Section 10
simply would have made Himself unrighteous. There is only one way for Him to forgive sin, and that is by being the Son of Man and being cruci fied on the cross. In other words, He could only forgive sin by redemption. Without redemption God Himself would have been unable to forgive sin. Without redemption there would have been no ground for the forgiveness of sin. Because He was lifted up on the cross as the Son of Man, bore our sins, and redeemed us from all of our sins, He had the position to forgive sins.
THE WORD AND THE SPIRIT AS LIFE
The whole Gospel of John also reveals that the Lord is the Word and the Spirit. There is such a thought throughout the whole Gospel. Once you see the wonderful person of the Lord in this Gospel, you will ask, "Where is He and how can I contact Him?" Praise the Lord that He is in the Word and in the Spirit, for He is the Word and He is the Spirit. You now have both the Word and the Spirit. If you contact the Spirit and re ceive the Word, you then have the Lord Himself. You have everything by abiding and continuing in the Word of the Lord (8:31). If you keep your self in contact with the Word of the Lord, it means that you are abiding in the Lord Himself.