Son of God: July 2011
Table of Contents
The Son of God
The eternal Son of God entered this world as Jesus Christ the man and that is “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The wonder of His Person is the theme of our eternal worship. To know the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom He sent into the world to make Him known, is life eternal. He, the Son of God, came into this world as the Son of Man that we the sons of men might become the sons of God. We must not, we dare not, attempt to reduce the glories of His Person to something that our finite minds can understand, but thanks be to God, we know our Lord Jesus, we worship Him, we adore Him, and He is the object of our hearts and lives. We desire more and more to be able to stand in truth with the Apostle Paul and say, “For me to live is Christ.” “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). As we gaze upon His Person as Son of God in this issue, may each of our hearts fill up and overflow in worship of Himself.
The Person of the Son
The blessed Person, life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth are set forth in the four Gospels. The chief feature in Matthew is His presentation as the Messiah; in Mark, as the Prophet and perfect Servant of God; in Luke, as the Son of Man; and in John, as the Son of God. In beautiful keeping with this, our Lord’s genealogy is traced in Matthew to David and Abraham, is omitted in Mark, is traced back to Adam in Luke, and is also omitted in John as it is obvious that, as the Son of God, He had none. At the same time, in all the four Gospels, other titles, names and traits are also brought forward, but the above is the salient feature of His presentation in each.
The Word Incarnate
In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, the varied glories of the ever-blessed Son of God come out in a most marked way. It commences with the sublime statement, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word existed eternally. The Word never had a beginning. In the beginning the Word already was, and the Word was with God. The latter clause brings before us distinct personality, and, moreover, the Word was God, which shows His deity, so that in this wondrous verse we have before us the eternity, personality and deity of the Word — His glories before creation and which eternally abide. As another has beautifully written of Him, “He is, and He is the expression of, the whole mind that subsists in God — ‘the Word.’ ”
The Holy Spirit adds emphatically, “The same [or, He] was in the beginning with God,” thus carefully guarding His distinct personality in eternity, before creation and time.
And this wondrous divine being, the Word, who was with God and who was God, was the Creator. “All things were made by Him.” He it was who spoke, and it was done, who commanded, and it stood fast. He it was who called heaven and earth into existence, who studded the boundless sky with untold myriads of mighty orbs, who said, “Let there be light,” and there was light, who clothed the earth with greenery and gave life to every living thing. All things, visible and invisible, were made by Him. Every living creature in heaven or on earth, every principality, power, might, dominion, the innumerable company of angels and the whole race of man all owe their existence to the mighty fiat of the everlasting Word. “Without Him was not anything made that was made.”
“In Him was life.” It was nowhere else. The Word, God, is its eternal source and spring. The life was ever in Him. “And the life was the light of men.” The life was revealed, manifested down here in the world, “the light of men,” as we get also in 1 John 1:1-3, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you.”
The Light of Men
Men were here in darkness. The world was under the power of it through the entrance and reign of sin. Men as fallen creatures had their minds and hearts darkened. But the Light appeared. “The life was the light of men.” The ever blessed Son of God, walking here as man upon the earth (sin apart), Jesus, was the life. The Holy Spirit passes from the presentation of the Word in eternity to His manifestation here in time among men. He in whom was life came into the world. The life was the light of men, not of angels. But though “the light shineth in darkness,” and that with unclouded luster morally, yet so gross was the darkness that it comprehended it not. Instead of the darkness being dispelled by the bright shining light, it remained as it was. Man as such was completely under its power. Gross darkness covered the world, and there was no comprehension of that wondrous light.
John, a man sent of God, came and bore witness of the light that all men through Him might believe. “That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” The true light did not shine for that people only whom God had blessed of old, who had the law and the law is light (Prov. 6:23), but for all, for men in general. The world knew Him not, and the Jews received Him not, but there was a people who did, a people born of God, to whom He gave right to be the children of God, all believers in this day of grace (John 1:12-13). Blessed are all they who are found among them.
