In verse 1 the Lord said to His disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.” This verse reveals two very important points. The first is that the Lord is the same as God. If one believes in God, he must also believe in the Lord, for the Lord is the same as God Himself. In fact, the Lord is God Himself. Even up to that time, the disciples did not adequately realize that the Lord was God Himself.
God is omnipresent: He is not limited by time and space. On the one hand, the Lord was in the flesh, and with the flesh there are the elements of time and space. On the other hand, the Lord was not the flesh but the very God, and with God there are not the elements of time and space. In this book we are told both that He was limited in time and in space and that He was not so limited. In 7:6 He said, “My time has not yet come,” indicating that although He was the eternal, infinite, unlimited God, He lived on earth as a man, limited in the matter of time. In 3:13 He said, “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven.” This verse indicates that while the Lord was on earth, He was still in heaven. This means that He, as the very God, was omnipresent. With Him there was not the limitation of time and space.
Why did the Lord mention to His disciples that He was the same as God? Because He told the disciples that He was going, and they had the human thought that His going meant that He was leaving them. Since the disciples knew that God is omnipresent, the Lord told them that He was the same as God. Just as God is omnipresent, so He likewise was omnipresent. Just as God is without the elements of time and space, so He also was without these elements. Whether He went or stayed it was the same, for He, as God, was omnipresent. Since His going was actually His coming, their hearts did not need to be troubled by His going. He was the same as the God in whom they believed. If they believed in God, they also had to believe in Him because He was the same as the God who is always present. The Lord seemed to be telling His disciples, “Do not be troubled by My going. Do not let your hearts be perplexed. If you believe in God, you must also believe in Me. God is omnipresent. With Him there is no time or space limitation. It is the same with Me. I shall go, but I shall still remain with you. And while I remain with you, I shall go. I am omnipresent. If you believe in God, you must also believe in Me, for I am the same as God.”
The second important point in verse 1 is that believing God is different from believing into God. You may say that you believe God, but do you believe into God? In Greek the preposition in means “into,” that is, to believe into God. In other words, this is not an objective believing; it is a subjective believing. The basic thought of this chapter is that the Lord intends to help or instruct the disciples to be in God. We must remember that to believe God is objective but to believe into God is subjective. It is this kind of subjective believing that brings us into God. In effect, the Lord was saying, “If you believe into God, you must also believe into Me.” The preposition into is very important. It is regrettable that many have the wrong concept, thinking that to believe in God means to believe God. We must not miss the preposition. It is not a matter of believing the fact objectively; it is a matter of the subjective believing that brings us into God. The central thought of this chapter is that we must believe into God.