"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:5-8).

We consider now one of the most sublime and wonderful mysteries in all Scripture_what has been called by theologians, "The Doctrine of the Kenosis." The title comes from the Greek word kenos meaning "empty." This word is found in v. 7, "made Himself of no reputation," an expression which really means "emptied Himself," or "divested Himself." Its full force will come before us as we proceed with our study.

It is important to notice that doctrines are never presented in Scripture merely as dogmas to be accepted by the faithful on pain of expulsion from the Christian company. The most important doctrines are brought in by the Holy Spirit in what we might call an exceedingly natural way. I do not use the word "natural" here in contrast to "spiritual," but rather in the sense simply of sequence to the subject, introduced without special emphasis. In the particular instance before us, the doctrine of our Lord’s self-emptying comes in simply as the supreme illustration of that lowliness of mind which should characterize all who profess to be followers of the Saviour. It follows naturally upon the exhortation of v. 4:"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus," is the way the subject is introduced. This mind is the lowly mind, as it is written, "Even Christ pleased not Himself" (Rom. 15:3). And the exemplification of this is at once abruptly introduced. He existed from all eternity in the form of God. It is a declaration of His true Deity. No creature could exist in the form of God. Lucifer aspired to this, and for his impiety was hurled down from the archangel’s throne. Our Lord Jesus Christ was in the full enjoyment of this by right, because He was the eternal Son. He thought equality with God not a thing to be grasped or held on to. Equal with God He was, but He chose to take the place of subjection and lowliness. He chose to step down from that sublime height which belonged to Him, even the glory which He had with the Father before the world was (John 17:5), and took the servant’s form to do the Father’s will.

The first man aspired to be as God, and fell. The second Man, the Lord from heaven, came, as we sometimes sing,

"From Godhead’s fullest glory,
Down to Calvary’s depth of woe."

He would not retain the outward semblance of Deity. He relinquished His rightful position to become the Saviour of sinners. In order to do this He emptied Himself, or divested Himself, of His divine prerogatives.

Let there be no mistake as to this. While we reverently put off our shoes from our feet, and draw near to behold this great sight, let us not fear to accept the declaration of Holy Scripture in all its fulness. He divested Himself of something_but of what? Not of His deity, for that could not be. He was ever the Son of the Father, and, as such, a divine person. He could take manhood into union with deity, but He could not cease to be divine. Of what, then, did He divest Himself? ‘Surely of His rights as God the Son. He chose to come to earth to take a place of subjection. He took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

Observe the distinction brought out in these two verses. He existed from all eternity in the form of God. He came here to take the form of a servant. Angels are servants, but He did not "take hold of angels" (Heb. 2:16 JND). He became in the likeness of men. It was all voluntary on His part. And, as a man on earth, He chose to be guided by the Holy Spirit. He daily received from the Father, through the Word of God, the instruction which it became Him, as a man, to receive. His mighty works of power were not wrought by His own divine omnipotence alone. He chose that they should be wrought in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the precious and important doctrine of the kenosis as revealed in Scripture.

(Reprinted from Notes on the Epistle to the Philippians.)

FRAGMENT
O what wondrous love and mercy!
Thou didst lay Thy glory by,
And for us didst come from heaven
As the Lamb of God to die.

In Isa. 9:6,7 we have one of the most complete prophecies concerning our Lord that is to be found in the Old Testament. "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

"Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given." In these two expressions we see the humanity and the deity of our Saviour. The child born refers to His humanity. He came into the world as the virgin’s Son, as seen earlier in this book (7:14). He was a true man, spirit, soul, and body, as born of Mary, but without a human father. He was also the eternal Son of the Father who had come from the glory that He had with the Father from all the past eternity, given in grace for our redemption. He linked His deity with our humanity apart from its sin, and thus was God and man in one blessed adorable person.

"The government shall be upon His shoulder." He is destined to exercise supreme rule over all the universe. It has often been noticed that when the Good Shepherd found the lost sheep He put it upon His shoulders (plural), whereas here the government of the entire world is said to rest upon His shoulder (singular). There is surely a beautiful suggestion in the use of the plural in Luke 15 of the security of those who have put their trust in Him.

