The seventh argument—In John 14:9–11 we have: He that hath seen me hath seen the Father for I am in the Father, and the Father in me.
Rebuttal—The first response—Respected Christian Priests! In this also there is no distinctiveness of Christ because in this same Chapter 14 of John, verse 20, it is written: ‘At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.’ From verse 20 it becomes clear that just as Christ is in the Christians, and the Christians are in Christ, so similarly was Christ in God and God in Christ.
Rebuttal—The second response—Additionally, the verses that form the basis of the Christian arguments, appear to prove that the receptacle is what it contains, and also that the content of the receptacle is, for that very receptacle, a vessel. And on the basis of the tenets of the Christian faith there is, in Christ, between God and the physical body, no connection to the correspondence or entering into, of the vessel and its contents.
Rebuttal—The third response—The third reply is that Christ was seen in the world by way of his physical body and not from the point of view of the spirit and God is not seen in the world or in the Hereafter from the bodily point of view. Thus, it would not be correct to take Christ saying that whoever has seen me has seen the Father in the literal sense.
Rebuttal—The fourth response—In John 17:21 it is written that the person who comes to believe may also be one in Christ and the Lord. Thus, according to this, every Christian should be an embodiment of God like Christ.
Rebuttal—The fifth response—In 2 Corinthians 6:16 we have: ‘Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them.’
Now, respected Christian Priests! Ponder over this. All those addressed by Paul are the temple of God and God is in them, so they should all be the embodiment of God.
Respected Christian Priests! The fact of the matter is that when someone is attributed to someone more eminent than himself, then his respect and honour is meant to be conveyed thereby and this is what the meaning is of these expressions of the Gospels. For example, one may have a servant or representative, or pupil or disciple or relative or friend. Now, the respect, honour or disrespect or love for this servant, one’s agent, pupil, disciple, relative or friend, would be attributed to his master, teacher, well-placed relative or friend. And this is precisely what the meaning is of the expression of the Gospel.
Consider Matthew 10:40: ‘He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.’
And in Luke 9:48 we have: ‘Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me.’
And in Luke 10:16 we have: ‘He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.’
And in Matthew 25:35–36 we have: ‘For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.’
In verse 24 of Chapter 3 of the First Epistle of John, the matter of these equivocal verses has been resolved very well and those who call or consider Christ to be God have been reformed where it is said: ‘And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us.’
And in the First Epistle of John 4:13 we have: ‘We dwell in him, and he in us.’