The Incarnation
Pursuing this wondrous chapter, we come next to the incarnation. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Wondrous grace! The eternal Word was here on the earth as man, clothed with true humanity (without sin) — holy. A real Man, Jesus, dwelt among men — the holy One of God. “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). “We have contemplated His glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 JND). How deeply blessed! Who does not know the joy of an earthly parent in an only-begotten son? How much greater the joy and delight of the Father in His only One! How wondrous that men should contemplate such a One! No man has seen God at any time. He is invisible, “dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see” (1 Tim. 6:16). He is a Spirit — light, love — the invisible God, but the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. In Him we learn here what God is, for He was Immanuel, God with us.
The Lamb of God
John the Baptist, seeing Jesus coming to him, said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” Wondrous mystery! This same blessed One is the Redeemer, the One who was about to offer Himself a sacrifice for sin — the Lamb of God. Abraham said to his son Isaac, “My son, God will provide Himself a lamb.” Here is the great antitype of whom we may take these words as prophetic — God’s Lamb, the Holy One, without blemish and without spot, the Lamb which takes away sin. He was the One who was going to die, and who, later on, did die. At Calvary Jesus offered Himself without spot to God to put away sin (Heb. 9:14,26). Sin is gone from before God for everyone who believes, and that forever. But He was on the cross in relation to the sin of the world, and eventually, as the result of His work, sin will be taken away from the world altogether. And God will establish an eternal system wherein righteousness shall dwell, based on the perfection of the finished work of Jesus, the holy Lamb of God.
Of this same blessed One, John bare record when he saw the Spirit descending on Him at His baptism, that it is He who baptized with the Holy Spirit, the Son of God (John 1:33-34). “Again the next day after ... looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!” Not only is He the sin-bearer, but the Lamb of God in whom God could find His perfect satisfaction and delight, and who, as a burnt offering on the cross, was a sweet savor before Him. Disciples followed Him as they heard John’s words, and the gladness spread from one to another, that the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed One of God, was found. Jesus Himself called Philip; the latter found one, named Nathaniel, confessing Him as Jesus of Nazareth, of whom Moses, in the law and the prophets, did write. Nathaniel confessed Him as the Son of God and the King of Israel, and Jesus, among other things, said to him, “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” This precious portion thus closes with a foreshadowing of that blessed day for this poor earth when, the curse being removed (Rev. 22:3), Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, shall reign as King of Israel, and when all things shall be gathered in one in Him, both in heaven and on earth (Eph. 1:10).
Manifold Glories of the Son
How wondrously the Holy Spirit brings before our souls in this chapter the manifold glories of the Person of God’s beloved Son! Surely every heart that knows Him and His love must bow in worship, adoration and praise, as we think of Him — He who is the everlasting Word, God, the mighty Creator, and yet became a Man that He might glorify God, accomplish redemption, and eventually deliver this groaning scene. This is He who is now seated at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, crowned with glory and honor, the triumphant Saviour in the eternal glory of God.
“Thou art the everlasting Word,
The Father’s only Son;
God manifest, God seen and heard,
The heaven’s beloved One;
Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou
That every knee to Thee should bow.”
May God engage each Christian’s heart’s affections increasingly with His blessed Person and give us a holy jealousy for the glory of His name.
E. H. Chater
The Word Made Flesh
John 1:1-13
The object of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John is to assert the personal glory of Jesus, and hence it is that there is not perhaps a single chapter in the New Testament that presents our Lord in so many different aspects, yet all personal, as this opening chapter of his Gospel. His divine glory is carefully guarded. He is said in the most distinct language to be God as to His nature, but withal a man. He is God no less than the Father is or the Holy Spirit is, but He is the Word in a way in which the Father and the Holy Spirit were not. It was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who alone was the Word of God. He only in a personal way expressed God. The Father and the Holy Spirit remained in their own unseeable majesty. The Word had for His place to express God clearly, and this belonged to Him, it is evident, as a distinctive personal glory. It was not merely that He was the Word when He came into the world, but “in the beginning was the Word” when there was no creature. Before anything came into being that was made, the Word was in the beginning with God; not merely in God, as if merged or lost in God, but He had a distinct personal subsistence before a creature existed. He “was in the beginning with God.” This is of immense importance, and with these truths our Gospel opens.