"His name shall be called Wonderful." It may be that we should link together the two words "Wonderful" and "Counsellor," but if we separate them we may see in this first word a suggestion of the mystery of His Sonship which no man can apprehend, as He tells us in Matt. 11:27, and as we also learn from Rev. 19:12. Under this name "Wonderful" He appeared of old to the parents of Samson (Judg. 13:18 JND). As we read the divinely inspired records of His lowly birth, His sinless life, His vicarious death, and His glorious resurrection, we find our hearts exclaiming again and again, "Is He not wonderful!" He stands supreme, above all the sons of men, the blessed, adorable Son of God, His heart touched with the feeling of our infirmities. His grace is manifested in a thousand ways. His loving kindness reaches down to the utterly lost and depraved. His name is Wonderful because He Himself is wonderful and also because of the work which He accomplished.

He is also called "Counsellor." This is because He comes to us as the revealer of the Father’s will. That is what is implied in His divine title, "The Word." It is by the Word that God makes known His mind; and the Lord Jesus, who was with the Father from the beginning_that is, when everything that ever had beginning began_came into this scene to make God known. So in Him the Father has spoken out all that is in His heart. His words make known to us the path of life and show us the only safe way for a pilgrim people to travel through a world of sin. As the eternal Word He is the revealer of the mind and heart of God, come to earth not only to show us the way to the Father, but also to empower us that we may walk in a manner well pleasing to the One who has redeemed us.

He is "The mighty God." Some would seek to tone this down in order to make Him less than the words imply, but Christ is similarly referred to as "God" in Romans 9:5 and 1 John 5:20. Even when here on earth He was just as truly God as He was man, and as truly man as He was God. He could not have made atonement for sin otherwise. He had to be who He was in order to do what He did.

"The everlasting Father." A better rendering would be "The Father of Eternity," or as some have suggested, "The Father of the Coming Age." The Son is not to be confounded with the Father, though He and the Father are one (John 10:30). But He is the One in whom all the ages meet (Heb. 1:2, margin); therefore, He is rightfully designated, "The Father of the Ages," or "The Father of Eternity."

"The Prince of Peace." As such He was presented to the world and heralded by angels (Luke 2:14); but because of His rejection there can be no lasting peace for Israel or the nations until He comes again. Then He will be manifested as the One who will speak peace to all peoples (Isa. 32:1-18). Meantime, since He made peace by the blood of His cross, all who put their trust in Him have peace with God; and as we learn to commit to God in prayer all that would naturally trouble or distress, peace fills our hearts and controls our lives.

"Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David." God made a covenant with David that his Son should sit upon his throne and reign in righteousness forever (2 Sam. 7:12-16; Jer. 23:5,6). This has not yet been fulfilled. When the forerunner of our Lord was born, his father, Zacharias, declared that God had raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David (Luke 1:69). These prophetic declarations make clear that David’s throne was to be established forever, and that he should never be without a man to sit upon that throne. Our Lord, on His mother’s side, was from the line of David, and because of her marriage to Joseph, who was heir to the throne, the throne-rights passed to Jesus. But He has never taken His seat upon the throne of David:this awaits His second coming. He declared through His servant, John, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne" (Rev. 3:21). He is sitting now at the right hand of the Majesty on high, on the throne of Deity. Soon He will return in glory and will take His own throne, which is really the throne of David, and will reign in righteousness over all the earth. This verse (Isa. 9:7) will have its fulfillment literally, for "the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

(Reprinted from Expository Notes on the Prophet Isaiah.)

Let us consider some Scriptures concerning the person of Christ our Saviour. In Rom. 1:1-4 we read of "the gospel of God . . . 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." In Matthew also He is said to be the "Son of David, the son of Abraham" (1:1), and then to have been begotten of the Holy Spirit_before He is announced as the Saviour. It is the person that attracts the gaze before we can consider His work. It is otherwise with the sinner. As a rule he first learns the value of the work of Christ before he considers the truth of His person. The blessed Lord Himself, in His conversation with Nicodemus, first declares the mysterious dignity of His person, and then proclaims His rejection and death:"No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:13-15).

There are, then, two sides to the person of Christ. He was God manifest in flesh. "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" (John 1:14). The Word was the eternal Son, and the eternal Son became man. He was thus God and man_a union of extremes that was not possible in any other, and that rendered His person so unfathomable, so incomprehensible, that He Himself said, "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father" (Matt. 11:27). But it is essential that we hold fast both His true divinity and His as equally true humanity. For had He not been true man, He could not have been a sacrifice for sin; and had He not been God, His sacrifice could not have been available to all. Satan knows this, and hence, in every age, he has sought to undermine the one or the other of these truths, insinuating doubts sometimes concerning His humanity, and sometimes concerning His divinity. But it is the glory of the person of Christ that He is both divine and human, that He is, in His one person, both God and man. This truth lies at the foundation of, and indeed gives its character to, redemption.

