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Why did Jesus say "before Abraham was, I am", and "glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." if he as a son was begotten, rather than being an eternal son?
Jesus was simply God (Soul and Spirit) in flesh, born of a woman. God had entered flesh before, but never as the son of God. Here are two examples:
- When King Nebuchadnezzar threw three Hebrews into a furnace, he saw four "men" walking around, and declared that the fourth man was "like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25). This man was not the Son of God, but was "like" the Son of God. In other words, this was God (Soul and Spirit) in a created body not made of a woman.
- Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God, ate bread and drank wine with Abraham, just like Jesus had communion with his disciples (Genesis 14:18). The scriptures also say that Melchizedek was made "like unto the Son of God" and was without beginning or end (Hebrews 7:3) Melchizedek was also God (Soul and Spirit) in a created body not made of a woman.
When Jesus said "before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58) and referred to the glory he had with the Father "before the world was" (John 17:5), he was revealing that he was the possessor of the soul and spirit of God. Jesus' body was the temple of God (John 2:19) made of a woman, but Jesus was the invisible God, Jehovah, of the Old Testament. His body was irrelevant to his existence, but relevant to the process of our redemption.
Those who believe are also called the temple of the living God (II Corinthians 6:16). Just as the Woman was from the flesh of Man, those who believe are from the Spirit of God, and are eternal.
| Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)
I and my Father are one. (John 10:30)
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If Jesus was the possessor of the Soul and Spirit of God, how could the Holy Spirit descend from heaven, and how could God speak from heaven if he was already in Jesus
Jesus, born of a woman, was subject to gravity, death, and time. God (Soul and Spirit) is not subject to any of these things. In fact, on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit anointed 120 disciples (Acts 2:4), and later that same day 3,000 people were baptized (Acts 2:41). The Holy Spirit that descended on Jesus at his baptism was the adoption anointing from the Father, just like the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was the adoption anointing.
Also, if the Spirit of God can continue to work outside of your frame of existence, and you are a son of God, then there is no reason why the Spirit of God would be restricted from working outside of Jesus' body while Jesus was on earth.
Is there such a thing as eternal sonship?
No. Think about it naturally: every son has a beginning. There was no Son of God before Jesus was born, just as God was not a creator before he created anything, and was not a Saviour before he saved anything.
Just like a son has no knowledge of his father's experiences, Jesus had no understanding of God at his birth, but "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52) The Bible records that God made Jesus, who was crucified, "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). Before creation, God was known as "Jehovah", which is the self-existent one. This name was considered so Holy that it was pronounced "LORD" by the Children of Israel. Jesus was Jehovah, the self-existent one, born of a woman. "Christ" is the Messiah, the promised Saviour. When Jesus was on earth he was the anointed. Now, in heaven, he is the anointer as he is made a "quickening spirit".
After Jesus was glorified, God had every right to call his physical appearance the Son of God. This is why when God met Saul on the road to Damascus he appeared as a great light (Acts 9:3-4), similar to his appearance to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), and said "I am Jesus" (Acts 9:5). This same God appeared as 120 tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:3) and was known as the spirit of the Father (Matthew 10:20), the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:4), and the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:19).
If the Son of God had a beginning, does he also have an end?
The body of Jesus was formed in Mary's womb, and the body of Jesus died on a cross and was placed in a tomb.
The Spirit of Jesus is the Holy Spirit, also known as the Word, which was with God and was God in the beginning (John 1:1) - this is eternal, and cannot change.
When Jesus rose from the dead he proved that God's life in the Spirit of his Son is eternal, and is not subject to death. Jesus then ascended into heaven, was glorified, and returned to the earth to minister to his disciples (John 20:16-17, John 20:27). When Jesus returned in his glorified body he was no longer confined to the laws of nature but was able to appear and disappear at will as the Son of God. All of the functions of his natural body - memory, sight, taste, mass, etc... - existed and restricted only on command.
Jesus prophesied that he had come from the Father and would go back to the Father (John 16:28). Paul writes that "when all things shall be subdued unto him," (including death) "then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him , that God may be all in all." (I Corinthians 15:28). Jesus became the Saviour by submitting his spirit into the hands of the Father (Luke 23:46) - and Paul's writing prophecies of a another time of submission which will produce an even greater result.
What does "adoption" mean in the Bible?
In Western society, adoption is the process of legally claiming an orphan or another person's child as your own child. In Eastern society, adoption also means the process whereby a son comes to power with his father over his inheritance (Galatians 4:1-2). If a son did not prove himself to be of sound judgment, his inheritance was instead given to a faithful servant (Proverbs 17:2).
| Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. (Galatians 4:1-2)
A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. (Proverbs 17:2)
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Even though he was the Son of God bodily, Jesus could not fulfill the scriptures until he had been adopted as a son, being given authority over his inheritance, by the Father. This adoption was made at Jesus' baptism, when the Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove, and a voice spoke from heaven saying "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). This adoption was later confirmed when Jesus was transfigured, and spoke with Moses and Elijah. Again a voice from the midst of a cloud saying "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him" (Matthew 17:5)
Because Jesus was the adopted Son of God, he also gave us the right to be adopted into the inheritance of God through our obedience to his Word.
| Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; (Hebrews 5:8-9)
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