The Son of God

KEY VERSE: “Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” —Matthew 14:33

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Mark 1:1, 4-11; 9:2-8

JESUS was called God’s only begotten Son. (John 1:14; 3:16,18; I John 4:9) This does not mean that other spirit beings brought into existence were not God’s sons, for they were called sons as well. (Gen. 6:2,4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:4-7) However, by virtue of being the sole direct creation of his Father, the firstborn Son was unique, different from all others of God’s sons, all of whom were created or begotten by God through the firstborn Son.

In John 1:1 we have a scripture describing the true relationship that exists between God the Father and the Son. The text reads, “In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with the God, and the Logos was a god.” (Diaglott, interlinear)

First, it is well to know the time period that “the beginning” refers to. We believe that the apostle is here making an evident allusion to the first words in the Book of Genesis. But in this instance he is not limiting the meaning of the phrase to a point in time—the beginning of creation—but to the absolute pre-existence before any of the great works of creating the heavenlies was done. This thought is verified in verse three, which reads, “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”

In Proverbs 8:22-31, RSV, there is a remarkable confirmation of the beginning of the Logos. This text reads: “The Lord created meat the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth; before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the sons of men.”

The word ‘possessed’ found in the King James Version is the Hebrew word ganah, which is a prime root and means to erect or create, and should have been so translated. God had no beginning, nor does he have an ending. (Ps. 41:13; 90:2; 106:48) But God’s work did have a beginning, and that was the creation of the great and powerful spirit being whom he called the Logos. The Apostle Paul stated, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” (Col. 1:15-17) In harmony with this text are our Lord’s own words, “the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.”—Rev. 3:14

So, the beginning referred to in John 1:1 is the very beginning, before anything else existed except Jehovah, and it was then that the Word (the Logos) was created.

It should be obvious that the Scriptures do not support the thought that God and his Son are one person. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, and knowing the terrible experience which was ahead, he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me; nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” (Mark 14:36) The Heavenly Father’s will was ever foremost in our Lord’s life, therefore, he could truly say, “I and my Father are one.”

In John 14:9 Jesus told Philip, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” But Jesus in the context explains what he means. He felt that Philip should have become aware of the perfection of his life, his mercy, love, and goodness. In other words, Philip should have recognized the complete harmony of his life and character with that of his Heavenly Father. And in this sense he had seen in Jesus all that he would ever discern of the Heavenly Father.

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