February 24 – LD 8, Day 6: Faith
in God the Son
by Rev J. Kortering
John 1:1, “In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
In connection with the Person of the Son, it is easiest to demonstrate that He
is a Person within the Godhead (a term we use to refer to the One Divine Being
we call God, who lives in covenant friendship as three Persons).
This is important because there are many within Christianity who claim to teach the trinity but deny it. How do they deny the
trinity? They deny the trinity by insisting that God is NOT three Persons, but
three modalities, three ways of revelation. God is ONE Person who manifests
Himself in three ways, as a Father, as a Son, and as a Spirit. Heretics
throughout the ages have opposed the doctrine of the trinity by using such
reasoning. They do this because they insist that the idea of three Persons
subsisting in One Divine Being is too philosophical and abstract. It is
important that our catechism answered their false reasoning by simply stating,
“God has so revealed Himself to us in His Word.” That is the key issue, do we
let God tell us who He is or do we make God to be what we want Him to be. If we
do, this is idolatry.
I say, God the Son as a divine Person can be demonstrated.
Psalm 2:7 is a declaration to the Son in eternity, “Thou art MY Son, this day
have I begotten thee.” This is not a reference to
He is a divine Person because He could do divine things on earth,
He performed miracles which aroused debate as to His true identity. How can He
do this if He is only a manifestation of the divine? He could do this because
He was personally God the Son. The same was true in the debate that followed
Jesus’ reference to forgiveness of sins. “Who can forgive sins but God only?”
Jesus claimed that power because He was personally God.
What a comfort this affords.
All that Jesus did for us while He was on earth, He did for us not as a
manifestation of the divine, but as a Person who consciously performed
redemption. Hence it is genuine for us.