Man, the title of my sermon this morning is The Eternal Sonship of Christ.
The Eternal Sonship of Christ.
The Bible reads there in verse number 3, concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord which was made
of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the son of God with power
according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.
So according to the Bible, Jesus was declared to be the son of God by the resurrection from
the dead.
His resurrection showed him to be the son of God, declared him to be the son of God
with power.
Now Christ was obviously the son of God before his resurrection.
And think about how silly it would be to say that Christ became the son of God at his resurrection.
We know that Jesus Christ was the son of God before that, but what I'm going to preach
to you and demonstrate to you from the Bible this morning is that Jesus Christ has always
been the son of God.
He is the son of God and he will always be the son of God.
This is known as the Eternal Sonship of Christ.
Now let me just give you some scriptures to show this to you.
If you would, flip over to Acts chapter 13 and while you're turning there, I'm going
to read for you from John 10, 36, Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent
into the world, thou blasphemest because I said, I am the son of God.
So when Jesus Christ was on this earth in John chapter 10, he stated unequivocally,
I am the son of God.
Of course, in John 9, 35, the Bible says Jesus heard that they had cast him out and when
he found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the son of God?
He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him and it is he that talketh with thee.
He's saying, you're talking to him.
I am the son of God.
Now what is the significance of the resurrection though in regard to Christ's sonship?
Because the Bible said that he was declared to be the son of God by the resurrection from
the dead.
Now there are actually three reasons why Jesus Christ is the son of God.
Jesus is not the son of God for only one reason.
He's actually the son of God for three reasons.
There are three different aspects to the fact that Jesus Christ is the son of God.
And the first aspect that we're going to talk about is the fact that he was resurrected
by God which makes him the son of God.
Now if you would, look at Acts chapter 13.
And there's a famous phrase in the Bible, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee.
Thou art my son, today have I begotten thee.
And there's a question in some people's minds about when that day was.
Well the Bible answers that question and tells us what day that's referring to when it says,
Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.
It says in Acts 13 verse 33, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children and 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.
So if we actually let scripture tell us what day that was, it was when Jesus Christ rose
from the dead.
His resurrection fulfilled the scripture that said, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee.
Now flip back if you would to Psalm 2.
We're going to look at where that quote came from.
Why is it so important to understand what day that's referring to?
Because people who deny the eternal sonship of Christ, people that don't believe correctly
on this, what they'll try to do is say, well if he was begotten on a certain day, then
he must not have always been the son of God, right?
That's their argumentation.
I mean if there's a certain day, today I have begotten you, then he must not have been the
son of God before that.
But hold on a second, if we actually look at the Bible, the day that he was begotten
was the day of his resurrection, was he the son of God before that?
You'd be a fool to say no to that, wouldn't you?
And he walked on this earth and said, I'm the son of God.
That was before he had died and risen again.
Now let's go back to the source of that quotation and strengthen the case further.
Psalm 2 verse 6, yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Verse 7, I will declare the decree the Lord has set unto me, thou art my son, this day
have I begotten thee.
Ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts
of the earth for thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's
vessel.
Be wise now therefore, oh ye kings, be instructed, ye judges of the earth, serve the Lord with
fear and rejoice with trembling.
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.
Now of course, those who believe in false doctrine, the oneness Pentecostals and others
who would deny the eternal sonship of Christ, who deny the Trinity and the Bible's clear
teaching, they would try to say, oh the day he was begotten, oh that's Bethlehem's manger.
Is that what the Bible said?
No, because in Acts 13 it said it was the resurrection.
That was the day that he was begotten according to that scripture.
But if we get the context in Psalm 2, let me ask you this, does this sound like Bethlehem's
manger to you when we read Psalm 2 when it says, this day have I begotten thee, what
does he say in the next breath in verse 8, ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen
for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession, thou shalt
break them with a rod of iron.
Folks, that's not how Christ came in Bethlehem's manger.
He came meek, he came lowly, he came in the form of a servant.
He didn't have a metal rod in his hand to break people in pieces, did he?
No, when he returns at his second coming he will.
