Do not believe that the Lord is unaware of your path; He is aware if you are upright. Trust in the prophet’s message: 'The Lord knows the ways of the righteous, and their inheritance shall last forever. They shall not be disgraced in times of trouble' (Psalm 36:18-19). To know Christ is to know the Lord; He recognizes the just and is unfamiliar with the wicked. To those who do wrong, the Lord will declare, 'Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity; I never knew you' (Matt. 7:23; Luke 13:27). This means you are unworthy of being known by God; I do not know you because you have chosen not to know Me. Your actions do not reflect My knowledge of you; even if you claimed to know Me, your sins would reveal the truth. All sin originates from the evil one, but John states that he who abides in Me does not sin (1 John 3:16).
What should I say about the Lord who chooses not to know the wicked? Paul also expresses this sentiment: 'If anyone among you thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things which I write to you, for they are the commandments of the Lord... But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized' (1 Cor. 14:37-38). In another passage, it is said, 'The Lord knows those who are His' (2 Tim. 2:19). Therefore, let us be of the Lord, so that He may acknowledge us, and let everyone who professes the name of the Lord turn away from unrighteousness (2 Tim. 2:19).
The Greek text states, 'The Lord knows the days of the blameless' (Psalm 36:18). These days recall the time of Elijah and Nebuchadnezzar. The Gospel conveys that 'in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up' (Luke 4:25). For those who betrayed their faith, there was darkness, but Elijah experienced light; while the heavens were shut to others, they were open to Elijah; there was famine for the unfaithful, but abundance for Elijah. He who was nourished by divine provision faced no hunger, and he who sustained others did not lack. The righteous person may find themselves as a day overshadowed by darkness, yet the light shines in the darkness (John 1:5).
When Joseph was in Egypt, the midday light shone upon him (Gen. 43:25). As the Psalmist noted, God spoke to the sinner, questioning, 'Why do you declare My statutes?' (Ps. 49:16). Truth is illumination, as the prophet mentions, 'And Your truth shall bring forth as the light' (Psalms 36:6). If you follow God’s truth, you carry light within you. The day shines on you, and even darkness shines on you, for to the faithful, even night is bright as day (Psalm 138:12).
The Lord recognizes the days of the just because He Himself illuminates every person who enters the world (John 1:9)—namely, he who lives in the image and likeness of God and acknowledges himself as His creation; he who shuns the lust of powerful desires and the ferocity of wild creatures has no fear of cunning or insatiable foes. That individual who acts as if transcending this world has been born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, but of God (John 1:13).
So you have come. Do not linger, do not cling to earthly matters! Be aware that good days exist! Listen to Him who said, 'Abraham... rejoiced to see My day' (John 8:56). He who has come to acknowledge the Son of God as the blessed God and confesses Him as Lord possesses a good day. Again, He warns us, for the days are wicked (Eph. 5:16). What defines these wicked days? They are times when we recognize the evil that stems from the evil one. Or perhaps we deem these ages as wicked because, in truth, they are steeped in evil (1 John 5:19). Yet we read that after this age, the day of calamity will arrive: 'In the day of trouble the Lord will deliver him' (Ps. 40:2), referring to the Day of Judgment—it is through the prayers of many that the Lord will save him.
On that day, the wicked will face punishment, but the righteous will show mercy, and the angels rejoice when even one sinner escapes death. The righteous have compassion when a sinner suffers; however, as mentioned elsewhere, 'The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance of the wicked' (Psalms 57:11). I shall reserve further discussion for another time.
The Lord is aware of the days of the upright (Psalm 36:18) because His grace fully encompasses the pure and innocent, yet He has no compassion for sinners who walk in darkness; it is rightly said of them that 'Their days pass away like a shadow' (Psalm 143:4). God’s knowledge is a reflection of His sovereign will, not a product of human observation. His eyes shine with light; those He perceives are filled with illumination; hence, His gaze constitutes the days of the righteous.
Their inheritance will endure eternally (Psalm 36:18) because they have sought lasting goodness rather than temporary gain, and they have nothing to fear during times of severe trial (Psalm 36:19)—that is, on the day of heavenly judgment. In times of famine, they shall be nourished (Psalm 36:19), for humanity does not survive on bread alone, but by every word that comes from God (Luke 4:4).
But what kind of individual are we speaking of? 'I know a man in Christ, who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or I do not know; God knows) was caught up to the third heaven' (2 Cor. 12:2). This is a man in Christ who is so consumed by the Spirit that he does not perceive himself as residing in the flesh; this individual is transposed not merely to heaven, but even unto the third heaven and paradise; he hears words that cannot be uttered, who takes pride in his weaknesses, not his strengths (2 Cor. 12:5). Such a person lives not by bread alone, but by every word that issues from the mouth of God, for the Word of God is life, since the Word became flesh (John 1:14). The Evangelist clearly states, 'What became in Him was life' (Jn. 1:3-4).
