Father/Son
you can’t have one without the other

Any Christian who studies the Bible should know how we are encouraged to hold fast to sound doctrine. For what is our faith if it is not based on the sound teaching of scripture? Take away doctrine, as many urge today, and division among believers may be eliminated; but any meaningful understanding of God and our relationship to Him is negated. It is with this in mind that we would examine a doctrine accepted and propagated as a mainstay of Christianity, that is, the doctrine of the Trinity. It surely affects our understanding of the relationship of our heavenly Father and His Son. Can anything be more important to the believer than to know the particular nature and role of both? If Christ is truly GOD the Son, the third person of the Godhead said to be equal with God, serious questions arise. Moreover, it must seriously impact the way we regard Him. If Jesus walked this earth not only as a man but as God, he surely had a leg up on the rest of us. Our excuse for not walking as he walked might well be that HE WAS GOD, having great advantage over us.

In view of this, as those whose eternal destiny is tied to the words of scripture, we who are followers of Christ ought to ever so carefully note Jesus’ words in John 17:3:

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

The word know used above in the Greek is ginosko that speaks of an intimate, first-hand knowledge; it is used in Matt. 1:25 of Joseph not having known (not having had sexual relations) with the virgin Mary prior to Jesus’ birth. This is the word used in John 2:25 that Jesus “knew what was in man.” Repeatedly this word is used of the believer’s personal knowledge of Christ. Surely here its use should cause us to seriously ponder Christ’s prayer for us to correctly understand the distinction between God and Christ Jesus as well as their common purpose.

What is crucial is to remember Peter’s words, “Like newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby.” What is true naturally is true spiritually. As a babe may enjoy the initial care of its parents, its appreciation of them will be ever growing. Likewise, as ones born of God, our calling is to increase in the knowledge of our Father and His Son by listening to and putting into practice  what we are told. Certainly we should come to a clear understanding of the relationship between God the Father and His Son.

However, to ponder this may well give rise to an immediate question. We pray to our heavenly Father, and we pray to Jesus. We worship them both as God. But does that mean we have two Gods? The Bible tells us there is only one God. Are our heavenly Father and Christ one and the same? Some say so. Christ is often referred to as the God-Man, but how are we to understand that? How can it be understood, considering the attributes of God and Man are so opposite? Our Bibles tell us that God is immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, an invisible Spirit who is separate from His creation and declared to be present everywhere. As members of humanity, we know full well how unlike God we are, mortal beings, limited and dependent. If a man, for instance, were to be omniscient, to possess even a single attribute of God, could he be fully human? Would he not be more accurately regarded as a superman? The same problem arises in attributing to God any characteristic of man, such as his mortality or dependent nature. For Him to be limited or dependent, God would cease to be God. But if we have studied our Bibles, we know Deity is ascribed to both the Father and to Christ. So is there an answer?

Many will say no, that it is a mystery beyond understanding. That may seem so, but the answer is there, even if not immediately obvious.  To appreciate it is not unlike solving a picture puzzle where different pieces must be fitted together. Of the many different answers advanced, invariably pieces of the picture are lacking. Beginning in the earliest centuries of the Church, no end of arguments and division arose over the nature of Christ. What was his relationship to God? Was he God? Was he both God and man? The questions and conjectures ultimately became so heated that it finally led to the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. that was ordered by Constantine after the legalization of Christianity in Rome. The end result of the Council’s deliberations was the doctrine of the Trinity, which, after no inconsiderable dissension, has come to be accepted as the answer. But most believers, if asked to give a scriptural answer for their belief in the Trinity, might be hard pressed. The Trinity seems to be a view commonly accepted without much questioning and considered perhaps to be irrelevant to believers’ lives. You might ask yourself if this is not true.

