Jesus, the Father of this World.
I will read a little further:
And that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.
I do not apprehend that any intelligent person will construe these words to mean that Jesus and his Father are one person, but merely that they are one in knowledge, in truth, in wisdom, in understanding, and in purpose; just as the Lord Jesus himself admonished his disciples to be one with him, and to be in him, that he might be in them. It is in this sense that I understand this language, and not as it is construed by some people, that Christ and his Father are one person. I declare to you that they are not one person, but that they are two persons, two bodies, separate and apart, and as distinct as are any father and son within the sound of my voice. Yet, Jesus is the Father of this world, because it was by him that the world was made. He says:
And the Father and I are one:
The Father because he gave me of his fulness, and the Son because I was in the world and made flesh my tabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of men.
I was in the world and received of my Father, and the works of him were plainly manifest;
And John saw and bore record of the fulness of my glory: and the fulness of John's record is hereafter to be revealed:
And he bore record, saying, I saw his glory that he was in the beginning before the world was;
Therefore in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation.
The light and redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men.
The worlds were made by him: men were made by him: all things were made by him, and through him, and of him.
And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us.
And I, John, saw that he received not the fulness at first, but received grace for grace;
And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness:
And thus he was called the Son of God, because He received not of the fulness at the first.
Glorious Possibilities of Man.
What a glorious thought is inspired in the heart when we read sentiments like this, that even Christ himself was not perfect at first; he received not a fulness at first, but he received grace for grace, and he continued to receive more and more until he received a fulness. Is not this to be so with the children of men? Is any man perfect? Has any man received a fulness at once? Have we reached a point wherein we may receive the fulness of God, of his glory and his intelligence? No; and yet if Jesus, the Son of God, and the Father of the heavens and the earth in which we dwell, received not a fulness at the first, but increased in faith, knowledge, understanding and grace until he received a fulness, is it not possible for all men that are born of women to receive little by little, line upon line, precept upon precept, until they shall receive a fulness, as he has received a fulness, and be exalted with him in the presence of the Father?
The revelation continues:
And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying, This is my beloved son.
This voice out of heaven came from God, the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father;
And he received all power both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.
And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall receive the fulness of the record of John.
I give unto you these sayings that ye may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.
For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.
And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father: and am the first-born.
And all those who are begotten through me are partakers of the glory of the same, and are the church of the first-born.
Ye were also in the beginning with the Father, that which is Spirit, even the Spirit of truth,
And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;
And whatsoever is more or less than this, is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.
The spirit of truth is of God. I am the spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying—He receiveth a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth.
And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.
Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can it be.
All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also, otherwise there is no existence.
Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them and they receive not the light.
And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation.
For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy:
And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.