His Creation Glory
Then we find His creation glory stated afterwards. “All things were made by Him.” There is nothing which more stamps God to be God than giving existence to that which had none, causing to exist by His own will and power. Now all things exist by the Word, and so emphatically true is this that the Spirit has added, “Without Him was not anything made that was made.”
In Him Was Life
But there was that which belonged to the Lord Jesus that was not made: “In Him was life.” It was not only that He could cause a life to exist that had not before existed, but there was a life that belonged to Him from all eternity. “In Him was life.” Not that this life began to be: All else, all creation, began to be, and it was He that gave them the commencement of their existence. But in Him was life, a life that was not created, a life that was therefore divine in its nature.
It was the reality and the manifestation of this life which were of prime importance to man. Everything else that had been since the beginning of the world was only creature, but in Him was life. Man was destined to have the display of this life on earth. But it was in Him before He came among men. The life was not called the light of angels but of men. Nowhere do we find that eternal life is created. The angels are never said to have life in the Son of God. They were kept by holy and divine power. Theirs is a purely creature life, whereas it is a wonderful fact of revelation that we who believe have the eternal life that was in Jesus Christ the Son of God, and we are therefore said to be partakers of the divine nature. This is in no way true of an angel. It is not that we for a moment cease to be creatures, but we have what is above the creature in Christ the Son of God.
And this “light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” It is striking to remark here the entire passing over of all the history of the world of which we are apt to make so much, yea, even of the dispensational dealings of God with men. All is passed by very briefly indeed — those ages that man thinks all but interminable, in which God gave being to the creature and in which He may have changed over and over again the various forms of the creature, where science is endeavoring to pursue its uncertain and weary way. All this is closed up in the few words, “All things were made by Him.” Scripture, and this chapter in particular, summarizes it with striking brevity. “All things were made by Him.” The details of it were left completely aside. What was good for us to know we are told in Genesis. There is nothing like that chapter even in cosmogonies which borrowed from it. And all that man has thought or said or written about a system of the world is not to be named with it for depth or certainty, as well as for simplicity, in the smallest detail.
The Light of Men
But there is a reason why all such matters vanish after two or three words. It is because the Lord Jesus, the Word of God, is the object which the Holy Spirit is dwelling on. The moment that He is brought out, creation just pays Him homage, owning Him to be the Creator, and is then forthwith dismissed. “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” It is enough to say that He created all. He remains in His own grace. Now we learn what is the Spirit’s object in this. It was not to give us details of the creation; it was to acquaint us with Jesus as the light of men.
The Word of God was the light that manifested everybody: Whether Jews or Gentiles, they were only darkness. It is not therefore only that the physical creation is passed by most curtly, but the moral world is closed with almost equal brevity. “The light shineth in darkness,” and whatever the boasting of the Gentiles and the law of the Jews, here all is measured and put out, as it were, by the true light, the Word of God.
The Witness of the Light
Then we find John brought in. The reason why he is singled out from all others I believe to be this: He was the immediate forerunner of the Lord Jesus. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe.” John might be a burning and a shining lamp, but he was only an earthly and derived light. Jesus is the light, the true light, which (as rightly rendered) on coming into the world lights every man. It is speaking of the effect of Christ’s coming into the world. He is the One that casts His light on everyone here below.
Other Glories
We have other glories of His brought out afterwards. We hear of Him as the Son, the Lamb of God, the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, the King of Israel, and the Son of Man. All these are successively unfolded to us in this chapter. Indeed it would be difficult to say what glory of our Lord is not presented here except that of Priest and of Head of the church. The business of John was to show His divine personal glory, yet as man on earth. Priest was what He was called to be in heaven, and as Head of the church He is there also. But John shows us what He was in Himself as coming from heaven and that He does not lose one whit of His glory by becoming a man. In His being Priest and Head of the church we see special glories which He received on going up to heaven, and these Paul develops fully. John’s point is God and the Father manifested on earth in the person of Jesus Christ His Son.
May we seek to make Him known to every creature with all our hearts in the measure of power the Lord has given us, honoring thus, and in every other way, the Lord Jesus, whom the Holy Spirit loves to honor.
