Who did the Father say Jesus is?
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”Matthew 3:17 (KJV)
The question that strikes the Trinity
If thou be the Son of God
The devil did not begin his wilderness assault by questioning the Sabbath. He attacked Sonship. Two thousand years later the question has returned in theological robes: is Jesus Christ actually the Son of God, or has Son become only a metaphor?
Father and Son
Either God gave His Son, or Scripture's family language has been emptied.
John does not say God gave a metaphor. Paul does not say God spared not a symbolic role. Heaven did not say, This is my functional designation. The Bible says Father. Son. Only begotten. Sent. Came forth. Spirit of His Son.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.”
John 3:16 (KJV)“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.”
Romans 8:32 (KJV)The issue is worship.
If Sonship is only metaphorical, what did the Father give? If Father is only a role, whom did Jesus reveal? If the Spirit of His Son is treated as someone other than Christ's own promised presence, who comes to live in the believer?
This is larger than a debate. John says, “He that hath the Son hath life.”
15 unbeatable KJV questions
Let the Bible answer the Sonship question.
What title did Satan challenge first?
“If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”Matthew 4:3 (KJV)
What did God give for the world?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.”John 3:16 (KJV)
Did the Father spare a metaphor?
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.”Romans 8:32 (KJV)
Did Jesus come from the Father?
“I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world.”John 16:28 (KJV)
Was Jesus sent by His Father?
“I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.”John 8:42 (KJV)
Whom did Jesus call His God?
“I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”John 20:17 (KJV)
What confession brings life?
“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.”1 John 5:1 (KJV)
What fellowship did John preach?
“Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”1 John 1:3 (KJV)
Who has life?
“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”1 John 5:12 (KJV)
What does antichrist deny?
“He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”1 John 2:22 (KJV)
Can a man have the Father while denying the Son?
“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father.”1 John 2:23 (KJV)
Whose Spirit enters the heart?
“God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”Galatians 4:6 (KJV)
Who promised to come to believers?
“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”John 14:18 (KJV)
What is eternal life?
“That they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”John 17:3 (KJV)
1872 versus 1980
Put the documents side by side.
The first published Adventist statement and the modern official statement do not speak the same way about God and His Son. Read both. Let the documents testify.
1872 Pioneer Record
- One God, a personal spiritual being.
- Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father.
- Pioneer language rooted in Father and Son.
- Read the 1872 beliefs page
1980 Modern Official Record
- Fundamental Belief No. 2: The Trinity.
- One God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three coeternal Persons.
- Modern denominational formulation adopted at Dallas in 1980.
- Compare the Trinity study
Proof exhibits
Questioning the Sonship of Christ like Satan questioned it.
The evidence below belongs on the table. Read the official and published language. Then place it beside John 3:16, John 20:17, 1 John 2:22-23, and Galatians 4:6.
John 14 without a theology book
Who promised to come?
Jesus said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” He said, “I in you.” He said, “We will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” Paul called this “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
“God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6 (KJV)The last question
The Father said, My Son. Peter said, the Son of the living God. John said, His only begotten Son. Paul said, the Spirit of His Son. Jesus said, I will come to you.
Who will you believe?
What shall we do?
Have the Son, and have life.
The men at Pentecost were pricked in their heart. The answer was repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Search the Scriptures. Read the pioneers. Compare 1872 with 1980. Receive the Spirit of His Son.