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-44- The God Who Is First, It is apparent from this passage that there is a generation of the Son because it is said that God brought His "first begotten" into the world. Second, It is equally clear that this is an eternal generation because the Scriptures say, "...when he bringeth in the `firstbegotten' into the world, he saith, `And let all the angels of God worship him.'" This shows that He was the "first begotten" before He was brought into the world. At the time of His incarnation, He was already "begotten." The apostle John says the same thing. "In this was manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him" (I John 4:9). He was already the only begotten Son of God when God sent him into the world. Words are crucial: they are critical. Battles have been fought over words. Therefore we need to read the Word of God carefully, i.e. "full of care." Third, When the writer says, "Let all the angels of God worship Him," he declares the Son of God to be Divine because it is contrary to Divine law to worship anyone other than God. On two occasions in the book of Revelation, the apostle John was so overwhelmed by the vision that he forgot himself, and fell down to worship the angel that was explaining to him the revelation. On both occasions he was rebuked. "See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God ..." (Revelation 19:10; 22:8,9). It is contrary to Divine law to worship anyone except God. So, "When he (God) bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, `And let all the angels of God worship Him" (Hebrews 1:6). It has been contended by some that the sonship of Christ is not eternal, and that before the incarnation, when He was born of the virgin Mary, He was known as "the Word," and not as the "Son of God." To deny the eternal sonship of Christ is to deny the eternal nature of the Father. There can be no Father where there is no Son. To deny that the Son of God always has been is to deny the fact that the Father has always been. "I am the LORD, I change not" (Malachi 3:6). To deny the eternal sonship of Christ is to deny the immutability, or the changelessness of the Godhead. If the "Son of God" always has been, in what sense is Jesus the "Son" of God? And, in what sense is the Son of God "begotten?" Sonship—In What Sense In John chapter 1, in verse 1 we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." Note first, that Jesus Christ is co-existent with the Father. "The Word was with God." "His goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). In verse 14, John testifies, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." Jesus Christ is co-equal with the Father because we are here told He is "full of grace" and "full of truth." John says, "We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father." The Lord Jesus Christ is also of the same substance, or "consubstantial," with the Father; and, unless one can be a father without having a son, He is co-essential with the Father. In Proverbs chapter 30, in verse 4, the Bible asks, "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?" Like His Father, the Son of God controls the winds and the waves. Therefore, He could still the tempestuous sea by saying, "Peace, be still!" (Mark 4:39). Like His Father, the Son is sovereign, ever-present, and almighty. Note, that when Solomon asks, "What is his name?" he asks a rhetorical question inquiring into the essence of His being. It is as if Solomon had said, "Show me his nature who has gathered the wind in His fists, who has bound the waters in a garment and who has established all the ends of the earth. Point out His infinity and His incomprehensibility." It is obvious that Solomon is here speaking of God for who but God can do these things? Who but He is Lord of the wind! And, when he asks the name of His Son, it is evident that Solomon speaks from a knowledge of the Son of God.
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