The answer—simple, but hidden

Our aim is, as much as possible, to examine the nature of God and His relationship to His Son solely in the light of scripture. To this end, we must not only examine various aspects and how they tie together, we also must avoid common presumptions that wrongly influence what we read into or out of scripture. We must remember that the majority is not always right, that no matter how well intentioned, the speculations and conclusions of men, however devout, are not on a level with the inspired word of God. Scripture must be regarded as the accurate and infallible revelation of God’s nature and purpose from start to finish. It must be approached with a spirit of complete dependency on the Spirit of God to help us understand it. Scripture is not only inspired by God but cannot be understood apart from His Spirit. As we are told, “All scripture is given by the inspiration of God” (II Timothy 3:16), and “God has revealed them [the scriptures] to us through His Spirit…” (I Corinthians 2:10). What’s more, we are told to study, “rightly dividing the word of Truth.” Failure to meet these prerequisites is conspicuous by the multiplicity of diverse interpretations of scripture that result in error. If we are guilty of stating what ought to be obvious, forgive us; but the apprehension of our subject is dependent upon practicing what we “know.” Much in God’s word is easily grasped in comparison to so much that God has purposely hidden and intended only for those with hungry hearts. With this in mind, may we “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever.” 
                                                                                              (II Peter 3:18)

Concerning the person of Christ

That Christ was totally human is clear in scripture from start to finish. Our calendar is dated from His birth. The world knows He was born in Bethlehem. Certainly every Christian knows He led a miraculous and holy life until crucified for no sin of His own. For anyone interested, the scriptures furnish remarkable detail about every facet of His life, which proved to be the complete fulfillment of over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament. Without dealing with the more commonly known aspects of His humanity, it is His uniqueness that we would consider. Scripture tells us He was made in the likeness of men. But, unlike us, He was born of a virgin, born without Sin. How important that we grasp the enormity of that! If one is to do so, there is no better place to begin than with John’s Gospel, which sheds so much light on Christ’s deity. 

During his last personal meeting with His disciples, when asked by John to show them the Father, His words in John 14:10,11 reveal truth easily overlooked for the full depth of its meaning.

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.”

His words amplified what He had told the disciples earlier when in John 5:19 He had explained:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” 

If we discard any preconceptions and take Jesus’ words at face value, we see three things. First, Christ and His Father were in a marvelous union, each in the other. Second, Jesus credited His Father with giving Him the words to speak and doing all His miraculous works through Him. Third, Jesus made it clear that He as a man could do nothing, that He could only convey what His Father showed Him.

Evident from Christ’s words is the truth that he truly is the express image of the invisible God. To behold the Son is to see the Father. As John 4:34 makes clear, “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.’”  Since His will was always to do the will of His Father, to behold Christ’s words and actions is to see God who indwelled Him. How astonishing that God would condescend to our level by means of a man, so that we might know Him! Could He have done it any other way? The answer is intrinsic to the truth of the Father/Son relationship.

You may be familiar with the verses quoted, but pause a moment to reflect upon the depth of their meaning. Often we may simply skim the surface of scripture, missing much of the light God would have us see. Consider the first of the three-fold blessing they unveil.

I. THE UNION: “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.”

Jesus’ words are profound. They reveal a union that existed in God’s purpose before creation ever took place. Speaking of Christ, I Peter 1:20 reveals, “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” We are told in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Most interpret this only in terms of Christ, which of course it includes. However, the Word, (Logos in Greek) is defined in Strong’s Bible dictionary as a thought or plan and its expression. It may legitimately be regarded, as Israel apparently did, as the grand scheme of God from the beginning to the end of His creation, Christ being the centerpiece of it in the appointed time. Think about this. In His omniscience, knowing all things that would take place from beginning to end, God determined to make Himself known through the man Jesus Christ. The Son would make known the Father; thus God would not be known solely as the Son nor as the Father but as both, as Father/Son. Working as a team, deity and humanity, together they accomplished our redemption, so that each might rightfully be addressed as our Savior. Whether we understand it or not, we certainly know, as noted above, that we pray to both.

II. THE FATHER DOES IT ALL: The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.

Let’s not overlook that it was God in Christ who made our redemption possible. Though he intentionally points us to His Son to reveal Himself, He is always behind every word and miraculous work, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself (II Cor. 5:19). Our faith is premised on such scriptures as II Tim. 3:16: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…” The word all here must include even the words Jesus spoke that he confessed were given him by the Father. Not only Jesus’ words but his works were by his Father. Jesus performed many miracles, yet he credited them to his Father. Jesus seemed to be omniscient when he saw Nathaniel under the fig tree. He appeared to be omnipotent when he calmed the storm. Nicodemus recognized that no man could do the miracles Jesus did unless God were with him (John 3:2). Behind the actions of the man was the Spirit of God to do what no man, even Christ, could do apart from his Father.

