Doctrine
"...the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
John 1:14
The Bible calls the Lord Jesus Christ "the Son of God," and it is one of the most precious titles in all of Scripture. Yet it is also one of the most misunderstood. Some hear "Son" and imagine that He must be younger than the Father, lesser than the Father, or even a created being who once did not exist. The Bible teaches the very opposite. To call Him the Son of God is to confess that He is the eternal Word, of the same divine nature as the Father — God the Son, without beginning and without end.
Before there was a world to be born into, the Son already was. The Gospel of John does not begin with Bethlehem, but with eternity — with the Word who was in the beginning, who was with God, and who was God.
"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." (John 1:1-3)
And this eternal Word, in the fulness of time, took upon Himself our flesh and was born among us — the same Person, now clothed in humanity.
"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 1:14)
So the Son did not begin to exist at Bethlehem. At Bethlehem the eternal Son took to Himself a human nature. He who had no beginning entered time for us.
Some stumble at the word "begotten," supposing it must mean the Son had a beginning, as a child is begotten by a father. But in Scripture "only begotten" declares that He is the one and only of His kind — unique, unequalled, the Son in a sense no creature could ever share. It speaks of His nature, not of a starting point.
"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." (John 1:18)
Just as a son is of the very same nature as his father — a man begets a man, not an angel — so the Son of God is of the very same divine nature as God the Father. To be the Son of God is to be God of God, sharing all that the Father is.
The Lord Jesus Christ spoke of a glory He shared with the Father not merely from Bethlehem, nor from Sinai, but from before the world existed. Such words could never be spoken by a creature.
"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)
Before the world was, the Son was — and was in glory with the Father. The relationship of Father and Son had no beginning; it is eternal, as God is eternal.
If we would know what the Father thinks of the Son, we need only listen to what the Father says to Him. The Father commands the angels to worship the Son — and God does not command the worship of any creature. And the Father addresses the Son directly as God.
"And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." (Hebrews 1:6)
"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." (Hebrews 1:8)
Here the Father Himself calls the Son "God" and gives Him an everlasting throne. No higher testimony could be given.
Here is a truth that settles the question forever. The Son is the Maker of all things. Every created thing in heaven and earth was made by Him. But the Maker of all creation cannot Himself be a part of creation, for He would have had to make Himself — which is impossible.
"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." (Colossians 1:16)
When the Bible calls Him the "firstborn of every creature," it does not mean He was the first creature made — for the very next verse says He made all creatures. "Firstborn" is a title of rank and heirship: the firstborn is the heir, the one having the pre-eminence over all. He is not first in creation; He is over all creation as its Lord and Maker.
To the Muslim reader, and to any who recoil at calling God a Father and Christ His Son, hear us carefully, for we agree with you against a real blasphemy. We do not believe — God forbid — that God took a wife and produced a child. That would be a wicked and pagan thought, and we reject it utterly. When the Bible calls Christ the Son of God, it speaks not of flesh and marriage, but of the eternal Word who is of one nature with the Father, even as a son shares the nature of his father. His goings forth are from everlasting; He is no created being.
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2)
The One whose goings forth are from everlasting had no beginning. He is the eternal Son, God come in the flesh to save us.
This is not a cold argument about words; your eternity hangs upon it. Because the Son is the eternal God, His death on the cross was of infinite worth — enough to pay for the sins of the whole world. A mere creature could never have done it. And because He is the Son, God has made Him the one and only way to eternal life. You cannot have the life without having the Son.
"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5:11-12)
The whole Bible was written that you might believe this and live.
"But these 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." (John 20:31)
The Word of God ends its ancient counsel with an invitation and a warning: do not remain at a distance from the Son, but come to Him, trust Him, and bow before Him in glad submission. All who put their trust in Him are blessed forever.
"Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." (Psalm 2:12)
Will you receive Him today — the eternal Son of God, given for you? To have the Son is to have life.
"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."1 John 5:12