And so if we actually compare scripture with scripture, and if you would flip over to Hebrews
5, you go to Hebrews 5, I'm going to go to Hebrews 10, in Hebrews 10 it says, but this
man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
So the Bible says that when Jesus died and he was buried and rose again, then he ascended
up to the right hand of God in heaven, and when he sat down at the right hand of God
in heaven, from henceforth, from there on out, from that moment forward, he was expecting
until his enemies be made his footstool.
And that's exactly what it said in Psalm 2, if you remember, it said, thou art my son,
this day have I begotten thee, and then he said, ask of me and I shall give thee the
heathen for thine inheritance, you're going to break him with a rod of iron, I'm going
to make your enemies your footstool.
So it's the resurrected glorified Christ that comes with the rod of iron that's waiting
for his foes to be made his footstool.
So the context of Psalm 2 and Acts 13 points to the resurrection of Christ.
And you're not going to have any doubt by the time we look at all the scriptures on
this, because there's a lot of scripture on this, but look at Hebrews 5 verse 5, it says,
So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but he that said unto
him, thou art my son, today have I begotten thee.
So if we get the context again, the day when Christ was begotten is when the day he's made
high priest.
And when is Christ made high priest?
Does he act as high priest when he's 12 years old, disputing in the temple?
Does he act as high priest as a 30 year old man when he's baptized and begins his earthly
ministry?
Does he act as a high priest at the Last Supper or in the Passion Week?
No, he acts as high priest after he rises from the dead and he takes of his own blood
and sprinkles it on the mercy seat in heaven.
And we have that high priest right now sitting in heaven and he ever liveth to make intercession
for us, okay?
So the Bible is clear whether we look at Hebrews 5, Psalm 2, Acts 13, it all points to the
day that he was begotten as being the resurrection.
And this does not mean that he wasn't the son of God before that.
So these bozos who want to teach, oh yeah, this day have I begotten thee, that's in Bethlem's
manger, therefore he's not the son of God in the Old Testament?
Really?
I wonder who that fourth man was in the fire.
Remember Daniel 3.25?
The form of the fourth is like the son of God, but I digress.
Go to Revelation chapter 1, Revelation chapter 1, there's so much evidence on this, we've
already seen the key scriptures themselves, but you say, well what does the resurrection
have to do with being begotten?
Well let's see what the Bible says.
Look at Revelation chapter 1 verse 5, and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness,
watch this, and the first begotten of the dead, the first begotten of the dead.
So you're going to have a hard time arguing that begat here has nothing to do with the
resurrection.
When it says right here, he's the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of
the earth unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood.
Now here's what's interesting.
The Bible calls Jesus the only begotten, and then elsewhere it calls him the first begotten.
How can these things be?
Because if you think about it, if you have a first begotten, you've got to have a second
begotten.
If Jesus Christ is the first born son, you have to have a second and a third and so forth.
You can't have a first if it's an only.
So how can Jesus Christ be both the only begotten and the first begotten?
This is because Jesus Christ is the son of God for three different reasons.
There are three different aspects to Christ's sonship.
Okay, the only begotten aspect is that Jesus Christ is the only one who was physically
begotten of God.
He's the only one who's born with no earthly father.
He's the only one that's born of a virgin where he's actually physically begotten by
God.
That makes him the only begotten.
He's unique in that.
There's no one else with whom he shares that distinction.
But when it comes to his begetting at the resurrection, that's something that he's the
first begotten and there are others that are begotten thereafter, right?
Because we're all going to be risen from the dead someday.
He's the first fruits of the resurrection, but he's not the only one that's being resurrected
from the dead.
He's the first begotten of the dead.
We follow after, okay?
Whereas when it comes to being begotten in Bethlehem's manger, he's alone on that, right?
There's no one else who could say I'm the son of God in the sense that they are physically
born with God as their father, virgin birth.
Sorry, Darth Vader, okay?
But if you watch Star Wars, you know, they have this blasphemous thing where Darth Vader
is born of a virgin, right?
Okay, that's not very respectful of them to do that.
But anyway, only begotten.
What are some scriptures on only begotten?
Well, of course, the most famous verse in the whole Bible, John 3.16, for God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish but have everlasting life.
First John 4.9, and 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.
