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God the Son never existed, but is Jesus the Son of God?
by Isaac Mwangi To draw mankind closer to himself, God has often used figurative language and comparative human relationships to describe the situation he desires. One of these has to do with fatherhood, specifically the use of the word "Father". In ordinary human relationships, a father implies the existence of other kinsfolk such as a mother, grandfather, grandmother, sons, daughters, and so on. But when the word "father" is used figuratively in respectful reference to somebody considered qualified to carry that distinction, such as a "spiritual father", common sense tells us that these other relationships are never implied. Right from the Old Testament days, God was time and again referred to as "Father". This was merely reverential and did not imply any family relationships within the so-called Godhead, since the Jews never had a theology of a multiple personhood of God in the first instance. If the Father is referred this way in relation to us, however, the Son is not. The Father is our Father, and that is what is meant when we speak of God the Father. Evidently, the Son is not our Son, and would not in this context qualify to be called God the Son. The Bible calls Jesus the Son of God but never God the Son. The difference is not just a matter of semantics. Similarly, the reference to God as the Father should never be construed as implying the existence of a God the Mother, or God the Brother, or any other such relationships. It is quite obvious that the Son is only so in relation to the Father. If this were a relationship between two persons or beings, one would be quite right in saying that there is such a thing as God the Son. But that is not the case. When the angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her about the pregnancy she was about to carry, he told her that, "The holy one to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). What this means, in plain language, is that the "Son of God" was a reference to the humanity of Jesus and not some eternal state. This interpretation is corroborated by Colossians 1:16, where Paul says that the Son "is the image of the invisible God." And so, while no one has ever seen God, Jesus was a visible image or personification of God, much in the same way as the burning bush and the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament. The Son of God having been a figurative and non-filial relationship, the existence of a Son of God should never imply that there ever was a Mother of God, or a Brother of God, or anything else of the sort. That being the case, what we call the "Son of God" ceased to exist the moment Jesus ascended into heaven, in the same way that the burning bush and angel of the Lord appearances ceased to exist the moment any such manifestation of God disappeared from the earth. Jesus, who is referred to as the "everlasting father" by Isaiah, is and has always been God. The Son of God lasted for only 30 years or so. The biblical use of the word "Son" had nothing to do with a filial relationship, but rather a visible appearance with respect to our invisible God, who is spirit. How is all this important for Christians to understand? If we do not intimately know the God we say we adore, our worship will be full of ignorance and even though our merciful God understands our situation, he does not approve of ignorant worship that even moves into idolatry. If there is no such thing as God the Son, we have no business worshipping a non-existent entity. God the Son is something created by man - an idol not of wood or stone but still a falsehood firmly entrenched in the minds of millions of Christians worldwide. What about the Son of God? Since the Son of God was a temporary manifestation of the Father that no longer exists, to worship the Son of God would be equally idolatrous. It would be like worshipping the burning bush or angel of the Lord. During the life of such manifestations, they were rightfully revered and worshipped. Regardless of whatever profound impact these manifestations would have had on the believers who saw them, however, such worship in the Old Testament rightfully ceased immediately the manifestations left. The people of God would continue worshipping God in the way they knew best, realizing that the manifestations were not different entities or "persons" of God (who is never referred to as a person in the bible, anyway). What this means is that to worship the Son of God is just as idolatrous as to worship God the Son. Jesus is God and should be worshipped as such, nothing less. He is one with the Father, just as he said while on earth, because He is actually the Father and only became a visible form, or Son of God, for a short duration for our benefit. He is second to none. Isaac Mwangi is a Kenyan freelance writer and author of "The Nature of the Apostolic Church". He may be contacted via e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.minachariots.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |