God's Eternally Begotten Son

[00:00:00] Prayer. [00:00:04] Father, we come this evening giving thanks for your Word, for the things that you have revealed to us. [00:00:12] And we recognize that you have a purpose in each and every one of these things that you've revealed to us. [00:00:23] And we know from your Word that there are many things that you have not told us. [00:00:28] Help us, Father, to avoid the pride of imagining that we can figure out mysteries, that we can solve things that you have not told us the solution to them. [00:00:44] Help us to be clear in our thinking and to accept the things that you teach to us in your Word and apply them in our lives. [00:00:55] For, Father, we recognize that there is no vain thing in your Scriptures. [00:01:00] There is nothing that is meaningless, but that each and every word that has been spoken is of value for our souls. [00:01:13] And so, Father, as we come to your Word, we ask that your Spirit would illumine us, open our minds and hearts to the truth of what yout have to teach to us, and that we would obediently accept these things and follow that way, that way that is blessed. [00:01:36] And so, Father, we ask this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. [00:01:43] Amen. [00:01:46] Turn in your Bibles to Isaiah, chapter nine. [00:01:52] I'll be reading verses two through seven. [00:02:05] The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. [00:02:10] Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them a light shone. [00:02:15] You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil for the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor you have broken on this day of Midian. [00:02:38] For every brute boot of the trampling warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. [00:02:50] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. [00:02:57] And the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, of the increase of his government in a peace there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness. From this time forth and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. [00:03:32] Thus ends the reading of God's word. Please be seated. [00:03:48] The title of my sermon this evening is God's Eternally Begotten Son. [00:03:56] And I trust that that's a familiar phrase to you. [00:04:01] You often recite that. [00:04:04] The Nicene Creed. If you'll turn with that turn to that with me so that you can see that in the back of your Psalter hymnals on page 852. [00:04:27] Notice how many times the word begotten appears here in the second paragraph, where it says that I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made. [00:05:14] What does it mean to be eternally begotten? [00:05:20] It almost sounds like a contradiction in terms, because when we think about all the times in the Old Testament where the word begotten, begat, or begotten is used, it's in the context of time, isn't it? [00:05:34] A man lived a certain number of years and he begat a son who lived a certain number of years and begat. [00:05:42] And it's a series within the context of time. [00:05:46] But when we talk about eternally begotten, we're not talking about an event in time. [00:05:55] And for us human beings, it's very difficult to imagine timelessness because we've never experienced it and we never will. [00:06:08] I know there's a popular saying that time will be no more. [00:06:15] That verse that that's based on in the book of Revelation, if you look at it in context and consider it, what it's saying is not that there won't be time, but the time will be up. [00:06:30] There'll be no more time for this life, for the things that go on here. [00:06:37] We are creatures of time, and time is a creation. [00:06:45] I think that's a fascinating thought that even modern science, not that it's full of all sorts of wisdom, but even modern science recognizes that time had a beginning, and it's very much a part of the creation. [00:07:11] But the Son of God did not have a beginning, and he is not in his essence as God's Son, a created being. [00:07:32] Turn with me to John, chapter one, where John, in giving his Gospel account for us, begins it in this way. John 1:1. [00:07:56] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He who was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made. That was made in him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. [00:08:31] And then skipping down to verse six, the true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. [00:08:40] He was in the world, and the world was made through him. [00:08:46] Yet the world did not know Him. [00:08:49] He came to his own, and his own people did not receive Him. [00:08:57] But to those who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. [00:09:11] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. [00:09:18] And we have seen his glory as the glory of the only begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. [00:09:36] The only begotten Son. I know in some of your translations it may say the only Son, the unique Son. [00:09:45] Look it up. It's an interesting Greek word. [00:09:50] It's two words put together. [00:09:53] One word meaning only mono. [00:09:58] We have that term in English, meaning only one. [00:10:03] If you're old enough, you can remember there were records that were. [00:10:07] Maybe I need to explain what a record was. That disc that you put the needle on. Anyway, there were some that were mono and there were some that were stereo. [00:10:17] But mono means one. [00:10:21] But genus. [00:10:25] Genus can be translated begotten. [00:10:28] And the early church fathers considered it as such. The King James Version, the new King James translation, the new international, the American Standard. I could go on and on through a number of English translations that. That use the word only begotten son. And I think it's important to stay with that. [00:10:59] I want to start with one of the easier verses to explain this from. [00:11:06] And that is John 3:16. [00:11:14] John 3:16. [00:11:17] I think we could all recite that verse. [00:11:22] I'm sure the older ones of us would recite it in the King James Version. I'm not sure that the younger ones have learned it in the King James Version, but they may even be familiar with the way that it is worded in the King James Version. [00:11:36] Let's recite that together. [00:11:39] For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in him should not perish, but have lasting life. [00:11:59] He gave his only begotten Son. [00:12:08] The verse there does not say that God the Father gave the Word, who became the Son. [00:12:21] And that's the error, that the only begotten Son, the point of that being an eternally begotten Son, expresses because he did not give and Jesus became, but the one that he gave was already His Son. [00:13:02] Turning back to the passage that I read, the familiar passage that is in Handel's Messiah, it's one that around the Christmas time is often quoted for to us a child is born, to us a son is given. [00:13:24] I remember hearing a preacher one time explain that reversing that term son and child would be inappropriate to read it. For to us a son is born, and to us a child is given. [00:13:51] A child is born, that baby, that baby in the manger. [00:13:58] But that baby was already a son, because that's what was given. [00:14:08] He was indeed born as a child. And in the sermon that I preached about Mary, emphasize that that the one that Mary carried in her womb indeed is God. [00:14:23] He didn't become God at some point. [00:14:27] He is not a lesser God. [00:14:30] He is indeed the very Son of God before he is born. [00:14:50] And then to look at a little bit more difficult passage, and it's the one we sang from Psalm 2. [00:15:02] It's a line that I think has misled some Dr. [00:15:34] Verse 7, Psalm 2. [00:15:41] I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you. [00:15:54] Now, on the surface of that it might appear, and some interpreters have done that to it, they've said that there was a day when Jesus became God's son, a day in time, today, that day. [00:16:12] But on a more careful look at that passage, again, reversing it, does not say the same thing. [00:16:30] Today I have begotten you. You are my son. [00:16:35] I have one son, a unique son. [00:16:43] There was a day when he was begotten, but he was not my son before he was begotten. [00:16:57] The Son here is a son before he is begotten. [00:17:11] What are we to make of this? Well, in the New Testament we're given a couple of instances. Acts, chapter 13 and verse 33. [00:17:59] Here the apostle Paul is preaching, and he's preaching to fellow Jews. [00:18:13] I'm going to start my reading with verse 26. [00:18:16] Paul says to them, brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God to us has been sent the message of this salvation for those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him or understand the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. [00:18:43] And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead. And for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. [00:19:10] And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children, by raising Jesus as also it is written in the second Psalm. You are My son, today I have begotten you. [00:19:31] And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead no more, to return to corruption, he has spoken this. I will give you the holy and sure blessing of David. [00:19:44] Therefore he also says in another psalm, you will not let your holy one see corruption. For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption. But he whom God raised up did not see corruption. [00:20:06] Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. And by him, everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. [00:20:22] Beware therefore, lest what is said in the prophets should come about. [00:20:28] Look, you scoffers, be astonished and perish. For I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe even if one tells it to you. [00:20:54] Paul is making the point here that this Jesus is the Promised One, that he is the Son. [00:21:13] And he goes on to talk about the resurrection. But it is not to suggest that the resurrection was when Jesus became the Son of God. [00:21:31] Let's look at a couple of other passages that mention this, and they're in the Book of Hebrews, Hebrews 1:5. [00:22:02] The writer asks the question, for to which of the angels did God ever say, you are my son, today I have begotten you. [00:22:18] Or again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. [00:22:26] And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, let all God's angels worship