III. THE SON OBEYS HIS FATHER: “the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do”

How else could God manifest Himself? “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth,” as we read in John 4:24. Since God is Spirit, He is invisible. “No one has seen God at any time,” as attested by John 1:18. What’s more, in Malachi 3:6 we read, “I am the LORD, I do not change.”  Despite His awesome power, the invisible, immutable God needed a man, a perfect man in whom He could dwell. Only then could He make Himself known on a level we can understand and relate to. Of the many reasons why this was necessary, just one is sufficient to prove it—man’s mortality makes him subject to death, a prerequisite for a Savior. It has been said that God died on the Cross. But how could the eternal God ever die? No, but His Son could. And God has seen fit to identify Himself with His Son in an inseparable union. At the very crux of our faith relating to Christ is the truth of Romans 10:9: “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  Yes, Christ as a man could be touched with our infirmities, wounded for our transgressions, and so could God in union with His Son. But God could not die; that was something only Jesus could do. God and Jesus, each opposite in nature to the other yet having a common will and purpose, accomplished what would otherwise have been impossible.

We need to look at God anew. He is never surprised. He foresaw Adam’s sin, and He foretold the Answer that would solve the seeming dilemma. Throughout the Old Testament, He gave all kinds of pictures pointing to the coming Messiah, who would be born without sin, who would be judged on the Cross for our sins. It had to be. Too often, the absolute holiness of God is overlooked. The world makes a mockery of His holiness by asking how could a God of love not forgive us. The answer is He couldn’t, not apart from His Son. For sin to somehow come into His presence is impossible; even the tiniest taint of sin would mar His absolute perfection. No, God had to punish it, and it cost Him the death of His only begotten son. But when sin had been taken out of the way, God was free to be merciful to all who come to Him by trusting in the redemption of Christ. Let this sink in.

We have no righteousness in ourselves. No less a one than the apostle Paul declared, “For I know that in me that is, in my flesh, [in his natural self] nothing good dwells.”  God can only accept us in His beloved Son. When we trusted our lives to Him we were baptized into His death. We died to sin and the law, and we became new creations, risen with Him, recipients of His life that now dwells in us, just as His Father’s life was in Him. Read Romans 6:3,4:

“do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” 

The Bible repeatedly tells us to walk by faith in what God declares, not by our limited understanding or varying and unreliable feelings. God has said, “Thy word is truth.” Paul tells us to “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  We’re to make up our minds and count on it!

If by the obedience of faith, we know who we are in Christ, the words of Jesus should not be so much a mystery as some make it. Consider his words, “I am in the Father, and the Father in me.”  Here was the One born by the Virgin Mary without sin, who “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”  Implicit in this wisdom was his appreciation that he was “meek and lowly.” He knew full well that his nature as a man was one of complete dependency on God. Coupled with this was his complete confidence in God. So great was his pursuit of scriptural knowledge that when he was only twelve years old, His wisdom amazed those at Bethlehem. Yet, patiently waiting on God, He would be near age thirty before called to His ministry when baptised by John, who testified, “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure” (John 3:34).  Yes, unlike any other, Christ began His ministry only upon the reception of the fullness of His father, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell” (Colossians 12:19).

Now, in the event it hasn’t crossed your mind, we raise a question. If Christ, in and of himself, is not God, does it not somehow denigrate him? Further, then how can he be called God? These are legitimate questions because scripture often refers to him as God. Is there a way to reconcile this seeming dilemma? YES! We emphatically insist there is, and to the careful reader it may already be evident. In many instances Jesus acknowledged God to be superior to himself, yet now glorified in heaven, he is certainly superior to us and is rightfully our God. Though Christ was a man, he was a very special man, the chosen one of God whom God could and would credit with His deity because of their union in will and purpose. When we see Jesus we see God incarnate. Consider the man, perfect in all his ways, whose essence is described in Phillipians 2:5-9 which might be paraphrased as follows:

Look at things the same way Jesus did, who, though knowing he was a reflection of Deity in the form of a man [the last Adam], didn’t try to be equal with God [like the first Adam]. He wasn’t interested in being highly regarded but determined to be a servant. He was made just like other men; and as a man, He continually humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death on the Cross.