How vast a field is thus opened for our contemplation! Following Christ in His pathway down here, from the manger at Bethlehem to the cross at Calvary, we see the unfoldings both of the human and the divine. As we behold Him, His lowly appearance, "His visage … so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men" (Isa. 52:14); as we mark Him in companionship with His disciples, and see Him weary and resting, eating and drinking, weeping with those who wept (John 11), and sleeping, too, on a pillow in the rear of the ship (Mark 4:38), we cannot doubt that He was man. It was, indeed, the proofs of His humanity which confounded His adversaries and blinded them to His higher claims.

On the other hand, the evidences of His divinity are no less clear to the anointed eye. Who but God could cleanse the leper, open the eyes of the blind, raise the dead to life, and control the wind and the waves? Hence He said to Philip, in answer to his demand to show him the Father:"Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works’ sake" (John 14:10,11). And what He was, what He is declared to be in the Scriptures, is still more conclusive. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." "No man hath seen God at any time:the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:1,18). He is said to be "the brightness of [God’s] glory, and the express image of His person" (Heb. 1:3). In another epistle He is described as "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 He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Col. 1:15-17). Consider moreover His own words:"He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). Who can doubt that He claimed to be divine?

We cannot too often bless God for the four Gospels, in which are blended these two aspects of the person of Christ. Hence they are the most profound of all the Scriptures because they contain the unfoldings of a divine-human life. No doubt the narratives are simple on their surface; but as we are led on by the Spirit of God, we begin to discover that there are depths of which we had never dreamed, and into which we must gaze_and continue to gaze_if we would behold the treasures that are contained therein. And the more we become familiarized with their contents, the more we shall be impressed with the majesty of the person of Christ as the God-man, God manifest in the flesh. And it should never be forgotten that there can be no stability where there is any uncertainty as to the person of our Saviour. What strength it gives to the soul to be able to say_to quote the language of another_"The pillars of the earth rest upon that Man who was despised, spit upon, and crucified!" It is the knowledge of what He is, no less (if not more) than what He has done, that draws out our hearts in confidence, adoration, and praise. For indeed He "is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen" (Rom. 9:5).

(From Unsearchable Riches.)

"Jesus . . . asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that Thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:13-16). Just as in the days when Christ lived here on earth, one can find a variety of notions today as to the true nature and identity of Jesus Christ. Some say He was only a Spirit_that is, God but not man. Others say He was a great human teacher_but not God. Certain ones claim He is none other than Michael the archangel. Amidst these various claims, we do well to have a clear understanding of the truth concerning the person of Jesus Christ. Let us, therefore, consider the claims of God’s Word itself concerning the deity and humanity of Christ.

The Deity of Christ

Co-equal with God. Perhaps the simplest statement of the equality of Christ with God is given in John 1:1:"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (See technical note concerning this verse at end of this article.) The identity of "the Word" is made clear in v. 14:"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." The co-equality of Christ with God is brought out again in John 10:30:"I and My Father are one." Some may wonder what exactly Jesus meant by these words. However, the Jews understood perfectly:"Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him . . . saying, For a good work we stone Thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God" (vv. 31-33). If the Jews had misunderstood Him, He had a perfect opportunity to set them straight. But instead of correcting them, He sought to point the opposers to their own Scriptures where they could see that His claim of equality with God was not absurd or blasphemous (vv. 34-38).

Son of God. Many Scriptures refer to Christ as the Son of God. For example:"They. . . worshipped Him, saying, Of a truth Thou art the Son of God" (Matt. 14:33). "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1). "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:18). "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). "Unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever" (Heb. 1:8).

Now it is true that in Job 1:6 and 2:1 we read of the sons of God, referring to angels and including Satan. And in Rom. 8:14 believers in Christ are referred to as sons of God (wondrous truth!). But Jesus is never referred to as one of the sons of God, nor as the chief of God’s sons, but as the unique Son of God. The relationship of Jesus Christ as Son with the Father is in a class by itself_it far transcends the relationship of God with His human and angelic sons.