J. N. Darby, selected
Jesus, Heir of All Things
In the first chapter of Hebrews, we find scriptures quoted which reveal to us various dignities and glories of the Lord Jesus. Some of them speak of that which is permanent and eternal, others of that which is transitory. “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son” (vs. 5) appears to be quoted from the typical prophecy about Solomon (2 Samuel 7:12-16) and to be connected with the earth, the glory of government.
Thus we have in this chapter the glory which Christ has as the Son before the world was, the glory which He now has, and the glory which will be displayed when He is ushered again into this world, as it is written, “When He bringeth again [margin] the First-begotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him.”
His Coming Glory
From the dignity of His Person and from the glory which He now has, we may learn a little of what that coming glory will be. But the first moment that we shall really know that glory is when God thus commands the angels to worship Him. It will be the time of the “manifestation” of our own glory as “sons of God” (Rom. 8:15-19; 1 John 3:1-2). And this is what the Apostle means when he says, “If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him” (1 Thess. 4:14). When He comes in His glory, we shall be in the train of that glory. The moment after He had purged our sins He could take His place on the throne of God, the pledge of the church’s final glory (Heb. 6:20). The moment He comes again, we shall be made practically to know the result of His work, in the glory. Intermingled with our experience of glory, now there must be a trembling, for glory is always terrible to nature, the judgments of God terrible to human feelings. But we are told that when He comes again, when we are brought into the glory, we shall be made like unto Himself, and this by God’s transforming power. He is able to make us like unto Christ, and that in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor. 15:49-53). We shall have none of the feelings of our present nature, of old humanity then. All that is of mere nature will be broken off and laid aside, and we shall be like Christ.
“Of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine hands: they shall perish; but Thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail” (Heb. 1:7-12).
Who is this displayed as King on His throne — praised by angels — around whom all things are gathered? The living and eternal God. Christ Jesus may have been under the pressure of Satan and of death for a season — wondrous thought — yet is He unchangeably God. Nothing can alter or affect His essential and eternal Godhead and glory.
His Fellows
And we are spoken of as “His fellows.” We cannot understand the nature of our union with Christ. Godhead is not ours, nor ever can be, and yet we shall have capacities and powers resulting from union with Him in all that He is, even as God.
It is said that He is anointed with the oil of gladness “above” His fellows, and when that is said, all is said. It is true we are but the receivers, while He is the Source; in Him that is essential which in us is derived; yet in every felt blessing we are to be one with Him. And we shall not desire that it should be otherwise; we shall rejoice to say, “All things are of God” (2 Cor. 5:18). We shall see the fitness of our being but receivers and of His being the Source, as it is said, “His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.”
The Sceptre of Righteousness
The being anointed with the “oil of gladness” is spoken of in connection with what He was here, as loving righteousness and hating iniquity. We can easily understand that joy — it is a peculiar spring of joy to the heart of Jesus. But we may enter a little into the same character of gladness, and this we shall in proportion as, while here, we also love righteousness and hate iniquity.
The thought conveyed by the phrase “a sceptre of righteousness” is that of the shepherd’s rod. A king should be to his people what a shepherd is to his flock. Now Christ will hold the “rod” in that day as a Shepherd King, and it will be a “sceptre of righteousness.” And we shall share in His rule. But he holds it now (though not for the world, yet) for His church. Do we recognize this rod? Truth becomes practically blessed to us when looked at, not abstractedly, but as connected with ourselves.
Heirs Together With Him
When we read this chapter, we can say, “This is what our inheritance is.” If it sets us above angels, how much more so above what is natural, whether in ourselves or in others! However lovely what is natural may appear, we are far above it. With such a portion and such a glory, can we desire honor or dignity here? It gives contentment to those who are low in the world, and abasement to those who are great. These are the inward feelings produced in saints by the knowledge of the glory. In outward things there are two lines of difference among those who are one in Christ. First, as regards gifts in the church; these the Holy Spirit divides to each severally as He wills. Second, as to natural arrangements and relationships appointed of God; these things are right and good, and we find them so, when received in the Spirit. If they act on the flesh, they bring sorrow. Paul and Onesimus as to inward feelings were on a level, but in the church they had different places and gifts, so also as men.