And then, of course, Luke 1.35, and the angel answered and said unto her, and if you would
turn to Luke chapter 1, and the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also that holy
thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
So why is Jesus Christ called the Son of God?
Because he had no earthly father.
Do you see that?
Therefore, he's called the Son of God.
So this is another reason that he's the Son of God.
It's another aspect of his sonship.
One aspect is that he's resurrected by God.
That makes him the Son of God.
That declares him to be the Son of God.
That makes him the first begotten of the dead.
But then we have this other aspect where Mary knows no man, and yet as a virgin, she
gives birth to the Lord Jesus Christ because the Holy Ghost comes upon her, and the power
of the highest, talking about God the Father, overshadows her, and therefore the thing that
is born of her, that baby, is called the Son of God.
So why is Jesus Christ called the Son of God according to this scripture?
Because he had no earthly father because his father is God the Father.
That makes him the Son of God.
This makes him the only begotten.
Now I'm going to bring up a ridiculous argument here that's hardly even worth mentioning,
but the oneness crowd will basically say, the people who deny the Trinity will basically
say here, well, he shall be called the Son of God.
Like that means that he wasn't the Son of God in the past.
Now does that say he shall become the Son of God?
No, because he's always been the Son of God.
He always will be the Son of God.
It says he shall be called the Son of God.
Let me give you an illustration.
This Friday night, I'm going to be preaching at All-Scripture Baptist Church in Knoxville,
Tennessee, and when I go there, I shall be called Pastor Anderson.
Isn't that right?
When I walk through the door, what are they going to call me?
I shall be called Pastor Anderson.
They will say, hello, Pastor Anderson, and you know what?
That does not prevent me from being Pastor Anderson today or yesterday or 10 years ago
or 12 years ago.
Now I do not eternally exist as Pastor Anderson, okay, because there was a time when I became
Pastor Anderson, but do you see how silly it is to take that phrase, he shall be called
the Son of God, and say like, oh, he's not the Son of God yet.
It doesn't make any sense, folks.
It's just saying that's what people are going to call him.
Not because he wasn't already the Son of God.
He has always been the Son of God.
It's kind of silly.
I'm embarrassed to even bring it up.
But anyway, go to 1 Peter chapter 1, 1 Peter chapter 1.
We're turning to a lot of scripture this morning so that you can see these things for yourself
in the Bible, and I want you to be clear on this important doctrine of the eternal sonship
of Christ.
But the Bible says in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy, watch this, hath begotten us again
unto a lively hope.
So let me ask this.
Are we begotten?
Yeah, he's begotten us again, right?
But it says he hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead.
So there are three aspects to Christ's sonship.
There are three reasons why he is the Son of God.
Okay, first of all, we talked about he's the Son of God because of the resurrection.
He's the first begotten from the dead.
Okay, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee, when he rose from the dead.
Number two, he's the Son of God because he was physically born with no earthly father.
Therefore he's the Son of God, having no human father.
And then lastly, he's the Son of God because he eternally exists as the Son of God.
And here's what that means.
He has always enjoyed a father-son relationship with God the Father all the way eternity past,
eternity forward.
And I'm going to prove that from the Bible.
But Jesus Christ has always had that loving father-son relationship with God the Father.
That's an eternal relationship that he has.
So there's that bond, that loving, eternal relationship, father-son relationship between
him and the Father.
And then there's the fact that he was physically begotten with no human father.
And then there's the fact that he's begotten from the dead.
So basically, he is the Son of God for three different reasons.
Now, how many different ways are we the Son of God?
Okay, because the Bible does teach that we're the sons of God.
The Bible says, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should
be called the sons of God.
And then in verse two, it says, Beloved, now are we the sons of God.
Now, do we eternally exist with a father-son relationship with the Lord?
No, we don't have that one, do we?
Okay, were we physically begotten into this earth with no human father?
No, we didn't do that either.
But have we been resurrected or shall we be resurrected?
Yes, this is how we are sons of God.
We only share one of these aspects, okay?
See the Bible says in Romans chapter 8 verse 29, For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, watch this, that he might be the
firstborn among many brethren.
So the Bible says that Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren and the Bible says right
where you are there in 1 Peter 1-3, that he has begotten us again unto a lively hope.