Has this relationship of Father and Son been in existence from eternity past, or did Christ become Son in the Incarnation? Luke 1:35 might perhaps suggest the latter:"That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." However, John 3:16 and 1 John 4:9-14 suggest otherwise. God sent the Son of His love to earth_to be born as a man, live, and die a death of intense suffering as a substitute for sinful man. We are led to appreciate all the more the atoning work of Christ on our behalf when we realize that this was the eternal Son of God, the object of the Father’s deepest affection_"in the bosom of the Father" (John 1:18)_from the ages of past eternity. The Father not only sent Him down from His side, but poured out upon the Son of His love His wrathful judgment because of our sins.

Some object to the notion of a Father-Son relationship prior to the Incarnation. They say, arguing from a human standpoint, that the term "son" denotes inferiority and submission to a higher authority, and that this could not apply to the Lord before the Incarnation. Without delving deeply into the controversy, I would suggest that God, in applying the terms "Father" and "Son" to describe the relationship between the first and second persons of the Godhead, intended to convey primarily the relationship of love and affection, and the mature relationship of partners in a common endeavor (such as a father and son business, if we may draw a human analogy), rather than the relationship of an immature child with an authoritative Father.

God, in seeking to reveal Himself and His Son to us, has used terms and expressions that are in our range of understanding. We understand the terms "father" and "son" from our human relationships. But no doubt the depth, the extent, the intensity of the relationship that exists and has always existed between our heavenly Father and His Son far transcends anything we know on earth. We must take care not to limit this relationship by imposing upon it our human understanding and values.

Image of God. "No man hath seen God at any tune" (John 1:18). But Christ is "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15), "the express image of His person" (Heb. 1:3), and "God. . . manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16). Also, "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9).

Revealer of God. John testified that "the only begotten Son . . . hath declared [God]" (John 1:18). And Jesus confirmed this in His own words, "I speak that which I have seen with My Father" (John 8:38). Some say Jesus was a good teacher and no more. They put Jesus’ teachings in a class with those of Buddha, Mohammed, Zoroaster, Confucius, etc. Man wants to be able to pick and choose the teachings he is willing to obey. So if a particular teaching of Jesus suits him and fits in with his life style, he will follow Jesus to that extent; and he will reject those teachings that do not suit him. This he can do with good conscience if Jesus is nothing more to him than a good teacher. But in truth, Jesus is much more than a good and great teacher. He is the very Son of God and the revealer of the one true God and His will for man. Therefore all of Christ’s teachings must be heeded, for therein do we have the revelation of the loving, merciful, good, righteous, holy, all-wise God. And not only the teachings, but every aspect of the life of Christ itself reveals God to us. As we study the teachings and life of Christ, as with all Scripture, let us seek to have God Himself revealed to our hearts and minds more completely. As we do this, we will find our opinions, ideals, attitudes, habits_our entire life style_ being brought into subjection to God.

In the next issue, Lord willing, we shall consider some additional aspects of the deity of Christ as well as manifestations of His perfect manhood.

Technical Note on John 1:1. In the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, prepared by Jehovah’s Witness scholars, the last phrase of John 1:1 is translated, "the Word was a god." The translators base this on the fact that in the Greek, "God" has a definite article in the phrase, "the Word was with God," whereas there is no definite article with "God" in the phrase, "the Word was God." They draw a parallel with Acts 28:6 where "God" without a definite article is translated_properly, we agree_"a god." However, a study of the use and omission of the definite article with proper names in the Greek New Testament yields the following conclusions:(1) proper names very frequently have definite articles (for example "the Peter," "the Paul"), unlike our English language where the definite article is used rarely with proper names; (2) in most cases where the definite article is omitted, the sense is the same as if the article were present; and (3) in cases where the definite article is omitted, the indefinite article ("a" or "an") may be utilized in the translation into English only when required by the context. Acts 28:6, referred to above, is a good example of an indefinite article required by the context. In John 1:1, "The Word was a god" would be a permissible translation if warranted by the context and supported by Scripture in general. However, as shown in the foregoing pages, this is not at all supported by the rest of Scripture.

Let us consider some examples of the use of the definite article in John’s Gospel. In 1:45-49, Nathanael’s name is mentioned five times, two with a definite article and three without. The name Jesus has a definite article in 1:29, 36, 37, 38, 42 (twice), 43, 47, and 48, and lacks a definite article in 1:17, 45, and 50. And finally, while the name "God" very frequently has a definite article throughout the Greek New Testament, there are a number of cases besides John 1:1 of omission of the definite article. For example:"To them gave He power to become the sons of God"; "which were born … of God"; "no man hath seen God at any time"; "Thou art a teacher come from God" (John 1:12, 13, 18; 3:2). Would any of these passages make sense being translated "a god"? Interestingly, in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation we find "God," not "a god," in each of these four passages. So the scholars have not been consistent with the rules they constructed for John 1:1.

THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

Self-Existent, Eternal

In the previous issue we were introduced to the subject of God’s attributes. The knowledge of God and His attributes are important to our worship of God (John 4:24) and to our following or imitating God (Eph. 5:1). Some of God’s attributes are His alone, such as being eternal and omnipotent, while others, such as goodness and love, He shares with His blood-bought children. In this issue we begin our survey of the divine attributes of God, that is, those that are found in Him alone.

Self-Existent

We take for granted that everything we see around us has been created or made by someone_either by God or by His creatures. But what about God Himself? How did He come into existence? Who made Him? Where did He come from? There are deep mysteries here which our finite minds cannot grasp. At one level, the answers to these questions are simple. "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM [or literally, I am I WHO AM]; and He said, Thus shall thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you" (Exod. 3:14). The Septuagint (that is, the early translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek) renders the first part of this passage, "I am HE WHO IS." Jesus reiterated this in His profound statement, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). No one created God; He had no origin. He is "the living, unchanging, self-existent one, necessarily independent of all others" (F.W. Grant). All of His acts are from Himself_issuing from His own will. He does not receive direction from one yet higher than Himself.

At one level this is simple and straightforward. Yet the more we ponder this, the more we meditate upon the awesome truth of God’s self-existence, the more we come to realize that He dwells in "light which no man can approach unto" (1 Tim. 6:16). Yet, let us not thus be discouraged from engaging in such meditations, from letting our hearts gaze in wonder at the I AM.

We tend to be a very practical-minded people, and thus may ask, "What is the practical usefulness of delving into such intangible concepts as God’s self-existence? What bearing does this have on my life? One answer to these questions has been suggested by A. W. Tozer in The Knowledge of the Holy:"The natural man is a sinner because and only because he challenges God’s selfhood in relation to his own." Sin is the assertion of man’s self-will. It comes from self being on the throne rather than God. It is acting from oneself, independently of all others_including God. Thus, the sinner unwittingly displaces God from that position He alone can rightly occupy as the self-existent One and puts himself in that position. Thus, as we who are believers in Christ and children of God meditate upon the One who is the alone self-existent One, we should be challenged to search our hearts and lives to identify and root out any vestiges of self-will, self-assertion, independence of God_anything that would suggest that we have not yet fully restored God’s stolen throne to Himself.

Eternal

Closely allied with the attribute of self-existence is that of the eternal existence of God. We who are born-again Christians have the precious assurance that we will be with Christ throughout the endless ages of eternity. What a wonderful expectation we have! But God’s eternal existence goes far beyond this future aspect. He not only has no end, He never had a beginning! I cannot grasp this concept with my finite mind, but it is what His Word tells us:"Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God" (Psa. 90:1,2). "The Lord is … the living God, and an everlasting King" (Jer. 10:10). "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8; also 4:8). The Old Testament name of God that He used to express His relationship to Israel was "Yahweh" or "Jehovah." This word is a contraction of the Hebrew words "was," "is," and "will be," that is, the eternal One. The French Bible captures this thought nicely by rendering the Hebrew name Jehovah as "1’Eternel," the eternal One.

There would seem to be another aspect to God’s eternal existence, which again we have great difficulty comprehending. He is not limited to the longitudinal scale_the past, present, and future_of time that confines us creatures. He inhabits eternity (Isa. 57:15) and thus is outside of that narrow line we call "time." "I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done" (Isa. 46:9,10). God’s foreknowledge, upon which election and predestination are based (Rom. 8:29 and 1 Pet. 1:2), comes not from His ability to see into the future but from His inhabiting eternity and thus being outside of time altogether and able to observe all things at all times concurrently.

To God the passage of time is quite different from what it is to us. "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Pet. 3:8). "A thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday" (Psa. 90:4). This, again, is because God is outside the confines of time. I would suggest that this truth may help to answer a question sometimes raised concerning Christ’s suffering to "bear the sins of many" (Heb. 9:28):How could Christ, in a period of only three hours on the cross, suffer the amount of punishment that millions would have had to endure for eternity had He not died as our substitute. One possible answer is that an eternity of suffering was somehow miraculously, uniquely concentrated into a three-hour period of time. Another possible answer is that while three hours passed in man’s reckoning of time, to the reckoning of Christ it may have been as thousands or millions of years in accordance with 2 Pet. 3:8 and Psa. 90:4. In either case, or even if the truth lies in yet another answer, we are forced to fall down at Jesus’ feet and worship and adore Him who has suffered so intensely on our behalf.