him. [00:22:37] Notice there in the context, he's bringing the firstborn into the world. [00:22:51] When the Scriptures speak of Jesus as God's firstborn, again, that is not a reference to time, but position. [00:23:01] I don't have time this evening to go into all the passages in the Old Testament, but just kind of briefly look at it. [00:23:11] God refers to Jacob as his firstborn. [00:23:23] And we all know it was Esau that was the firstborn, wasn't he? [00:23:30] God refers to Abraham's son Isaac as the firstborn, but we know that he wasn't the firstborn. And you'll see this time again in the Old Testament, firstborn is not chronological, its position. [00:24:08] It's a unique position. [00:24:13] And that's what is being spoken of here. And then also in chapter five of Hebrews and verse five, we're told so also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, you are my son. [00:24:39] Today I have begotten you, as he also says in another place, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. [00:24:56] These are timeless concepts, and it's tough for us to think in those categories. [00:25:10] It's hard enough to sometimes remember our past. I spoke with two young people this morning. Both told me they were 12 years old. [00:25:20] And I was able to tell them I remember being 12 years old. 1960. [00:25:27] It was quite a time to be alive back then, but my very earliest days are sketchy. [00:25:55] God makes his purposes clear. [00:26:05] God proclaims Jesus as His eternal Son. [00:26:27] There are many other passages that we could look at, and I would encourage you to look into the matter for yourself, to search further the Scriptures and consider the times that the Scriptures speak about Jesus as the Son of God. [00:26:50] And you will find that it's not with some beginning here in time, but rather it is a timeless relationship. [00:27:02] The Trinity itself is a mystery. And a mystery isn't something that you don't know about, but it's something you wouldn't know if you hadn't been told. [00:27:20] The Trinity helps us to deal with a number of things in Scripture. [00:27:26] One is a passage in Isaiah where God says that when he created the world, no one was with Him. [00:27:38] No one else was with him. [00:27:41] And John 1:1 says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. But it also says the Word was God. [00:27:58] The wonders of what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ are seen in that relationship that goes back before time, a relationship of love. [00:28:17] In the New Testament, we have that verse that says God is love. [00:28:21] And I pointed out to a group of young people about that. I said, now don't reverse that. [00:28:28] Love is not God. If you make love your God, you're in trouble. [00:28:35] And that when the Scriptures say love is God, it is saying that God defines love. Love doesn't define God. God defines love, what true love is. [00:28:55] And I remember asking someone one time who was having a little problem with this idea of Trinity. I said, you believe that God is love, don't you? He said, yes, that's in the Bible. It's right there. [00:29:11] And I said, I tried to get my phrasing right. I think it's whom. Whom did God love before he created man, before he created the angels? [00:29:32] And I answered the question for him. I said, the Father loved the Son, the Son loved the Father. And there is a love relationship there as well with the Holy Spirit. [00:29:50] There was a relationship of love in the Godhead. [00:29:56] God did not create the world to have someone to love. [00:30:01] I know that's A popular notion some Christians have, but you won't find that in the Bible. [00:30:10] He does love us. [00:30:12] He did create us. [00:30:15] But he has a love that is far beyond that and is eternal and a relationship that is amazing. [00:30:25] And to think. [00:30:28] To think that the loving Heavenly Father would send his only begotten Son into the world to die for sinners like us, that's amazing. [00:30:47] That's something that I can't tell you from a human perspective and understanding. Why would he do that? [00:30:59] But it is only to be seen in God himself, His character, his love, his only begotten Son. [00:31:10] Not made God of God, Light of light, very God, of very God. [00:31:24] Let's look to God in prayer. [00:31:30] Father, once again we confess that we do not understand all these things. [00:31:36] And yet you've revealed them to us and you've told us these things and we must accept them for what they say. [00:31:48] And you have given us the gift of faith that we might believe things that the world would mock at, that we might believe things that we do not fully understand and comprehend. [00:32:11] And yet, knowing you and knowing your love for us is enough reason for us not to doubt anything, not one thing that you would say to us. [00:32:32] And Father, we give praise and thanks to you for the grace of repentance. [00:32:43] For we recognize that repentance indeed is a grace. It's not a work that we do. [00:32:49] It's not something that we accomplish. [00:32:53] It's not something that we can do on our own. [00:33:00] And yet, Father, you grant that to us, that we might know the forgiveness of sins and the joy of your salvation, the salvation that you have accomplished through your Son, Jesus Christ. [00:33:25] In his name we pray. Amen.