1. Eternal Sonship The Bible Writers confessed this truth both as a matter of personal belief, and as the common faith of the Early Church. Peter spoke for himself, and the Apostles, and the Church generally, when he replied to Jesus, saying, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." John the Baptist, who profoundly influenced the faith of men in that day, was very positive in his convictions. Speaking of Christ's eternal nature, John said, "And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." With equal certainty of faith, John the Apostle testified to the pre-existence and eternal preeminence of the Son of God. Paul has also described Christ as "declared to be the Son of God with Power." 197 With great force, John and other writers of the New Testament contended that faith in this truth was essential to salvation. Men (1) Such Faith Necessary to Eternal Life must believe that Jesus Christ was, and is, essentially and eternally the Son of God. In support of this truth, John wrote both his Gospel and his First Epistle. Declaring his purpose in the Gospel, John said, "But these (selected materials) are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing ye might have life through His Name." The same in general was true of The First Epistle, which was sent out to the Church with the Gospel. This Letter was a definition of the saved life. Of his purpose in this message, John has said, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the Name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the Name of the Son of God."8 Truth alone can honor Christ. Men must believe in the DivineHuman Savior, the Incarnate Son of God. He alone can save (2) Such Faith Alone Can Honor Christ sinful men. To be saved, men must honor Christ as the Son of God. This truth, for Christ's own sake, men must believe. In the Church of the first Christian century, two questions arose that touched the honor of the Lord Jesus. Some doubted His Humanity. They questioned whether the eternal Son of God was actually born into the world, or merely appeared so to men. Some questioned His Divinity. They debated whether "Matthew 16:16, and John 6:69; 11:27. See the discussion of these passages in the chapters below. See also 1. John 4:15; Luke 2:11; Romans 9:5. 7John 1:15-34; 1:1; Romans 1:4; Acts 9:20. 8John 20:31; 1. John 5:9-13; John 6:67-69; Acts 4:12; Matthew 1:21; Acts 10:43; 1. Timothy 2:3-6; 2. Timothy 1:8-13. the Man Christ Jesus was actually the Son of God from all eternity, Who had come to the earth, in Human form, from His Father's Throne in Heaven. On both of these questions, John the Apostle took a strong positive stand. He declared that Jesus Christ was the eternal Son of God, and that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh. Both of these points of faith respecting the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ John declared to be essential to salvation. In this view John stood not alone. With him Peter and Paul were in full agreement. So were other writers, in so far as they touched upon these points of faith. The position taken by John and the other New Testament writers was that accepted generally by the Church. Everywhere and always the satisfying faith of men has been that which alone adequately honors the Lord Jesus. That faith has always begun with the essential truth, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."9 2. Eternal Sonship Argued in the Assignment of Place and Functions to Christ before His Birth By faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the writers of the New Testament meant more than the mere acceptance of His miraculous Birth, which will be fully described in the next chapter. They did believe that. But their faith in the Divinity of Christ was far more than that. They believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, enthroned with His Father, all-powerful and gracious, from all eternity. Everywhere they insisted upon such faith in and through the position which they assigned to the Son of God, and the prerogatives which they ascribed to Him, before His Birth into the world. The descriptive references that were made concerning Jesus Christ, of necessity, reached back into eternity that was past. Many examples might be cited of such references in the Scriptures. The Apostle John, looking back into Eternity, saw there "We Know That the Son of God is the Son of God with God, and as God, and as the Creator of all things. Paul affirmed that the Son of God brought His essential Divinity with Him into the world: "for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." The Author of Hebrews has described the Christ in past eternity as the One "for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things"; and again, as having dominion over "all things, (which) were put 1. John 5:20 9 Besides the references in the last note above, see 1. John 4:15; John 3:16, 36; Acta 3:13; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 8:37; and 1. John 4:1-3. under Him." John the Baptist declared that "the Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hands." Peter, describing Christ's appointment as an Atoning Sacrifice for sin, speaks of Him as "foreordained before the foundation of the world, but. manifest in these last times." Paul, in a passage of great strength and beauty, has declared that the pre-existent Son of God was the express image of the invisible God, the absolute Creator and Sustainer of all things in Heaven and in the earth, the Head of the Church, the Source of redemptive grace, and the One in Whom, and under Whom, the unity of the world was and is organized. These statements clearly point to Christ as being in Eternity, before Time began. They argue conclusively that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and that He had a place on His Father's Throne from all eternity. Concerning this truth, the writers of the New Testament spoke and wrote with very definite confidence.10 tions of Christ's Humiliation The truth of Christ's eternal Sonship was clearly, and often emphatically, written into the descriptions of His Humiliation. In fact, this truth is an integral part of such 3. Eternal Sonship descriptions. The Son of God was always Seen in the Descrip- spoken of as coming into the world from a previous state of eternal glory, and never as having begun to be at the time of His Birth in Bethlehem. Always