his offspring, for “in him we live and move, and have our being.” The preservation of life is derived from him—he upholdeth and directeth all things—he hath the keys of life and of death. But the world was dead—dead in trespasses and sins—dead to God—dead to holiness—dead by law—and exposed to eternal death. Christ came to awaken, to resuscitate it; he came to repeal the sentence of death, and to give the hope of life He came that, by dying, he might redeem the world from death, and that men might have life through his name. He came that he might breathe into these dry bones the breath of life, and that they might become alive to holiness, to God, and to salvation. Thus both natural and spiritual life are in Christ, and can be only derived from him. Also, life everlasting is in Christ. Spiritual life is the germ of eternal life—"He that believeth in Christ hath everlasting life."—He has it in its beginning and first-fruits here, and he shall have it, in its consummation and unbounded fulness in the world to come. Thus Christ is the life of the world. And there is life in none other. Men have it not in themselves. They have it not in philosophy, in science, in learning, or in systems of human religion; neither have they it in the law of Moses. But Christ says (and happy is the man who believeth it) "I am come that ye might have life, and have it more abundantly."