How?
By the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So because of Christ's resurrection, we can be resurrected because of Christ's resurrection,
right?
When we got saved, the moment that we believed on Jesus as our Savior, our spirit was resurrected.
Our dead spirit that was dead in trespasses and sins was quickened, means brought to life,
right?
So we were spiritually resurrected when we got saved and then someday at the bodily resurrection
at the second coming of Christ, we will actually physically be resurrected at that time.
So that makes us the sons of God.
Through what?
Through physical birth?
No.
Through an eternal relationship that we've shared?
No.
Through the resurrection.
That's how we're the sons of God.
So that's why in that sense, Christ is the first begotten, the firstborn, and in the
physical sense, he's the only begotten, right?
And if you think about his eternal relationship with the Father, that's obviously a relationship
that only he has that Father-Son relationship going back to eternity past.
The Bible tells us, if you would flip over to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the Bible tells
in Acts 26 verse 23 that Christ should suffer and that he should be the first that should
rise from the dead and should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles.
So Jesus Christ, the Bible says, is the first to rise from the dead.
And he said, well, Pastor Anderson, what about in the Old Testament when there'd be a miracle
or somebody died and then they were brought back, or say Lazarus died and was brought
back?
Well, the difference is that when Lazarus was brought back, he died again.
He wasn't actually resurrected into immortality.
He basically was just physically brought back to finish out this life.
So that's a completely different scenario of Jesus Christ who was resurrected to never
die again, to be immortal.
So the Bible tells in 1 Corinthians 15, 20, but now is Christ risen from the dead and
become the first fruits of them that slept.
So again, he's the first born.
He's the first begotten from the dead.
He's the first fruits of them that slept.
He's the first to rise again.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits, afterward, they that are Christ's
at his coming.
That's us, right?
Go to Colossians chapter 1, Colossians chapter 1.
Also in 1 Corinthians 15, when it talks about the resurrection, it says, for this mortal
must put on immortality.
This corruptible must put on incorruption.
Is that what Lazarus did?
No, he's still mortal, right?
Is that what different people in the Old Testament who were resurrected?
No, they still were mortal.
That's not the resurrection we're talking about.
We're talking about putting on immortality, putting on incorruption.
We're talking about being resurrected, never to die again.
Look at Colossians 1, 13, who had delivered us from the power of darkness and had translated
us into the kingdom of his dear son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even
the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every
creature, for by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created by him and for him.
And watch this.
And he is before all things.
So this shows that Jesus Christ has eternally existed, amen?
He's before all things.
And by him, all things consist.
And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning.
Jesus said, I'm the beginning and the ending.
I'm the first and the last.
Who is the beginning?
Watch this.
The firstborn from the dead.
Folks, this is not an obscure doctrine.
This is not something that's mentioned one time.
First begotten of the dead, firstfruits of them that slept, firstborn among many brethren,
firstborn from the dead, begotten from the dead, right?
He is begotten, which fulfills.
The resurrection fulfills what?
This day have I begotten you.
This is not obscure doctrine.
It's everywhere, folks.
It's all over the New Testament.
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell.
Flip back to Psalm 89 back in the Old Testament, Psalm 89.
All over the scripture, we see this doctrine hammered about Jesus Christ being the first
begotten from the dead, begotten from the dead, the resurrection, declared him to be
the son of God with power, we're begotten again by the resurrection, et cetera.
Look at Psalm 89.
This is an Old Testament prophecy about Jesus.
Now of course in the Old Testament, the name Jesus had not yet been revealed.
So in this passage, Jesus is simply called David.
Now obviously, Jesus is not literally David, but Jesus is the son of David.
And so often, God will refer to people by, you could call it a code name, right?
Like he says John the Baptist is Elijah the prophet because he comes in the spirit and
power of Elijah.
Or he'll say that Jesus is David his servant.
He even calls Zerubbabel David his servant because Zerubbabel is a descendant of David
that's going to rule the people and he's going to be like David.
So he calls Zerubbabel David because he's like David, he's the son of David.
Looks like he called Jerusalem Sodom.
When they were acting like Sodom, he said you princes of Sodom and he calls them Sodom
because they are like Sodom.
Well here, it says in verse 20, I have found David my servant, verse 20, with my holy oil
have I anointed him.
And of course the word anointed means Messiah or Christ, okay?
That's what Messiah and Christ simply mean is anointed.
Look at verse 27, also I will make him my what?
Firstborn.
So here it is again, we saw it all over the New Testament.
He says I will make him my firstborn higher than the kings of the earth.
My mercy will I keep for him forever and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
His seed also will I make to endure forever and his throne as the days of heaven.
Now obviously the physical person David did not have a throne that lasted for all eternity,
right?
But Jesus Christ does.
Jesus Christ is the son of David and so he will have a throne that lasts forever.
But this is a great scripture, verse 30, if his children forsake my law and walk not in
my judgments, if they break my statutes and keep not my commandments, then will I visit
their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes.
Now stop and think about this.
If we believe on Christ, if we're saved then we're his children, okay?
So what if we, after we're saved, what if we break his commandments and walk not in
his judgments?
What's he going to do?
Well the Bible says I'll visit their transgressions with the rod and this is exactly what the
Bible says in the New Testament with whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourges
every son whom he receiveth, okay?
So he says, yeah, I'll punish them, I'll chasten them, I'll discipline them, but, verse
39, nevertheless, my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my
faithfulness to fail, my covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that has gone out
of my lips.
Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
His seed shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before me, it shall be established
forever as the moon and as a faithful witness in heaven.
Boy, isn't that a blessing that God will never take his loving kindness from us?
Even if we break his commandments, even if we don't walk in his judgments, we're going
to get disciplined, we're going to get stripes with the rod, but is he going to stop loving
us?
Is he going to throw us out of the family?
Is he going to send us to hell?
No.
He'll never leave us or forsake us, nothing can separate us from the love of God which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And so Jesus Christ is the firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth, he's the firstborn
among many brethren, he's the first begotten of the dead, he's the firstfruits of them
that slept, and guess who the second and the third and the fourth and the fifth are?
It's me, it's you, it's everybody who believes on Christ.
Isn't that great?
So we are his brethren.
Now it's interesting, one time I was reading this article where the pope was trying to
defend Catholicism or something, and they were trying to say, well you know the pope
is just the firstborn among many brethren, he's just the first among many brethren.
No that's Jesus, you antichrist, right, because anti means in the place of, antichrist.
When you're sitting there and saying, oh I'm the first among many brethren, no you're not,
the first among many brethren is Jesus, you're not even our brother, because the pope's not
even saved.
The pope is not trusting in Christ, he's trying to be Christ, calling himself father and acting
like he has the power to forgive sins, making these pronouncements as if he's just the oracles
of God instead of actually going by what the bible says, he contradicts scripture with
his wicked perverted religion.
But this is not a sermon against Catholicism.
So if you would, flip over to John 17, because that is another sermon that shall be preached
at another time.
But in Hebrews chapter 12, you're turning to John 17, the bible calls the church in
heaven, you know the great assembly up in heaven of all believers, the bible says this,
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, to
God the judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect.
So this thing of Jesus being the firstborn, how many scriptures did we see, ten?
I mean just one after the other after the other.
This is not vague, this is not obscure, it's not questionable folks.
Verse after verse after verse hammers this, okay.
People who don't believe it are denying scripture, denying the truth, they're denying the very
nature of who Jesus is, they're denying the Lord that, you know, that bought them, okay,
as we're going to see on Wednesday night in 2 Peter 2 about false prophets, okay.
This is wickedness, when they sit there and teach, oh yeah Jesus Christ is not eternally
the son of God and he just became the son of God in Bethlehem's manger or even he's
going to stop being the son of God someday or whatever like that.
No my friend, Jesus Christ has eternally existed as the son of God and that's what I want to
get into here in John 17.
We said first of all that it's crystal clear from scripture that Christ is the son of God
because he was risen from the dead, that was called being begotten of God.
And you say, well I don't think being risen from the dead makes Jesus the son of God.
Okay, well then that means none of us are sons of God then because our only claim to
being the sons of God is what?
Is that we're resurrected, that we're regenerated, that we're saved, right?