These are great things respecting the glory of Jesus and our union with Him, but it is God’s word, and not man’s. The same word which tells us of Adam and his sin tells us of this. We did not see Adam sin, yet we believe that he sinned, and we feel the consequences of his sin. Why should we not as fully receive the testimony of God, when He speaks of our union with His Son and of the glory into which we shall be brought, as heirs together with Him!
The Christian Friend, 2:125
A More Excellent Name
“Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (Heb. 1:4).
In Hebrews 2:9, the Lord Jesus is seen taking a place “lower than the angels” by becoming man and ultimately going into death. Consequent upon His completed work of making “purification of sins” (Heb. 1:3 JND) — note the characteristic expression for those who were accustomed to earthly rituals — He is viewed in His ascension and, as such, takes a place “much better than the angels” (vs. 4).
The expression “being made” does not give the correct meaning in either Hebrews 1:4 or 2:9. Rather, it is the place this blessed One took. His ascension is mentioned first because chapter 1 emphasizes the majesty of the Son, while in chapter 2 we find His humiliation, fitting Him to be the “captain of their salvation” (typified by Joshua) and His people’s “merciful and faithful high priest” (typified by Aaron) through the wilderness journey (Heb. 2:10,17).
In chapter 1, the Son is set forth as greater than the angels; in chapter 3, greater than Moses; in chapter 7 He is viewed as the fulfillment of the remarkable type of Melchisedec and is thus greater than Abraham, Aaron and his descendants.
Angels were esteemed as significant to the Jew, especially at the giving of the law (Acts 7:53), but in view of the greatness of the Son, their role now is simply that of “ministering spirits” (Heb. 1:14). The Son is superior to the angels in every way.
The expression, “Unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son” (vs. 5), refers to the Son eternally; “this day have I begotten thee” (vs. 5) is the incarnation of the Son, a Man who is owned “Son of God” (Luke 1:35) — not in creation as was Adam (Luke 3:38); not by faith consequent upon redemption, as with us (Gal. 3:26 JND), but now, in time and in manhood the Lord Jesus is owned Son of God. This in no way denies His eternal Sonship, but it is founded upon it. “Again, I will be to Him a Father and He shall be to Me a Son” (vs. 5) is the pathway of the Son through this world. This expression does not emphasize the fact of the relationship itself, which ever existed with the Father and the Son, but conveys the practical enjoyment and consequences of that relationship. In 2 Corinthians 6:18 we see a similar thought, this time relative to the believer.
“Again, when He bringeth the first begotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him” (vs. 6) refers to the Son’s appearing in glory, which leads us to the kingdom established in power: “Unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom” (vs. 8).
Finally, at the conclusion of His 1000-year beneficent reign, the Son delivers the kingdom back “to God, even the Father” (1 Cor. 15:24), and wraps up the first material creation as one would fold up a garment and put it away. “Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the works of Thine hands: they shall perish, but Thou remainest: and they shall all wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail” (vss. 10-12).These verses take us from creation to the eternal day. The Son’s hand set the creation in order and that same hand will roll it up. Yet, He remains: “Thou remainest. ... Thou art the same” — what a comfort to the Hebrews who were leaving everything of sight behind to embrace eternal realities enjoyed only by faith! Our portion is enjoyed in the same way.
In verse 3 we read that the Son set Himself down in His own dignity and right; in verse 13, His ascension is referenced again, but this time He sits down at the invitation of God — no angel was ever so invited! As we trace the orderly development from the Son’s incarnation to the eternal state (vss. 5-12), we are again brought back to the point of where the Son is now, ascended to God’s right hand (vs. 13). As we are led through the wilderness, the Spirit of God would continually lead our thoughts to where the Son is now — a Man at the right hand of God as the object of faith and worship.
A More Excellent Sacrifice
“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he, being dead, yet speaketh” (Heb. 11:4).
If in chapter 1 we have the surpassing excellence of the Person of the Son, in this scripture we have, by inference, the greater excellence of His work in contrast to the sacrifices under Judaism (primarily noted in chapter 9 and the first half of chapter 10).