Christ was spoken of as having come down from Heaven to the earth. Always He was thought of as the Son of God Who had also become the Son of Man, for the purpose of carrying out the Plan of Salvation. These descriptions of His Humiliation fall into two groups. (1) One-way Descriptions of Christ's Humiliation There are the one-way descriptions. These describe only the Humiliation of the Son of God, but always point definitely to His pre-existent glory with the Father in Heaven. A typical example of such one-way descriptions is seen in the following words of Paul: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich." Such also was the meaning of John's memorable statement: "And the Word became Flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father." John the Baptist also described Christ as "He That cometh 10John 1:1, 3; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 2:8-10; John 3:35; 1. Peter 1:20; Colossians 1:13-23; Ephesians 3:6-11; Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3, and many other like passages. from above," and as "He That cometh from Heaven." Paul likewise, in another passage, contrasting Christ with Adam, declared that "the Second Man (Christ) is the Lord from Heaven." Frequently, in such descriptions, the writers, and those who have been quoted, have magnified the heavenly riches and the glory which Christ gave up in His willing humiliation of Himself in order that He might become the Savior of the world. Always the Scriptures have represented Christ as having emptied Himself of an eternal glory which belonged to Him as the Son of God, and as having descended to the earth from His pre-existent position at the Throne of His Father in Heaven. That truth is prominent in all of the one-way descriptions of the Lord's Humiliation.11 Humiliation and There are also the full-cycle descriptions. These present the Humiliation and also the subsequent Glorification. The entire Gospel Records represent this full-cycle ac(2) Full-Cycle De- count of the Son of God. Such a full cycle scriptions of of humiliation and exaltation has been Christ's formally outlined by Paul in his Epistle to the Philippians, in the passage referred to in the note below. The same cycle is seen also in the following statement of Paul to Timothy: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the Flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." Such full-cycle descriptions might be multiplied. In them all one truth has an outstanding emphasis. The writers of the New Testament, and also of the Old, have thought of Christ's Birth into the world, and of His sojourn in the world, as mere incidents in the larger Life-Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was the Son of God from all eternity unto all eternity.12 4. Eternal Sonship The Mission of Christ was from all eternity. He was sent by His Father into the world. So thought all the New Testament writers. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." These words refer to the whole Mission of Christ, and not merely to His Death on the Cross. They hark back to an eternal Gift. Here is the proof. "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love.. Declared in the 11See 2. Corinthians 8:9; John 1:14; 3:31; 1. Corinthians 15:47; and compare John 17:5, and 24. 12See Philippians 2:6-11; r. Timothy 3:16; Acts 3:13; and Hebrews 2:9-10. that (God) loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. . . . The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world." In this thought the Bible writers are unanimous. Scriptures might easily be multiplied that argue that the Son of God, in response to an eternal Mission from His Father, came from Heaven as the Savior of the world.13 "I Speak That Which I Have Seen with My Father" John 3:30-36; 8:38 3. The Eternal Sonship of Christ Confirmed by the Inner Consciousness of His Own Divine and Eternal Nature. The Son of God spoke for Himself. He spoke what He knew personally from an eternal experience with His Father. This was the final testimony in all questions about the eternal Sonship of Jesus Christ. The Lord Himself knew the facts. He declared the nature, and attributes, and perfections of His own Divine Personality. He spoke also, and acted, always in the light of a deeper consciousness that He was the Son of God from all eternity. The Divinity that was in the Son of God was the final authority on His own eternal nature.14 Jesus Christ, on several occasions, declared His own pre-existence, and did so in such a way as to emphasize Himself as having been with His Father from all eternity. Dur1. Pre-existence ing His Trial, when placed under oath by and Eternal Sonship Declared by Christ the High Priest, Jesus was asked whether He was "the Christ, the Son of God." The question had reference to His eternal nature. the strong affirmative, "Thou hast said." equivalent to His saying, "Yes, exactly so." when contending with His enemies about this very question of His own eternal pre-existence, the Son of God said to them, "Before Abraham was, I AM." In this argument, Christ applied to Himself that ancient Name which was used to designate most sacredly the eternal self-existent and almighty God; and the Lord Jesus made this claim to defend His own eternal Nature, and Mission from His Father in Heaven.15 Jesus replied with 13John 3:16; r. John 4:9-14; John 1:15, 18, 30. Christ was always thought of as coming from Heaven into the world. He said Himself, "I came down from Heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him That sent Me." (John 6:38). Jesus frequently spoke of His having been sent, and of His coming into the world. (Mark 10:45; John 6:33; 8:42; 10:10; 16:27-30; 17:8, 25). He also spoke of His returning to His Father (John 3:13; 6:62; 20:17). John said, "We know that the Son of God is come." (r. John 5:20); and that He was manifested to destroy the works of the Devil (1. John 3:8). Paul spoke of Christ as "the Lord from Heaven" (1. Cor. 15:47); and he described the full cycle of Christ's coming from and returning to the Father (Note 12 above). Finally, Christ summed up the truth in John 16:28. 14This conscious Divinity qualified the Lord Jesus for His most humble services. Compare John 13:3. 15 Matthew 26:63-64; Luke 22:69-70; John 9:35-37; John 8:58; Exodus 3:14; and Matthew 22:41-45, with the narallel passages. Christ said that in His Death His char |