Part 3 of the Trinity and Salvation

John 3:16 is universally recognized in the Christian world as a concise expression of God’s love through the Gospel.  It teaches us that the object of our faith gives value to our faith.  If I believe on the Only Begotten Son, I will not perish, but have everlasting life.  Here are some of the passages that clearly teach the points enumerated in the last post about the identity of the Son of God, starting with 1 of 3:

1. The Son of God, being God and equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit has always existed and is also known as the Word. 

First, the Son of God is God.  In other words, He possesses all the qualities of Deity including character and essence.  In fact, the term “Son of God,” as Jesus used it to refer to himself caused the unbelieving Jews to accuse him of blasphemy, because it essentially refers to his Divinity, not his humanity or incarnation (John 10:31-39).

References in the Bible to the Son of God as God include:  Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Acts 20:28; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1; 1 John 5:20. 

Second, the Bible passages that show that the Son of God existed as the Son before the incarnation dismantle the Oneness and Jehovah’s Witness views of Jesus Christ completely.  These verses show that Jesus’ Sonship did not begin in Mary’s womb, but is eternal and they identify the Word as the pre-incarnate Son of God.

John 1:1-3, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

For Oneness Pentecostals, the Word is an impersonal idea or plan of God.  This key observation marks the difference between the Oneness Word and the Biblical Word.  David Bernard, a Oneness Theologian, writes, “The Word was not inferior to God; it was God (John 1:1).  The Word did not emanate from God over a period of time; it was with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2).”  [emphasis added] Notice Bernard’s use of the impersonal pronoun “it” in reference to the Word.  

Now compare Bernard’s use of «it» with the pronouns used for the Word in John 1:2-3:  “He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”  These small words communicate an important truth that translators are careful to convey in English:  the Word is a person not a thing or idea.  As a person, the Word had a relationship with the Father before becoming flesh.  This relationship continued after the incarnation, and so the personality of the Word continued in the incarnation.

Trinitarians believe that the Word is the pre-incarnate person of the Son.  According to John 1:14, the Word became flesh and his glory was as of the only Son from the Father.  The Word and the Son are the same person, Jesus Christ.

John 16:28 says, “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."

This passage shows us that Jesus was returning to God (think Ascension).  In order to return to God this way, he had to have been with God in the same sense prior to this moment.  John 1:1 tells us when that was:  “In the beginning, the Word was with God…”.

Reading these passages about the pre-existence of the Son of God as the Son, makes others even clearer:

John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

John 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.  [emphases added]

I recommend the books, The Forgotten Trinity, by James R. White and Christ Before the Manger, by Ron Rhodes for more on this point.

In the next post I'll unpack point #2: The Son of God, has always been in relationship with the Father as a Son (not in the sense of being a created offspring, but as far as relating as family can define such a bond).