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THE SUBORDINATION OF THE SON TO THE FATHER
I.
Jno. 14:28—“Ye
have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye
loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my
Father is greater than I.”
FIRST PROPOSITION:
God the Father is greater than Jesus Christ the Son.
II.
Heb. 1:5—“For
unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I
begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a
Son?
Jno. 3:16—“For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
SECOND PROPOSITION:
God the Father begat Jesus Christ the Son.
Question:
Does this begetting refer to the origin of the Eternal Word or to the origin
of the incarnate Jesus?
Answer:
Ps. 2:7—“I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my
Son; this day have I begotten Thee.” (See context vv. 1, 2, 6, 8.) Luke
1:35—“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.”
III.
Jno. 6:57,
R. V.—“As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he
that eateth me, he also shall live because of me.”
THIRD PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ lives because of the Father.
IV.
Jno. 5:19—“Then
answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The Son can
do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever
he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”
FOURTH PROPOSITION:
The Son can do nothing independently of the Father.
V.
Jno. 6:29—“Jesus
answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him
whom he hath sent.”
Jno. 8:29,
42—“And
he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always
those things that please him. * * * Jesus said unto them: If God were your
Father, ye would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither
came I of myself, but he sent me.”
FIFTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ was sent by the Father.
VI.
Jno. 10:18—“No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it
down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of
my Father.”
SIXTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ received commandment from the Father, was under his authority and
directions.
VII.
Jno. 13:3—“Jesus
knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was
come from God, and went to God.”
SEVENTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ received His own authority from the Father.
VIII.
Jno. 8:26,
40—“I
have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and
I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. But now ye seek
to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God:
this did not Abraham.”
EIGHTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ received His message from the Father.
IX.
Jno. 5:36,
R. V.—“But the witness which I have is greater than that of John: for the
works which the Father hath given me to accomplish, the very works that I do,
bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.”
Jno. 14:10—“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.”
NINTH PROPOSITION:
The Father gave to Jesus Christ His works to accomplish, and it was the
indwelling Father who did the works.
X.
Luke 22:29—“And
I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me.”
TENTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ’s kingdom was appointed unto Him by the Father.
XI.
1 Cor. 15:24—“Then
cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the
Father,” etc.
ELEVENTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ shall ultimately deliver up the kingdom to the Father.
XII.
1 Cor. 15:27,
28,
R. V.—“For, he put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith,
All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he excepted who did
subject all things unto him. And when all things have been subjected to him,
then shall the son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all
things unto him, that God may be all in all.”
TWELFTH PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ Himself shall be subjected unto the Father that God may be all in
all.
XIII.
1 Cor. 11:3—“But
I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of
the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.”
THIRTEENTH PROPOSITION:
God the Father is head of Christ as Christ is the head of every man, and as
the man is head of the woman.
XIV.
Heb. 7:25,
R.V.—“Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near
unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
FOURTEENTH PROPOSITION:
Men draw near unto God through Christ. God, not Christ, is the ultimate goal.
He is the way unto the Father. (Jno.
14:6—“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the
truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me”)
XV.
Jno. 20:17—“Jesus
saith unto her, I ascend unto … my God.”
FIFTEENTH PROPOSITION:
God the Father is Jesus Christ’s God.
GENERAL PROPOSITION:
Jesus Christ is, and eternally shall be, subordinate to God the Father. In God
the Father we have the source of Deity; in Jesus Christ, Deity in its outflow.
But in the stream is all the perfection of the fountain.
(See Col. 2:9).
God the Father is the source of glory; Jesus Christ the Son is the effulgence
(shining forth or
off-flash) of His
glory. (Heb. 1:3,
R. V.—“Who being the effulgence of His glory.”)
All the passages quoted have reference to the incarnate
Christ and not to the
pre-existent Word.
Torrey, R. A. (1898). What the Bible
teaches a thorough and comprehensive study of what the Bible has to say
concerning the great doctrines of which it treats (85). New York,
Chicago [etc.: Fleming H. Revell company.
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