The instances of faith in chapter 11 are not random incidents recorded for our general interest, but specific acts of faith that would be of particular help to the Jewish believers at that time. The “more excellent sacrifice” is the starting point for faith.
W. J. Brockmeier
The Eternal Son of God As Man
Never was there any character down here like that of the eternal Son of God as Man — a character that has a depth and height in it that could be found in none but in God Himself and could have been sketched only by the Holy Spirit. Satan would have done all in heaven and earth to have dimmed its perfection, but he could not touch that holy, undefiled One. It was God drawing near to man according to His own character; the whole thing from the manger to the cross was divine.
It is a very real thing to have to do with Christ. When you receive Christ, you meet all the moral glory of God in the face of that Christ — not merely His glory shining there, but all the tender affections of the Father’s heart of love displayed in Him who took our form and dwelt among us as man.
Why was He to leave heaven and come down here — the perfect, matchless, peerless God-man? What was this world to Him? Ah! God had all His plans centered in that One. From the foundation of the world it was ordained that He should take up the question of sin, and whatever the ruin and the misery brought in by it, Christ was perfectly equal to turning all the ruin to His own glory.
No one but the Son of God Himself could look up in God’s face and say, “I can settle the question of sin.” None save He could look down into the heart and mind of a sinner, whether Jew or Gentile, and say, “I know exactly what you are, and I can do a work of which God can say that He has found His rest, through which He is perfectly free to deal in grace with the most wretched sinner.”
There is no part of the life of the blessed Lord in which He stands forth so conspicuously as God as when on the cross, able to meet the whole volume of God’s wrath for sin, bearing in His own body sins heaped up without number, and by the sacrifice of Himself making clear God’s right to be just in justifying the sinner. The character of God as love was displayed too, in giving His Son to be the accepted sacrifice for sin. God has never before been revealed after this fashion.
G. V. Wigram
The Eternal Sonship of Christ
The more I look into the matter, the more I am convinced that the term “only begotten” cannot be limited to His birth into the world. I believe John 1:14,18 carries it back into eternity. In verse 14 it is His personal glory as an “only-begotten” with a father (see JND translation), not something that became true only by His birth into the world. And in verse 18, it is, “Only-begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father” (JND) — something that never had a beginning. It is an eternally subsisting relationship — not His relationship with God as Messiah born into the world, according to Psalm 2, and therefore a time relationship.
Now as to the time relationship, He was “begotten”; Psalm 2 says this — ”this day have I begotten Thee.” But in the eternal relationship there is no scripture which speaks of the act of begetting. It only states what He was as Son with the Father, “an only begotten” — ”only begotten in the bosom of the Father” — not one who was “begotten.” This distinction is important.
The same difficulty might be raised as to “firstborn of every creature.” The term “firstborn” expresses His position in relation to the creature, without any question as to the time of His birth. “Only begotten” expresses His relationship to the Father as Son, a place that no other has. We are “sons” by birth and by adoption, but He alone is an “only begotten,” and Scripture does not say it is either by “birth” or “adoption.” It is, I believe, what He is simply, from eternity to eternity.
“First Begotten”
It is important to see that in Hebrews 1, a passage quoted from Psalm 2, He is not called the “only begotten.” It is, “This day have I begotten Thee,” and, “The first begotten.” It is time relationship to God and to the creature that is expressed in these two terms, though what He is in His own Person is brought out in the first three verses, “Son,” “brightness of God’s glory, and exact expression of His substance.” His place with and in the bosom of the Father is not the point here, and so “only begotten” is not used.
“Only begotten” must not be confounded either with “have ... begotten” or “first begotten.” “Have ... begotten” is connected with time and an actual begetting. “First begotten” is His title in relation to the creature, and when as such He is brought into the world, all the angels are called to worship Him. This shows His preeminence in that connection. Both these terms are in Hebrews 1. John alone uses the term “only begotten” (John 1:14,18; 3:16,18; 1 John 4:9) as applied to the Person of the Son. This of itself is significant, as John in a special way goes back before time and shows what was the glory of the Person of the Son in absolute deity. Others dwell on His official glories and relative titles, but John develops His personal and eternal glories. Even “Son of Man which is in heaven” is His divine glory — glory that flows not from His being “Son of Man,” but from what He is as God — it is His Person but as divine, and so in heaven, though bodily on earth.
