Some condemn us for teaching that, according to the Scriptures, Christ is all-inclusive, for teaching that He is God, the Son, the Father, and the Spirit. Second Corinthians 3:17 clearly says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” A confirming verse is 1 Corinthians 15:45b, “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” Furthermore, Isaiah 9:6 says that a child is born to us and that a Son is given to us, and that His name is called the everlasting Father, or, according to the Hebrew, the Father of eternity. Here we see that the Son is called the eternal Father. These verses reveal that Christ is the Spirit and also the eternal Father.
Several years ago some opposing ones held a meeting to discuss how to deal with our so-called heretical teaching concerning the Triune God. In that meeting the following remarks were made: “Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. There Jesus is called the Father. Right? So He’s the Father. That’s what it says. That’s Isaiah 9:6. Now we don’t normally say this because tradition is involved here.” These critics admitted that, because of their tradition, they normally do not say that Christ is the Father. I am glad that in the midst of the opposers’ criticism there was an honest word admitting that according to Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is the Father, even though they do not normally say this because it involves the matter of tradition. By this we can see that regarding this matter they care more for tradition than for what the divine revelation actually says. However, we follow the pure Word of God. According to the Scriptures, the Son is called the eternal Father, and Christ the Lord is the Spirit who gives life.
It was in 1933 that I first began to realize that Christ is the Spirit. For more than seven years I had been under the teaching of the Brethren. They taught that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three separate Persons. This teaching that I inherited from the Brethren no doubt corresponds to common traditional teaching. I came into the church life in 1932, and I went to Shanghai to be with Brother Nee in 1933. One day the church in Shanghai invited an itinerant Chinese preacher, who was working with the China Inland Mission, to speak in one of the meetings. In his message he strongly emphasized the point that we should not think that the Lord Jesus is separate from the Spirit. Instead, Christ and the Spirit are one. To this, Brother Nee, who was sitting at the back of the meeting hall, said a loud “Amen.” Brother Nee’s response surprised me. After the meeting Brother Nee and I talked about the message. In that conversation Brother Nee said to me, “Witness, we all must know that Christ is the Spirit, and this must be our message.” Then I began to study this matter carefully. The more I studied the Word, the more convinced I became that today Christ and the Spirit are one.
Concerning certain aspects of Christ’s Person, many believers follow tradition and neglect the revelation of the Bible. If we are fair, we shall realize that Isaiah 9:6 says that the Son is called the Father and that 2 Corinthians 3:17 and 1 Corinthians 15:45b reveal that Christ is the life-giving Spirit. To deny that Christ is the eternal Father or that He is the life-giving Spirit is to be anti these aspects of His Person. In this sense, to make such a denial is to follow the principle of antichrist, which is to deny something of what Christ is.
We see further aspects of Christ’s Person in chapter one of Colossians. According to Colossians 1:15, Christ is the Firstborn of all creation, and according to verse 18, He is the Firstborn from among the dead. As the Firstborn of all creation, Christ is the first among God’s creatures, just as the Firstborn from among the dead means that He is the first One in resurrection. However, some Bible teachers will admit that Christ is the first One in resurrection, but they will not say that Christ is the first One in God’s creation. It is absurd to say that Christ is first in resurrection, but not first in creation. The title “Firstborn” is used twice in the same chapter, referring to Christ being the Firstborn in God’s creation and also in resurrection. Traditional theology admits that Christ is first in resurrection, but not that Christ is first in God’s creation.
Some teachers and theologians will not say that Christ is a creature. They claim that it is impossible for Christ, the very God, the Creator, to be a creature. Nevertheless, with respect to His humanity Christ certainly is a creature. The Bible clearly and definitely says that Christ partook of flesh and blood (Heb. 2:14). Christ became a man possessing blood and flesh. Is it not true that man is a creature? Is it not true that blood and flesh are elements of creation? Certainly humanity, flesh, and blood are all created things. Actually, to say that Christ is not a creature is almost equal to saying that Christ did not come in the flesh, as is condemned in 1 John 4.
Some of those who deny that Christ is a creature have a good intention. Their intention is to uphold the deity of Christ. According to their understanding, to say that Christ is a creature is to take away His deity and His status as the Creator, the almighty God. In principle, this is what the Docetists did. The heretical view of the Docetists was that Jesus Christ was not a real man, but simply appeared to be a man in the flesh. They taught that since Christ is holy, He could never have had the defilement of human flesh. Therefore, they taught that His body was not real flesh and blood, but merely a transient phantom. Holding to the concept that matter is inherently evil, the Docetists denied that Christ came in the flesh. Even if the Docetists had a good intention, they nonetheless followed the principle of antichrist because they denied something of what Christ is.
No matter what a person’s intention may be, whether it is good or evil, as long as he denies any aspect of Christ’s Person, he is following the principle of antichrist, although he may be doing so unconsciously. Someone may have the good intention of exalting Christ as the almighty Creator. Having this intention, he may not be willing to say that Christ is a creature. Nevertheless, the Bible reveals that with respect to His humanity, which surely is something created, Christ is a creature. Furthermore, according to the New Testament, Christ today is still a man. However, some Christians do not believe that Christ is now sitting on the throne in the heavens as a man. Jesus Christ is both God and man. Because He is both God and man, He is both the Creator and a creature.
Those who follow traditional theology often deny three aspects of what Christ is. They deny that Christ is the Spirit, they deny that Christ is the Father, and they deny that Christ is the first among the creatures. Since the principle of antichrist is to deny some aspect of what Christ is, to deny any of these three aspects is to practice this principle, although it may be done unconsciously and unintentionally.
If we understand what the principle of antichrist is, we shall realize that certain Bible teachers unconsciously follow this principle. According to the Epistles of 1 and 2 John, anyone who denies any item of Christ’s Person is following the principle of antichrist. May we be impressed with the fact that the principle of antichrist is first to deny something of what Christ is and then to replace Christ with something else.