He is not merely a principle or personification of these ideas. He is them - He is God's decree that salvation has come, and we know it because His robe is dipped in blood while the saints' are sparkling clean. He is God's standard of righteousness, and we know it because He has the power to strike down godless nations with just the sound of His voice.

Oh, the joy that it is to find in Christ all the gentleness and compassion, provision and selfless protection that is representative of a good shepherd - to hear His voice, and know that it is Him, and that in His presence there is no danger.

He is the illumination which casts a division between good and evil, right and wrong, truth and lie, light and darkness. He distinguishes between the works of God and the works of Satan. He is both "the light of life" and "the judgment" - simultaneously Healer and Divider.

Long, long before the coming of Jesus, God set a precedent for Christ's propitiation - for the substitution provided to the faithful. He allowed glimpses into the amazing grace to come. John the Baptist recognized Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" This time, all of humanity had been called to account for a debt which they could never pay off, a staggering cost - but for the faithful, God provided a Substitute.

The Baby we celebrate at Christmas means nothing if He does not predate all things, and the Sacrifice we celebrate at Easter is wasted if He does not exist after all things. Only the Living One—the I AM—can have final authority over death.