“Only Begotten”
In the use of the term “only begotten,” John brings out two things — first, the glory of the Son, and second, God’s love in giving His Son. He was not only a “Son” with the Father, but an “only begotten Son”; not only “the Son” “in the bosom of the Father,” but “the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father.” There is no thought of “begetting” in it at all, any more than when we say “the Son.” It is the unique character of the relationship, as filling up the delight of the Father’s heart. Then in John 3:16 and 1 John 4:9 there is the unfolding the greatness of God’s love. He so loved the world that He gave — not only His Son, but — His “only begotten Son.” Connect “only begotten” here with time, and the force of it is lost altogether.
Holy Fear
It seems clear to me and most precious too, but I do not know that I can make others see it in the same way. I have no shadow of doubt on my mind as to it. It is an interesting subject, but one that must be looked at with care and holy fear. Mere reason will go for nothing in handling it. We have the Spirit to give us the force of the Scriptures, and that we have through grace.
A person might not be clear as to these expressions, but to deny that “only begotten which is in the bosom of the Father” is an eternally subsisting relationship would be serious error, robbing the Son of His glory and the Father of His eternal delight, as well as weakening the truth of the gospel in the expression of God the Father’s love in giving “His own,” “His only begotten Son.”
A. H. Rule, selected
“There Are Gods Many”
As a result of the wars and bloodshed occasioned by strife among the various religions in the world, a movement has arisen that preaches tolerance and promotes “interfaith dialogue” to discover common ground and work together for the sake of humanity. As part of this movement, it is being postulated that every religion essentially worships the same God, yet in a different way. Interfaith meetings have been convened to encourage research which would lead to “cooperative resourcing” to help every religion. Even among Christians, this movement has had a certain appeal and is gathering strength, especially among those who have suffered, either directly or indirectly, from religious dissension. Miroslav Volf, a prominent theologian at Yale Divinity School, has written a book, “Allah: A Christian Response,” in which he argues that the Muslim god “Allah” is the same god worshipped by Christians. Having seen serious religious conflict in his native Yugoslavia, he argues that “having common values will make it possible to negotiate differences.” Let us examine all this in the light of the Word of God.
At the beginning of man’s existence in this world, God revealed Himself to him and desired his company. But man chose to disobey God and, by bringing sin into the world, estranged himself from God. After allowing man to see the end result of his being left to himself, God destroyed the world with a flood, but saved eight people in the ark, who were then used to repopulate the earth. At this time, they all clearly had the knowledge of the true God. But what happened then? We read in Romans that “when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom. 1:21). As a result, because they “did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind” (Rom. 1:28).
Idolatry
There does not seem to have been idolatry before the flood of Noah, but afterward it developed very rapidly. Man did not want the true God, for his sinful heart wanted to indulge itself in things which his conscience, in God’s presence, would condemn. Instead, man’s imagination, energized by Satan, created gods everywhere and of every kind, for man in his nature has a spirit — a God-conscious part to his being. Immense systems were established, and the plethora of gods and religions that abound today are the result of all this. There have been variations over time and in different cultures, but there is a common theme to all false gods and false religions. These are gods suited to man’s own sinful heart — gods which he can manipulate to suit his sinful purposes. Although it may be glossed over with high-sounding moral principles, man-made religions are associated with the most frightful degradation into sinful lusts, for men make gods who will allow them to gratify their passions. To quote J. N. Darby, “Man seeks in vain to satisfy the need of his heart by means of objects which degrade him and which ultimately make him forget the true God.”
God’s Revelation
Into all this comes God’s revelation of Himself, first by His power in creation, then in His Word, and finally by sending His Son into this world. God cannot be known except by His revelation of Himself. But He has revealed Himself to us by His Word in the Old Testament, and then in a fuller way by sending His Son. The one true God has been revealed as a triune God; a God of truth, but also of love and grace. It is one of the perfections of Scripture that this has also been associated with the revelation of goodness in God, so as not to occupy us with evil, although the Word of God judges evil in its moral character.
