It is (Re)-Written: Doctrine of God ep 4/7
- Dec 6, 2023
- 7 min read
THE EQUALITY OF THE FATHER AND THE SON
I and my Father are one. - John 10:30
What did Jesus mean when He said that He and His Father are one? Did He mean that they are one individual? Some Christians think so. Many other Christians refuse this but go ahead to describe the oneness of Christ and His Father as though they were the same individual. In what sense is Christ equal to His Father? Is it in person-hood or in nature? Consider the following verse:
(John 17:3 KJV) And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Without any doubt if Christ was on earth praying and addressing His Father in heaven, He could not again be one and the same person with His Father. He was not praying to Himself. Paul also makes distinction between the personhoods or personalities of God and the son of God with additional detail:
(Hebrews 1:1 KJV) God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
(Hebrews 1:2 KJV) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
(Hebrews 1:3 KJV) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
(Hebrews 1:4 KJV)Being made so much better than the angels,as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Paul brings out 6 solid points concerning the Son of God from the opening four verses in his letter to the Hebrews.
1. He is the Son of God
2. His Father has appointed Him heir of all things
3. His Father made the worlds by Him
4. He is the brightness of His Father’s glory
5. He is the express image of His Father’s person
6. He has by inheritance a more excellent name than the angels.
Usually points 1 to 3 are not so contentious, allow me to use an object lesson to illustrate points 4 to 6, even as Paul says that God has revealed Himself, His power and even aspects of His Godhead (divinity) in the things that He made...for saith the Scripture:
(Romans 1:20 KJV) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Take a look at the following picture of a father and a son
Does the picture satisfy points 4 and 5?
4. He is the brightness of His Father’s glory
5. He is the express image of His Father’s person
Why do you think God ordained that every living creature was to beget after its own kind? What message about Himself and His relation with His son was He passing to us?
(2Corinthians 4:4 KJV) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
(Genesis 1:25 KJV) And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good
To be an image means to be a copy. Adam was made in the image of God, physically spiritually and mentally.
When Adam came from the Creator's hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. "God created man in His own image" (Genesis 1:27), and it was His purpose that the longer man lived the more fully he should reveal this image--the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator.- (Ellen White, Education pg 15)
But Christ was begotten (born) in the express image of God. Meaning He was born in almost exact copy of God
(Colossians 1:14 KJV) In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
(Colossians 1:15 KJV) Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
(Hebrews 1:3 KJV) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
“A complete offering has been made; for "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son,"-- not a son by creation, as were the angels, nor a son by adoption, as is the forgiven sinner, but a Son begotten in the express image of the Father's person, and in all the brightness of his majesty and glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection. In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” - [Ellen White, Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895, par. 3]
6. He has by inheritance a more excellent name than the angels.
With regard to this point, we ask what name did Jesus inherit and when?
(Hebrews 1:4 KJV) Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
(Hebrews 1:5 KJV) For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
Paul mentions that Jesus inherited a name and that the name He inherited is "more excellent" than that of angels. In fact he says, it is soo much better that it makes Jesus "so much better than the angels". Paul then qualifies this point in the next verse 5 by quoting Psalms 2:7 which speaks of the begetting of Jesus.
Some Christians believe the begetting of Christ happened at His resurrection and they quote Paul who in Romans 1:4 says that Christ was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection. "And declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:" (Romans 1:4) This comes from a basic misunderstanding of what the resurrection signifies born from an eisegetical or biased reading of the text. In brief, the resurrection from the dead is not the begetting of Christ but the powerful declaration or proof that Jesus is truly the begotten son of God. We will delve deeper into this and other 'problem' texts in the final 7th article.
(Hebrews 1:6 KJV) And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Only divine beings are to be worshipped, and Christ here is worshipped because He is the first-begotten and the only begotten son of God and has inherited a name that is more excellent than the angels. Thus He is worthy of worship just like His Father is worthy of worship. He is equally God because "He has by inheritance a more excellent name than the angels"
'Name' can have various meanings in Scripture. It can mean character and reputation as Solomon wrote:
(Proverbs 22:1 KJV) A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
It can also mean nature as Moses wrote:
(Genesis 5:2 KJV) Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
In the Bible we find evidence that Christ received His nature from His Father in the following famous verses
(Colossians 2:9 KJV) For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
(Colossians 1:19 KJV) For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
The word 'Godhead' does not mean Trinity, it primarily refers to godhood, i.e. divinity. Therefore, Paul says it is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus who gave Christ His divinity, "for it pleased the Father that in him (in Jesus) should all fulness dwell". This, as we investigated in episode 3/7, took place at Jesus' begetting in eternity past. And with it Christ received all the attributes of Godhood, one example being having life in Himself:
(John 5:26 KJV) For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
The Father has original, unborrowed and underived or inherent life. He does not depend on another to be alive. However the verse clearly adds that Christ received this attribute from His Father, He received the ability to have original, unborrowed and underived life. Jesus is equal to His Father by nature, and not by personality as the Trinity attempts to do. God and Christ are one in nature, in character, spirit and heart. They are not 'one God'.
(John 5:18 KJV) Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
(Romans 1:20 ASV) For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse:
1. A son inherits the name, nature and even image of his father. Since there are aspects of the divine nature of God that are ‘clearly seen by the things that are made’ , do you think God was trying to teach us about aspects of Himself 'even his everlasting power and divinity' by giving Adam and all the animals the unique ability to pro-create in their own image?
2. Read the following quotations and deduce relevant points to our lesson
“From eternity there was a complete unity between the Father and the Son. They were two, yet little short of being identical; two in individuality, yet one in spirit, and heart, and character. - [Ellen White, Youth’s Instructor, December 16, 1897, paragraph 5]
“The Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, is truly God in infinity, but not in personality” - [Ellen White, Upward Look, pg 367, paragraph 4]
“Jehovah is the name given to Christ” - [Ellen White, The Signs of the Times, May 3, 1899, p. 2.]
“A complete offering has been made; for "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son,"-- not a son by creation, as were the angels, nor a son by adoption, as is the forgiven sinner, but a Son begotten in the express image of the Father's person, and in all the brightness of his majesty and glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection. In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” - [Ellen White, Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895, par. 3]
NEXT: THE HOLY SPIRIT SECTION 1
Comments