Alexandrians and Egyptians read: 'All things became through Him, and without Him nothing became that has come into being' (Jn. 1:3-4). The Latin translation expresses this differently, using the verb for "to become." However, let it be noted: 'In Him is life.' This truth should encourage the faithful.
I am unafraid to affirm: 'What became in Him is life'; there is nothing in these words that aligns with Arian beliefs. I do not detect their distortion but recognize the arrangement of Scripture. It does not declare, 'The Word was before all things', nor 'The Word became,’ but rather: 'In the beginning was the Word' (John 1:1). God possessed the Word because it was with Him to act and govern with Him. The evangelist does not claim that 'The Word became', but states: 'The Word was God' (Jn. 1:1). God is not a creature but the Creator. Open your ears and comprehend: 'Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing came into being' (John 1:3).
You learn of the Son, in whom all the fullness of deity dwells (Col. 2:9). If you listen carefully, you will hear Him express: 'What became in Him is life.' The evangelist mentions 'in Him became', not 'The Word of God became.' If the evangelist’s declaration 'in Him became' leads you to misinterpretation, then it also follows that you would misinterpret the words concerning God the Father. For the Son declared: 'He who walks in righteousness comes to the light, that his works may be manifest, involving the deeds done in God' (John 3:21).
What about the words of David: 'I will praise You, O Lord, for You have heard me, and have become my salvation' (Psalm 117:21)? This signifies that You have turned towards my salvation, You have accomplished it. I could mention numerous other instances, but I do not wish for you to place your faith in my assertions, thinking I rely on scholarly arguments rather than the authority of truth.
The disciple John lay close to Christ, and the Lord did not hide His mysteries from him; it was he whom Peter gestured to inquire of the Lord, and he questioned, receiving a reply from the Lord (Mark 3:17; John 13:23-26). John imparted what he had received from the Lord himself, proclaiming, 'What became in Him is life' (John 1:3-4). Give heed to the interpreter, for even then he was aware of your schemes, Arian!
Of that which was from the beginning, which we have heard and seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of Life—and that life was revealed (1 John 1:1-2). The flesh that dwells in Christ appeared, or Christ manifested in the flesh: in all aspects, He is our life. His divine essence is life; His eternity is life; His flesh is life; His sufferings are life. Thus, Jeremiah indicates, 'In His shadow we shall live' (Lamentations 4:20). The shadow of His wings represents the shadow of the cross, the shadow of His afflictions.
His death is life, His wounds are life, His blood is life, His tomb is life; His resurrection is life for all. Do you wish to understand why His death is life? We were baptized into His death... that we might walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-4). The Lord Himself asserts, 'Truly, truly, I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit' (John 12:24). He is that grain, detached from the body, who died for us to yield plentiful fruit within us. His death bore the fruit of life.
What became in Him is life. The flesh created in Him is life; His silence is life; the judgment passed against Him is life; the death imposed upon Him is life; the forgiveness of sins inaugurated in Him is life; the wound inflicted upon Him is life; the discipline imposed on Him is life; the stripping of garments affected in Him is life; the grave that held Him is life; His resurrection is the life of all.
Observe how many matters have transpired in Him through which our lives have been transformed; what was lost has been restored. Even the ultimate betrayal brings forth life in Him, and the redemption secured in Him is life. Sold to death by Judas, He was purchased through His precious blood to grant us life. This is the Life fulfilled; this is the Life revealed; this is the Life that we behold; this is the Life that originated with the Father, for He was in the beginning and was born of a Virgin to bestow life upon those destined to die.
Let us reflect on the significance of being 'known in Christ' (2 Cor. 12:2)—it means being 'born in Christ,' through whom all things were made, for thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities, all came into being through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all are sustained (Col. 1:16-17) through His power. Thus, in Christ resides mankind, created in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26), in Christ is humanity, who comprehends the fullness of existence. Just as God embodies the unity of the fullness of deity—God the Father—so the Son remains within the Father, and through diligence and filial devotion (not to draw comparisons but provide an analogy), every person abides in Christ, for he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17).
The person 'in Christ' is not the earthly, sinful individual, but rather the man of Christ. Why should we marvel at the declaration: 'What became in Him is life' (John 1:3-4), when the inner man is primarily created in Him, crucified in Him, renewed in Him, buried in Him, and will be resurrected in Him? Why question the Scripture’s assertion, 'What became in Him is life,' when man has proclaimed, 'In God, we find strength' (Psalm 59:14)?
THEOSIS