The Erroneous Doctrine of the Eternal Son ship of Jesus Christ

The Erroneous Doctrine of the Eternal Son ship of Jesus Christ

1. Kingdom of the Cults, Walter Martin, p.130.

a. p. 103: “…the doctrine of eternal generation or the eternal Sonship of Christ, which springs from the Roman Catholic doctrine first conceived by Origen in 230 A>D>, is a theory which opened the door theologically to the Arian [Jehovah Witness] and Sabellian [Apostolic-Jesus Only] heresies which today still plague the Christian Church in the realms of Christology.”

b. p.101: The early Church fathers were in essential agreement that Jesus Christ pre-existed from all eternity in a unique relationship to God the Father. In the year 325 at the Council of Nicaea it was officially proclaimed that Jesus Christ was of the same substance or nature as the Father, and those who differed with this pronouncement which the Church had always held were excommunicated. Among them was Arius of Alexandria, a learned Presbyter and the Christological father of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Arius held that jesus Christ was a created being, the first and the greatest creation of God the Father, that He did not pre-exist from all eternity and that His only claim to Godhood was the fact that He had been created first and then elevated to the rank of a deity. Arius derived many of his ideas from his teacher, Lucian of Antioch, who in turn, borrowed them from Origen, who himself had introduced the term “eternal generation” or the concept that God from all eternity generates a second person like Himself, ergo the “eternal Son”. Arius of course rejected this as illogical and unreasonable, which it is, and taking the other horn of the dilemma squarely between his teeth reduced the eternal Word of God to the rank of a creation! It is a significant fact, however, that in the earliest writings of the church fathers dating from the first century to the year 230 A>D>, the term “eternal generation” was never used, but it  has been thisdogma later adopted by Roman Catholic theology which has fed the Arian heresy through the centuries and today continues to feed the Christology of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

c. ditto: The Scripture nowhere calls Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God, and he is never called Son at all prior to the incarnation, except in prophetic passages in the Old Testament.  The term "Son" itself is a functional term, as is the term "Father" and has no meaning apart from time.  The term “Father” incidentally never carries the descriptive adjective “eternal” in Scripture; as a matter of fact, only the Spirit is called eternal (“the eternal Spirit” in Hebrews 9:14), emphasizing the fact that the words Father and Son are purely functional as previously stated. Many heresies have seized upon the confusion created by the illogical "eternal Sonship" or "eternal generation" theory of Roman Catholic theology, unfortunately carried over to some aspects of Protestant theology. Finally; there cannot be any such thing as eternal Sonship . . . . the word "Son" definitely suggests inferiority."

2.   God’s Plan for Man, Finis Jennings Dake, p. 383: “The truth then is this: there were always three distinct and eternal Persons unbegotten of each other from all eternity; that only one of these eternal Persons of the Deity became a man and the Son of another of these eternal Beings by the power of the third; one took the headship part, another took the meditative part, and the third took the part of the direct operation in the plan of creation and redemption of all things. It was in the plan of the Trinity to take these respective parts long before the plan began to be worked out.”

3. Don Costello: I personally believe the Scripture in Ephesians 1:11 can be applied to the statement of Dake, in particular the words, “…according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”

a. Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

4. Old Testament References of the Son

a. Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

1). Fulfilled: Matthew 1:21-23  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

b. Isaiah 9:6, 7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

1). Fulfilled: Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

2). Only the first 13 words of this prophecy have been fulfilled and recorded in Luke 2:7. The rest will be fulfilled in the Millennial Kingdom and the Eternal Age.

c. Proverbs 30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?

1). Psalm 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

a). Fulfilled: Ephesians 4:7-11  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

d. Psalm 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

1). Fulfilled in his birth and life.

a). Acts 13:33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

(1). Arthur W. Pink (Calvinist), An Exposistion of Hebrews, “There the Apostle declared to the Jews that God had fulfilled the promise made unto the fathers, namely, that he had “raised up Jesus,” i.e. had sent the Messiah unto them. Acts 13:33 has no reference to Christ’s resurrection, but relates to his incarnation and manifestation to Israel…It was not until Acts 13:34, 35 that the apostle brought in his resurrection…Thus in Acts 13, Psalm 2 is cited to prove the Father had sent the Savior to Israel and His promise so to do had been fulfilled in the Divine incarnation.”

(2). In Acts 13:33 The translators added the word “again” in the text. It is not in the Greek text. Hence in the following translations it is left out.

(a). [NIV] he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: " 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.

(b). [NASB] that God has fulfilled this promise *to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.'

(3). Other examples of this terminology used in the Scriptures.

(a). Deuteronomy 18:18 “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”

(b). Acts 13:23 “Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus.”

e. Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

1). Fulfilled in the Millennium and the Eternal Age.

f. Daniel 3:24, 25 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, [and] spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

1). Dake: There is no definite article in the original language, so it reads “a son of God”, that is an angel.

2). [Amplified Bible] Daniel 3:25  He answered, Behold, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt! And the form of the fourth is like a son of the gods!

g. Hebrews 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

1). The first half of the above Scripture is a Messianic prophecy first quoted in Psalm 2:7. It is quoted twice in the New Testament as a fulfillment, once in Hebrews 1:5 and once in Acts 13:33.

a). As stated previously, in Acts 13:33 The translators added the word “again” in the text. It is not in the Greek text, which thoroughly explains Pink’s correct statements below.

b). Arthur W. Pink (Calvinist), An Exposistion of Hebrews, “There the Apostle declared to the Jews that God had fulfilled the promise made unto the fathers, namely, that he had “raised up Jesus,” i.e. had sent the Messiah unto them. Acts 13:33 has no reference to Christ’s resurrection, but relates to his incarnation and manifestation to Israel…It was not until Acts 13:34, 35 that the apostle brought in his resurrection…Thus in Acts 13, Psalm 2 is cited to prove the Father had sent the Savior to Israel and His promise so to do had been fulfilled in the Divine incarnation.”

2). The second half of this Scripture is a quotation from 2 Samuel 7:12-17, in particular v. 14.

a). 2 Samuel 7:12-17 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

(1). Partial fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7:12-17 is found in Luke 1:30-33: And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

b). The Book of Hebrews, Arthur W. Pink: “This second quotation is from 2 Samuel 7:12-17, which forms part of one of the great Messianic predictions of the Old Testament. Like all prophecy it has a minor and a major scope and receives a partial and ultimate fulfillment. Its first reference was to Solomon, who in many respects, was a remarkable type of the Lord Jesus. But its chief application was to Christ Himself. That Solomon did not exhaust its fulfillment is clear enough from the language of v. 13 itself, for, as Dr. Brown has pointed out, “It refers to a son to be raised up after David had gone to be with his fathers, whereas the person to be raised up, whosoever he is, was to be settled “in God’s house and kingdom” and his throne was to be “established forevermore”, words certainly not applicable, in their full extent, to Solomon.” “…I will be…” does not take us back into the timeless past”!