4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:4-5 KJV)
William Burkitt’s Commentary
Here we have further proof of Christ’s divinity and evidence that he had a being as God, before his incarnation: forasmuch as life is centered in him, communicated by him, and derived from him. In him was life, formaliter et causaliter. Life was formally in Christ, as the subject of it; and also casually in him as the fountain of it.
Learn, 1. That Christ is the Author and Dispenser of all life unto his creatures. He is the original life in the order of nature because by him man was created, Ge 1:26 He is spiritual life in the order of grace, I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6 He is eternal life in the order of glory, This is the true God, and eternal life. 1 John 5:20
Learn, 2. That all creatures receiving light and life from Christ, not as an instrument, but as the fountain from whence it floweth, and in which it is preserved, is an evident proof of his divinity, and an argument that he is truly and really God. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.