Jonathan, if you decide to take time it I think the rule is that you are not allowed to snow us with your âstuffâ. J Izzy
I am not getting the point here -- but, anyway, Jonathan, thanks for those four articles. Saved for future reference.
John
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jonathan Hughes
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2004 6:26 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [TruthTalk] The Eternal Sonship of Christ
Question:
What is the nature of Christâs sonship?
Answer:
Concerning the eternal Sonship of Christ, Ryrie has this to say:
I agree with Buswell (A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, pp. 105-12) that generation is not an exegetically based doctrine. The concept it tries to convey, however, is not unscriptural, and certainly the doctrine of sonship is scriptural. The phrase âeternal generationâ is simply an attempt to describe the Father-Son relationship in the Trinity and, by using the word âeternal,â protect it from any idea of inequality or temporality. But whether or not one chooses to use the idea of eternal generation, the personal and eternal and coequal relation of the Father and Son must be affirmed. Least of all should eternal generation be based on Psalm 2:7 (Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL, 1987, electronic media).
Psalm 2:7 reads, âI will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, âYou are My Son, Today I have begotten You.â The Psalmistâs reference to âMy Sonâ referred to the legitimate Davidic king (2 Sam. 7:14) who one day would reign in the person of Messiah, who, of course, is the Lord Jesus. The words âToday I have begotten Youâ speak of the day of coronation or the anointing of the King to be fulfilled in the Millennium. But in the New Testament, this is related to Christâs resurrection (Acts 13:33-34; Rom. 1:4; Heb. 1:5; 5:5). Many theologians or Bible students see Acts 13:33 to refer to Christâs exaltation via the resurrection because it clearly validated Jesusâ claims and marked Him out as the Son of God as Paul demonstrates in Romans 1:4.
Becoming flesh made Jesus Maryâs son, but not Godâs. This would suggest He had not been the Son of God and true deity prior to birth. Christâs title as Son of God is a strong affirmation of the deity of Christ. Also from Ryrieâs Theology is the following:
Son of God. Our Lord used this designation of Himself (though rarely, John 10:36), and He acknowledged its truthfulness when it was used by others of Him (Matt. 26:63-64). What does it mean? Though the phrase âson ofâ can mean âoffspring of,â it also carries the meaning âof the order of.â Thus in the Old Testament âsons of the prophetsâ meant of the order of prophets (1 Kings 20:35), and âsons of the singersâ meant of the order of the singers (Neh. 12:28). The designation âSon of Godâ when used of our Lord means of the order of God and is a strong and clear claim to full Deity. âIn Jewish usage the term Son of . . . did not generally imply any subordination, but rather equality and identity of nature. Thus Bar Kokba, who led the Jewish revolt 135-132 B.C. in the reign of Hadrian, was called by a name which means âSon of the Star.â It was supposed that he took this name to identify himself as the very Star predicted in Numbers 24:17. The name âSon of Encouragementâ (Acts 4:36) doubtless means, âThe Encourager.â âSons of Thunderâ (Mark 3:17) probably means âThunderous Men.â âSon of man,â especially as applied to Christ in Daniel 7:13 and constantly in the New Testament, essentially means âThe Representative Man.â Thus for Christ to say, âI am the Son of Godâ (John 10:36) was understood by His contemporaries as identifying Himself as God, equal with the Father, in an unqualified senseâ (J. Oliver Buswell, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1962], 1:105).
There are many other ways and passages to support the deity of Christ, but the point here is that this title clearly does that. It does not and cannot, as it is used in the Bible, refer to Him as a son by the incarnation. The incarnation did not make Him Son of God, it was the means that the Son of God became man that He might die for our sin.
http://www.bible.org/qa.asp?topic_id=57&qa_id=170
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