The One True God
When all these things are carefully considered, it becomes clear that false religions do NOT worship the same God as the Word of God reveals. Rather, man has invented what suits his lost condition, although, in many cases, borrowing from divine revelation in order to try and give some legitimacy to the false systems he has set up. The Word of God is clear: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). There need be no investigation of what is false, nor can there be any “negotiation” between the false and the true. “For and if indeed there are those called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, (as there are gods many, and lords many,) yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom all things, and we for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him” (1 Cor. 8:5-6 JND). On the one hand, we are to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (Eph. 5:11), while on the other hand, we must remember that “our Saviour God ... desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3-4 JND). “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isa. 45:22).
W. J. Prost
The Glory of the Only-Begotten
“The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” This was the manifestation of the Christ as Son and declared through the Spirit by John. And it is this glory, this fullness of grace and truth, which shines throughout the public ministry of the Christ as recorded by John in chapters 1-9. And in the progress of that ministry, I have observed two attributes or actions of this glory. First, it always refuses to join itself with other glory of any kind whatever. Second, it perseveres in displaying itself in defiance of every kind of resistance.
Bible Treasury, 7:161
This Same Jesus
“Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
Sometimes we hear this scripture referred to as a touching reminder of the Lord’s coming for us (the rapture). Then someone else points out that this verse is not referring to the rapture when we rise to meet the Lord in the air, but rather to the Lord’s appearing when He again comes to earth and sets His feet upon the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4).
While acknowledging the importance of each of these great moments, I would suggest that this verse does not exactly refer to either the Lord’s coming for us or His coming with us in power and glory at His appearing.
The occasion here answers in character to His coming for us, that is, to faith and for those who look for Him, but it is at the time of His appearing. As to time, it is a private manifestation of the Lord Jesus to His own: godly Jews waiting for Him on earth — not Christians welcomed home to heaven.
The Book of the Acts picks up where the Gospel of Luke left off. (Luke wrote both books.) The Lord Jesus took a few of those who loved Him outside of Jerusalem (apart from that system that rejected Him) to Bethany (that place of communion with His own), situated near the Mount of Olives, and from there He ascended to heaven where the clouds received Him out of their sight. This is where Christianity begins. As another has well said, “Christianity begins on the other side of the cloud.” Christ glorified in heaven and the Spirit of God dwelling on earth characterize this present day. Seven years after the Spirit of God is taken out of the world, Christ will come again to earth, not to suffer but to reign.
Joseph made himself known to his brethren only after he had dismissed all others from his presence (Gen. 45:1). Likewise, when the Lord directed Thomas (a type of the repentant Jewish remnant) to His hands and side, it was a private session, for scripture records, “The doors being shut” (John 20:26). The public vindication of Christ is something every true heart yearns to see, but how precious to consider also those private moments when He reveals Himself to those He loves and for whom He suffered.
W. J. Brockmeier
Worthy Is the Lamb That Was Slain
Revelation 5:12
Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou
That every knee to Thee should bow,
Worthy of heaven’s sweetest days,
Worthy of ransomed sinners’ praise.
Worthy, O Lord, for what Thou art,
Revealer of the Father’s heart,
Worthy for deeds that Thou hast done,
For mighty victories Thou hast won.
Worthy because it was Thy joy
To leave Thy glorious throne on high,
To come on earth to do God’s will,
And all His counsel to fulfill.
Worthy, because in patient grace
Thou stoodest in the sinner’s place;
On Calvary’s cross Thy life-blood flowed,
To pay the mighty debt we owed.
Oh! who in heaven or on earth
Can utter all Thy glorious worth!
Who but Thy Father ever know
How dread Thy conflict with the foe!
Many the crowns that Thou dost wear,
Enthroned in highest glory there;
Thou Bruiser of the serpent’s head,
Thou “First-begotten of the dead.”
Yes, Thou art worthy, Jesus, Lord,
To be by heaven and earth adored;
The day draws nigh when every knee
Shall bow beneath Thy rightful sway.
M. S. S.