That's what makes us son of God is that our spirit has been quickened or regenerated or
resurrected and that's what makes us the sons of God.
So that also makes him the son of God.
Now he was already the son of God before that but that's another reason that he's the son
of God and that's the one aspect that we share with him that makes him the first among many
brethren that makes him the first begotten, the first born and so forth.
We follow after.
And you say, well what does the word beget mean?
The word beget would literally mean to bring forth or to cause to exist, to bring it into
existence.
Okay, well if you stop and think about this, if my wife and I come together to produce
a child then I begat that child because I brought it into existence in the sense that,
you know, my seed was there to fertilize that egg and so obviously all things are to God's
glory and he's the one who worketh all things and all things consist by him but physically
speaking when it says Abraham begat Isaac, what does that mean?
It's saying he went in there and caused that child to exist by being with his wife, right?
So he brought it into existence.
That's what beget means.
Well here's why beget could refer to the resurrection is because when somebody dies and then they're
resurrected they're basically brought back into existence and that's why when we get
saved it's called being born again, okay, because we are being begotten again at that
moment spiritually so we are brought into existence, okay, is what that means.
That's why when somebody dies in the Bible sometimes it'll use this term, he is not.
Jesus said I'm he that liveth and was dead and behold I'm alive forevermore.
So Jesus was dead for three days and three nights and then he's brought back into existence
among the living and that is called being begotten, okay, begotten from the dead as
opposed to just being begotten from, you know, an egg and a seed.
He's just begotten from being dead, okay, so it's really not hard to understand how
the term beget could apply to the resurrection, right?
And then we said number two, Jesus Christ is begotten or he is the son of God because
of the fact that he had no earthly father.
He's physically born in this world from a virgin.
That makes him the son of God.
That's unique to him.
He doesn't share that with anyone which makes him what?
The only begotten son of God.
But let's look at the last aspect that Jesus eternally exists as the son of God because
he has this father and son relationship with God the father that never began and will never
end.
This is the most important reason why Jesus is the son of God.
This is why he's always been the son of God.
Even before he was born in Bethlehem's major, even before he rose from the dead, he's still
called the son of God.
Why?
Because he's always been the son of God because of the relationship that he has to God the
father.
Look at verse one of John 17.
These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour
has come.
Glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee as thou has given him power over all
flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him.
And this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom
thou has sent.
I have glorified thee on the earth.
I have finished the work which thou gave us me to do.
And now, oh Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was.
Folks, it doesn't get any more clear than John 17 five when he says, Father, and he
talks about the glory that we had, that I had together with you before the world was.
So before the world was, you have the Father and the Son, right?
But look, now we're going to go to the verse that's just the coup de grace, folks.
Look at verse 24.
Father, I will that they also whom thou has given me be with me where I am that they may
behold my glory which thou has given me.
Watch this.
For thou lovest me before the foundation of the world.
Well, you know, I think the Father just loved the idea of, you know, the future.
He loved the future guy that's coming.
Really?
That's funny because in verse five, he's already there sharing glory with him.
So when you put verse five and verse 24 together, you know what happens?
It's game over for oneness.
It's game over for the oneness Pentecostals.
It's game over for the Trinity deniers because guess what?
Verse five shows us that they're both together in the beginning sharing glory together with
each other.
The Word was with God, right?
So we see them together share glory and then we see what in the beginning?
Before the world began, there's love there.
Who loves who?
The Father loves the Son before the world even began.
And it's not him just loving the future.
You know, there's going to be a Jesus and I'm going to love him.
No, they already loved each other.
Now here's why.
Because God is love.
Now the Bible doesn't say God has love.
The Bible says God is love.
In 1 John 4.8, it says God is love and then he reiterates this again in verse 16 twice
in the same chapter.
He says God is love.
Now how can God intrinsically be love if there's no object to his love, right?
So who is the object of God's love?
You say, well, we are.
Okay, but what about before the world even began?
Guess what?
The Father loved the Son and that's what John 17, 24 says.
You can't get around that.
So you have the Father loving the Son.
You have the Son loving the Holy Ghost.
You have the Holy Ghost loving the Father.
The Son loves the Father.
