The Nature of God and Christ - Members Site - United Church of God

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THE NATURE OF GOD AND CHRISTDoctrinal Study Paperwhat is His relationship to the Father? Is the one who became Christ an uncreated being who iscoeternal with the Father? Furthermore, what is the origin of the one who came to earthproclaiming that the Father had sent Him from heaven?Summary of Principal Views on the Origin of ChristClassical Trinitarianism views the Son as being eternally generated by the Father. Oneform of Arianism views the one who was incarnated as a special creation of God. Another formof Arianism views the one who was incarnated as the angel of God’s presence who is theprincipal angel in the Council of the Gods.Other views hold that the Word who was with God in the beginning, as explained in John1:1, was uncreated and coeternal with the Father. These views uphold the preexistence of the onewho became the Son of God.There are other Christological views that deny the preexistence of Christ. Even thoughthere are some major distinctions in some of these positions, they can be grouped according totheir major premises. One view asserts that Christ came into existence when He was conceivedin the womb of Mary. Another view states that God’s nature was incarnated in the womb ofMary. This view in effect asserts that God made up a person from Himself to die for the sins ofthe world, thus denying that the Word was sent from heaven to die for the sins of the world. Thethird view asserts that Christ was a special agent of God, a mere man, who was designated to diefor the sins of the world. Another view asserts that Christ is a created being who is equated withYHWH (the tetragrammaton or four letters) of the Old Testament and the Word of John 1:1-14.In their fervor to preserve the oneness of God and avoid polytheism, they deny the preexistenceof Christ.The TetragrammatonOLD TESTAMENT SECTIONIn Exodus 3:6, Elohim (Hebrew name for God) introduces Himself to Moses as theElohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But Moses protests and asks, “Who am I that I should goto Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). Godpromises Moses that He will be with him and that Israel would some day worship on thatmountain. Moses is still not convinced, and he inquires further, “Indeed, when I come to thechildren of Israel and shall say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and theysay to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13). God then replies, “IAM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent meto you’” (Exodus 3:14).The I AM THAT I AM (YHWH) became the personal name of Israel’s God. The Hebrewconsonants (YHWH) originated with the Hebrew verb “to be.” Thus the Septuagint translatesExodus 3:14 ego eimi ho on, “I am the one who is.” 2 This definition is in harmony with the Word2 Joel B. Green and Scot McKnight (ed.), Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 1992, p. 355.Page 6September 2005© 2005 United Church of God, an International Association
THE NATURE OF GOD AND CHRISTDoctrinal Study PaperBiblical Commentary, which states, “I AM that I AM, literally means ‘the One Who AlwaysIs.’” 3 There is no question that the Jews were very familiar with the meaning and significance ofthe name “I AM THAT I AM.”In the discourse Jesus had with the Jews, as recorded in John 8, He refers to Himself aspreexisting Abraham. Jesus stated the fact that the Jews had never really known the Father andthat He had come to reveal Him. The Jews ask, “‘Where is Your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘Youknow neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also’”(John 8:19). Yet Jesus informed them earlier, “I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sentMe. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true” (John 8:16-17). Thus Hedistinguishes Himself from the Father and affirms that the testimony that He bears is from twodistinct beings.As the discussion continues, it gets more intense, Jesus tells them that they are of theirfather, Satan the devil. They insist that Abraham is their Father. Jesus then introduces the idea ofeternal life, “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death”(John 8:51). The Jews are very disturbed by Jesus’ assertion. They note that Abraham and theprophets are dead and they ask, “Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? Andthe prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?” (John 8:53). Jesus tells them thatHe is not honoring Himself, “It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is yourGod. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shallbe a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word” (John 8:54-55). The stage is now setfor the great bombshell.Jesus then asserts that Abraham rejoiced to see His day. The Jews are infuriated by thisassertion and ask Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” (John8:57). Then Jesus drops the bomb, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM”(John 8:58). The Jews knew exactly what He was saying. They knew that Jesus was boldlyproclaiming that He is eternal and that He is the Son of God. This is why they took up stones tokill Him. In their minds He was guilty of blasphemy.In the book of Revelation, John is commanded to write, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, theAlmighty’” (Revelation 1:8). There is no question that Jesus Christ is also the “I AM.” This isnot to say that God the Father is not also the “I AM.” But it is to say that the Gospel of John,especially John 1:1, and the book of Revelation demonstrate the coeternity of God the Father andthe one who is now sitting as His right hand, the living Word of God, Jesus Christ.However, there are some exegetes who contend that the phrase “I am the Alpha and theOmega” in Revelation 1:8 is referring to God the Father and not to Jesus Christ. While there issome debate among commentators whether verse 8 refers to the Father or to Christ, mostcommentaries (including Jamieson, Fausset and Brown; Darby; Matthew Henry; and JohnWalvoord) attribute the term “I am the Alpha and the Omega” in Revelation 1:8 to Christ. Thecontextual and internal evidence show that verse 8 is clearly referring to Jesus Christ. The3 John I. Durham, Word Biblical Commentary, 1987, Vol. 3, “Exodus,” p. 39.Page 7September 2005© 2005 United Church of God, an International Association
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