Essentials of the Christian Faith
The Eternal
Son
by Mike Bugal
Founder, Heartland Christian Ministries
In this next part of the Essentials series, we will discuss the doctrine of the Eternal Sonship of Jesus Christ. It's important to have a clear understanding of this principle. It is a common point of attack from the Kingdom of the Cults seeking to undermine the Doctrine of the Trinity. Without fail every cult tries to remake Jesus in their own image. To one He is the spirit brother of Lucifer; to another He is a created being who is not God; to yet another He is the flesh shell in which the Father (Who alone is God) dwelt on earth. What is the truth? Which is the real Jesus and which is another "Jesus" and another "gospel"?
Well, an FBI agent learns to tell a real dollar bill from a counterfeit by studying the real bill until he can spot a counterfeit a mile away. So, too, we will examine the real thing...God's Word.. to see what it really says. It's my hope and prayer that, in so doing, you will not only be prepared to avoid the pitfalls of false doctrine and error yourself but will also be prepared to witness to those already in that snare and assist them out of it.
"The Word was made flesh..."
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-3,14)
What better place to begin than the ultimate statement in the New Testament of not only the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also His eternal existence prior to the Incarnation. That "the Word" is Jesus is unmistakable from the context. That Jesus is God is unmistakable both from the English text and from the Koine Greek from which it was translated. For more details on the Greek, see the article "Understanding the Greek of John 1:1" on this site. John went to great lengths in his wording in the Greek to ensure that it would be clearly understood that Jesus wasn't simply "a god" but "THE God". Note also in verse 1 that John not only says that Jesus is God, but that He was WITH God in the beginning. One cannot be WITH himself. He can be BY himself, but not WITH himself. Therefore, it is clear that Jesus is neither alone within the Godhead (Oneness) nor excluded from the Godhead (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons).
Verse 3 clearly identifies the Word as the Creator of all things. Later, in speaking of the Son, the Bible says: "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Colossians 1:16-17). This clearly states that the Son is the Creator of all things. In logic, if A(The Word)=C(Creator) and B(The Son)=C(Creator), then A(The Word)=B(The Son). Therefore, in the verses above, it must be true that "In the beginning was the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was God." and "and the Son was made flesh...".
Before Abraham was....
"Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honoreth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." (John 8:54-59)
This is a very clear statement from the lips of Jesus Himself that His existence predated the Incarnation in Mary's womb. Note that He not only says that He was the One with Whom Abraham had dealings, but that He also uses a phrase that caused the Pharisees to want to stone Him: "I AM". What did God tell Moses when he asked Who to tell the captive children of Israel in Egypt had sent him? "And God said unto Moses 'I AM THAT I AM' and he said: Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, 'I AM' has sent me unto you." (Exodus 3:14) When Jesus said this He knew exactly what He was saying, and the reaction of the Pharisees shows that they understood it as well. He was saying, "I, Jesus, am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.". That's why they wanted to stone Him. More on this below.
Now, there are those who wish to say that when Jesus said these things it was the Father who was speaking and not Jesus (Whom they believe to only be the flesh). But this is reading something into the Bible that just isn't there. When Jesus spoke, He spoke as the eternal Son, the Word (Logos) made flesh. Jesus made clear on numerous occasions that He spoke ON BEHALF OF the Father, just as the scriptures make it clear that He performed creation ON BEHALF OF the Father. But it was Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, Who spoke and it was Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, Who created.
The glory that I had...
"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." (John 17:5)
Yet another clear statement from the lips of our Savior of His existence in eternity (well before the Incarnation) with the Father. There are those who try to explain this verse away by saying that "The Father had Jesus in mind from eternity.", but this is not what the Word says and so must be dismissed as an attempt to rationalize away what doesn't support their organization's doctrine. Note the "had" and the "with" in this verse. "Had" denotes existence and "with" denotes relationship to another. There is nothing here to support the notion that the Son was nothing more than "a twinkle in His Daddy's eye" in eternity.
Being in the form of God...
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:5-8)
Paul makes it quite clear here that Jesus (Who we have already identified as the Son and the Word [Logos]) is not only God, but also shows us the "voluntary nature of Christ". Note that Paul says that Jesus "made Himself of no reputation" and "took upon Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men". One can neither choose to do something nor cause it to happen if one doesn't yet exist, yet these verses make it quite clear that Jesus, the eternal Son, CHOSE to do these things and CAUSED them to happen. If the Sonship of Jesus began at the Incarnation as some would teach (or at His baptism as others say), how could He CHOOSE or CAUSE anything? He couldn't. But the eternal Son, to please His eternal Father and to carry out His plan of salvation, humbled Himself, took on the form of man and suffered the cross... voluntarily!
The Alpha and the Omega
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8)
"And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." (Revelation 1:13-18)
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:13)
Once again, we have testimony from Jesus' own lips as to Who He is. Both in chapter 1 and in chapter 22 He refers to Himself as "the first and the last" and as the Alpha (first letter of the Greek alphabet) and Omega (the last letter). In verse 8 He refers to Himself as "the Almighty" (pantokrator [Strong's 3841] ), leaving no doubt whatsoever that He is saying that He is God... not just a "flesh shell" that God inhabited or another "creation" of God. The inference from the Greek word "pantokrator" is "the One Who spoke and creation happened".
Can there be two "first and last"? In Isaiah 44:6 God says, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.". No, there is only ONE first and last... The eternal Son Who spoke and creation came into existence.
Thus we see a very important truth: the God of the Old Testament, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was not the Father (directly), but was indeed the eternal Son. Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees? "Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him:" Israel had never had any dealings with the Father directly, but always through the Son. Creation was the Will of the Father and the Son was the One Who carried out that Will.
Jesus said, "Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father." (John 6:46). Yet in Genesis 32:30 we read "And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.". Is this a contradiction? No, for the "God" that Jacob saw "face to face" was not the Father, but the eternal Son.
This is one of the most important aspects of what Jesus accomplished when He went to the cross. His Father is now become "Our Father", for the Bible says that through Him we have become heirs of God... joint heirs with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17). NOW man can have DIRECT dealings with the Father... our Father... in the Name of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son.
So
now we have established that the Father is God and that the
eternal Son is God. In our next part of the series, we will
Scripturally establish both the Deity and the Personhood of the
Holy Spirit... dispelling any notion that the Holy Spirit is
merely an impersonal "force of God at work in the lives of
believers today".