Indeed, by becoming identified with the humanity of Jesus, it might be said that God set aside his reputation. Instead of being set apart and unapproachable as in the Old Testament, He determined to come in the form of a servant.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER. What has been presented may be so new and different as to be difficult to grasp. Perhaps asking some questions may help; we don’t get answers without questions:

Giving some serious thought to these questions may stir a greater appreciation for the one answer to them all.

The missing piece of the puzzle—the dual nature of Christ

In Ephesians 1:11, we see that God “works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Here and in other scriptures, it becomes apparent that God had a plan and a purpose for His creation by which He would show forth His glory.

"I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,' Isaiah 46:9b,10

In eternity past, before creation, God determined exactly how He would express Himself by condescending to our level so that we might be able to know and enjoy Him. The invisible, unchanging God would reveal Himself through a visible man.  Standing outside of time, God pointed to this man throughout the Old Testament by means of many instances, types, prophecies, and even narratives between Himself and the man. God not only wrote the script; he played the parts and spoke the lines. From the time Christ was born at Bethlehem, all these prophetic scriptures would bear witness that Jesus was THE man. A close reading of the gospel of John will bear out this relationship of Christ to God His Father. Because His will was to do that of His Father, he is the perfect image of God. He, as the second Adam, is also the perfect example of man, what God intends for us to be. Here is what we choose to call the Dual Nature of Christ— the nature of God and the nature of man, each retaining its own opposite attributes, existing in one person, in a union of perfect harmony. First touched upon in 451 A.D. at the Council of Chalcedon, this truth that was termed the “hypostatic union,” even then it was not fully appreciated and remains so yet today. In essence it declared:

“In the person of Christ there are two natures (deity and humanity) united in such a way as to be without mixture, confusion, separation, each nature retaining its own absolutes.”

Though such a statement was a great milestone in the Church’s quest to understand Christ as both man and God, its full significance was missed because of the presumption that both natures belonged to Christ. No, the two natures were not united in terms of a common “substance” (as regarded in that day) but by a common will and purpose. Consider what has been said, that the Father took up residence in the physical body of Jesus. Are not the two natures evident? One is God and the other is Christ. One is the Father and the other is the Son. Two natures, each with attributes completely opposite to the other. There it is, the Dual Nature. Chalcedon had the right formula, though it reached the wrong conclusion. Influenced by the Creeds that credited Christ with both deity and humanity, the two natures were thought to be exclusively those of Christ. The Deity nature was assumed to be that of Christ–wrong! No, in Christ the Deity nature dwelled in him who was fully man—right! Scripture is always right.

So what do you think? Are our conclusions clear and in agreement with scripture? We have quoted only enough scripture to explain our case and hopefully to whet your appetite, but we trust that whether you agree or disagree, you will follow the example of the Bereans who checked out the apostle Paul in the scriptures “to see if those things were so.” Frankly, we will be surprised if you don’t have questions or agree completely with all that we say. We acknowledge that a surface reading of many scriptures may make Christ appear to be preexistent to his birth at Bethlehem and to be God in and of himself as a man. This is particularly true because of the culture in which we live that causes us to read the Bible with false presumptions. How little we appreciate the influence of Greek philosophy on the “Church fathers” who deviated from scripture to accommodate a world view. This is a truth we feel God has deliberately hidden in His word, to be revealed only at the proper time and to those who have a heart hunger for searching Him out. We are reminded of Proverbs 25:2:

“It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.”

Certainly God does not reveal the depths of His truth to curiosity seekers or the half-hearted. Indeed, to search His word for understanding is not unlike working hard to discover and mine valuable ore. May we all eagerly accept the challenge to grow to maturity by prayerfully searching out God's Word.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  
II Tim.2:15

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