The Trinity right there is a self-contained unit where love can take place between the
three persons of the Trinity.
Whereas if God is just one person, okay, if it's just a oneness God like the Muslims believe
in or like the Jews believe in, then how can love be there?
You can't love in a vacuum.
You're all by yourself.
But you see how the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, they can have love without requiring
anything external to be there.
God is love, okay?
And then basically that love wherewith he loves the Son and the Son loves the Father,
that's a love that he shares with us.
You know, we partake in that love that already existed before the world began and already
exists within the Trinity itself.
That's powerful stuff.
But John 17, 5 and 24 makes it crystal clear that back in the beginning he shared glory.
There was love there.
There's an eternally existing loving relationship between the Father and the Son, okay?
And that's what makes Jesus Christ the Son of God.
So in conclusion, go to Romans chapter 8.
This is where we'll conclude Romans chapter 8.
The conclusion is that the resurrection makes us the sons of God.
You know, why do we get so excited about the death, burial and resurrection?
Why is it such a big deal?
You know, the two biggest holidays for Christians in America are a holiday celebrating the birth
of Christ, Christmas, and a holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ, Easter, right?
And you know what?
It's really they're celebrating the two different reasons that he's the Son of God there, right?
Because they're celebrating his birth.
That's one aspect of him being the Son of God.
And then him rising again, that's the other thing that makes him the Son of God.
It's really all about the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.
That's what's being hammered even in the holiday calendar, okay?
Now we don't have a holiday for the eternal sonship of Christ but maybe we need one, amen?
So we can celebrate the love that the Father had for the Son before the world began, right?
But we don't get as jazzed about that sometimes because we like the stuff that includes us.
You know, we like it when Jesus shows up and it's, you know, good will toward men.
We like that.
You know, we like it when he rose again because that's what makes us the sons of God, right?
So that's what we like to focus on and that's as it should be because the Bible also focuses
on those things.
God loves us.
He wants us to understand the Gospel and you know what the Gospel is?
The Gospel is not just the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
It's not this external thing of, okay, here are some facts of things that happened.
Jesus died, Jesus was buried, and Jesus rose again.
That's not the Gospel, friend.
Let me tell you what the Gospel is.
It's the fact that Jesus died for us and was buried and rose again.
If you leave out the words for us, it's not even the Gospel anymore.
I mean, what good is it that Jesus Christ died and was buried and rose again?
Oh, but he didn't die for you.
Well, that's bad news for me, right?
That's why in 1 Corinthians 15 it says he died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
That's the good news.
That's the Gospel, that he died for us.
It's the fact that we're included that makes it good news.
That's why it's such great news when he said, hey, great tidings of joy which shall be to
all people.
That's good news, right?
The grace of God that bringeth salvation has appeared to all men.
That's good news, right?
That's why we love the Christmas story.
That's why we love the resurrection of Christ because it's for everybody, because it's available
to everybody, and it's Christ's resurrection that makes us the sons of God.
Look at Romans 8 verse 23, and not only they, but ourselves also which have the first fruits
of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption to wit
the redemption of our body.
So we're waiting for our body to be redeemed.
Our spirit's already been redeemed.
We already have the first fruits of the Spirit, but now we're waiting for our body to be redeemed.
We're waiting one day for that bodily resurrection.
And you know what?
The Bible talks about that as the adoption, right?
And what does it mean to be adopted?
It means you become what?
You become a son.
So our spirit is already there.
We're already saved spiritually, so we're already the sons of God in that aspect.
But when we physically get resurrected, we'll be body, soul, and spirit children of God,
the sons of God, having been resurrected from the dead.
Well, I thought Jesus is the only begotten.
Well, that's one aspect, but we share that aspect in which he is the first begotten.
And so today, as we emphasize the resurrection of Christ, think about the resurrection, meditate
upon the resurrection on Easter Sunday, think about the fact that it's the resurrection
of Christ that saves us, and it's the resurrection of Christ that gives us redemption, that gives
us the ability to be the sons of God.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you so much for sending the Son to be the Savior of the world.
And help us today to meditate upon these things, think about these things, and just for today
to be a day of praise and worship and joy as we think about your unspeakable gift.
And it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.