"Spotless Man, uniquely fair,
God Eternal from above,
Suffered infinitely there_
Mighty, quenchless, deathless love!"

Eternal existence does not belong to God the Father alone. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). "And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was" (John 17:5). "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father [or The Father of Eternity], The Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6). The Holy Spirit, like the Father and the Son, is likewise eternal. He was active in the beginning, in the creation of the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:2). Also, we read in Heb. 9:14, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience. …"

The practical importance to us of God’s eternal existence has already been alluded to. Because His Son has been raised from the dead and lives forever, we have eternal life in Him, and we too will be raised up to enjoy His presence for eternity. What a comfort this is to us as we experience the trials and sorrows of this present life. How wonderful to know that "the eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33:27). (To be continued)

"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:18).

The Lord is referred to as "the Son of God" in various respects in the Scriptures. He is so called as being born of the virgin (Luke 1:35). He is such by divine decree, as in resurrection (Psa. 2:7; Acts 13:33). He is the Son, and yet has obtained the name of Son (Heb. 1:1-3). Matthew and Mark first notice His Sonship of God at His baptism. Luke goes farther back, and notices it at His birth. But John goes back farther still, even to the immeasurable, unspeakable distance of eternity, and declares His Sonship "in the bosom of the Father."

Sadly, there are some who deny this precious truth of the eternal Sonship of the Lord. There are those who would tell God that He knew not a Father’s joy in that bosom, and who would tell our Lord that He knew not a Son’s joy as He lay in that bosom from all eternity. I cannot join in this. If there are persons in the Godhead, as we know there are, are we not to know also that there are relationships among them? Can we dispense with such a thought? Is there not revealed to faith the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? the Son begotten, and the Spirit proceeding? Indeed there is. The persons in that glory are not independent, but related. Nor is it beyond our measure to say that the great archetype of love, the blessed model or original of all affection, is found in that relationship.

Can I be satisfied with the unbelieving thought that there are not persons in the Godhead, and that Father, Son, and Spirit are only different lights in which the One Person is presented? The substance of the gospel would be destroyed by such a thought. And can I be satisfied with the unbelieving thought that these persons are not related? The love of the gospel would be dimmed by such a thought.

The bosom of the Father was an eternal habitation, enjoyed by the Son, in the ineffable delight of the Father. One has called it "the hiding place of love, of inexpressible love which is beyond glory; for glory may be revealed, this cannot."

"Lamb of God, Thy Father’s bosom
Ever was Thy dwelling-place!"

Let us not surrender such a wonderful truth to the thoughts of men. Even the Jews may rebuke the difficulty that some have regarding this truth. They felt that the Lord’s asserting His Sonship amounted to a making of Himself equal with God. So, instead of Sonship implying a secondary or inferior person, in their thought it asserted equality (John 5:17,18; 10:30-36).

"No man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father" (Luke 10:22). This is a sentence which may well check our reasonings. Also, the word that the eternal life was manifested to us to give us fellowship with the Father and the Son (1 John 1:2,3), distinctly utters the inestimable mystery of the Son being of the Godhead, having "eternal life" with the Father.

But further, can the love of God be understood according to Scripture if this Sonship be not owned? Does not that love get its character from that very doctrine? Are not our hearts challenged on the ground of it? "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). Again, "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. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.. . . We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world" (1 John 4:9-14).

Does not this love lose its unparalleled glory if this truth is questioned? How would we answer the man who would tell us that it was not His own Son whom God spared not, but gave Him up for us all? How would it wither the heart to hear that such a One was only His Son as born of the virgin, and that those words, "He that spared not His own Son" (Rom. 8:32), are to be read as human, and not as divine!

Was it with his servant, or with a stranger, or with one born in his house merely, that Abraham walked to Moriah? Was it with an adopted son, or with his own son, his very son, his only son, whom he loved? We know how to answer these inquiries, I do not know how I could speak of the Son loving me and giving Himself for me (Gal. 2:20), if I did not receive Him by faith as Son in the bosom of the Father, Son in the glory of the Godhead.

May our hearts find blessing in meditating upon the eternal "Son of God, who loved [us] and gave Himself for [us]."

(Condensed from The Son of God.)