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The Only Son Our Lord

SUMMARY: Christ is the eternal Son of God. Before the creation of the world, the Son lived by the side of the Father. With him, the Son created the world; with him, after the creation, the Son works in preserving the world and fighting evil and sin.

It is this unique Son of God who took to Himself a human nature of the flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary. He was made like us in all things except for sin, in order to wipe away (or expiate) our sin, and reconcile us with His Father. He took on a complete human nature in order to accomplish our salvation and to communicate to us all the spiritual blessings we lack.

Jesus Christ is therefore my Mediator and Lord. I become, thanks to Him, an adopted child of the Father, and a member of the family God.

Bible Readings: Monday, Question 51: 1 and 2; Tuesday, Question 51: 3 and Question 53: 1; Wednesday, Question 53: 2 and 3; Thursday, Question 55: 1 and Matthew 17:1–13; Friday, John 13:1–20 and Psalm 72; Saturday, Psalm 110 and Philippians 2:1–11.

50. Why do you call Jesus Christ “the only Son of God”, seeing that God also calls us His children?

Because Christ alone is the eternal Son of God by nature. We are God’s children not by right of birth but because He adopts us in Jesus Christ. Then, by His grace, He considers us His children. For this reason the Apostle Paul called Jesus Christ “the first born among many brethren” (compare the Scripture citations under Question 34).

. . . You have not received the spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” . . . and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. Romans 8:15, 17

He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will. Ephesians 1:5

51. What does the expression “eternal Son of God” mean?

Jesus Christ is truly the eternal Son of God, true God from all eternity. He did not begin to exist only at the point of time at which He came to earth. As Son of God He existed from before the beginning of all things.

The life of the Son of God cannot be measured in the same way as that of an ordinary human being. Before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus of Nazareth did not exist. Nevertheless the eternal Son of God did exist from all eternity, as the Word and Wisdom of God.

In Jesus of Nazareth the eternal Son of God took to Himself a true human nature and was made like us in all things, except for sin (Question 53). This was a unique and unprecedented event.

The historical and visible revelation of the eternal Son of God, in a human nature is called the incarnation of the Son or Christ. Beforehand he was invisible and spiritual like the Father.

Let us thus summarize the first stages of the life of the Son of God:

1. Before the Creation.

The Father and the Son (called in Scripture His Word and Wisdom) were intimately united and were each other’s happiness in mutual love. “The only begotten Son . . . is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18). They knew one another perfectly. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1–2).

2. At the Time of the Creation.

The Son worked with His Father and accomplished with Him the work of the six days.

All things came into being by Him; and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness did not comprehend it . . . The world was made through Him . . . John 1:3–5, 10

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16–17

3. During the History of the World.

Since the creation, the Father and the Son always work together in the preservation of the world and the fight against sin. Jesus said, “My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17).

It was by the Son that the Father began to reveal Himself to men and made Himself known to them, especially in the disclosures during the time of the Old Testament. Paul says of the Israelites in the dessert: “They drank from a spiritual rock, who followed them, and this rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4).

We will see how the Son continues to be associated in the work of His Father. It is His work as well, until the end of history, as the incarnate, resurrected, and glorified Son.

Bible Readings:

1. The intimacy of the Father and the Son: John 5:19–30.

2. The agreement of Father and Son in their eternal plan: John 17:9–26.

4. The Birth of Jesus Christ.

This birth is the incarnation of the Son of God in a human nature. He is the Word and the Wisdom of God. It is the event through which we can contemplate on earth the image of the Father. Jesus Christ often said that He was—for a short time—an ambassador of heaven on earth.

He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He bears witness; and no man receives His witness. He who has received His witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. John 3:31–34

He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me. And he who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me . . . he who has seen Me has seen the Father . . . I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. John 12:44–45; 14:9–10

For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him. Colossians 1:19

Bible Readings:

3. I came out from God and I am going to Him. I am!: John 8:12–19, 25–29, 42–47, 54–58.

52. Finally, why do you call Him “our Lord”?

Because He was named “our Lord” by His Father, in order that we might live under His rule. He is the King of the Kingdom of God in heaven and on earth, and God has made Him Lord and Head of believers and angels.

But Jesus Christ is also our “Lord,” because He delivers us body and soul from sin and all the domination of Satan. And in order that we might be His possession, He purchased us not with gold and silver, but with His precious blood.

. . . You are not redeemed with perishable things like silver and gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you . . . 1 Peter 1:18–20

You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. 1 Corinthians 7:23

He Was Conceived by the Holy Ghost and Born of the Virgin Mary

53. What do you mean when you say, “conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary”?

The eternal Son of God, who has been true God from all eternity and who remains true God, took a true human nature of the flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary, by the action of the Holy Spirit. He did this so that He might be the true descendent of David, like His brothers in all things except sin.

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4–5

. . . The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

The gospel . . . concerning His Son, who was born a descendent of David according to the flesh, who was declared the son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of Holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord . . . Romans 1:3–4

. . . Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, being made in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:5–7

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Bible Readings:

1. The Lord is with you!: Luke 1:26–38.

2. The birth of Jesus: Luke 2:1–21.

3. A sign which will be opposed: Luke 2:22–52.

54. Was it therefore necessary for the Son of God to clothe Himself with our own human nature?

Yes, because it was necessary that the disobedience of man be expiated, or wiped away, by human nature. Moreover, Christ could not otherwise be our Mediator, to reconcile us with God His Father and unite us with Him. It was necessary then that Christ be a man in order to accomplish, as in our own person, the work of our salvation. It was impossible for Him to regain what we had lost in any other way (Questions 20–22).

. . . There is one God and one Mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5

55. But why was the Savior conceived by the Holy Spirit, and not according to natural means?

Because of the corruption of human nature it was necessary that the Holy Spirit intervene in the conception of the Son of God, in order to preserve Him from every stain and fully to maintain His holiness. The one whose work it was to sanctify others must be kept pure from every spot or blemish from before His birth with a complete purity so that He likewise could be totally set apart to God and exempt from all the corruption of human nature.

Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth. 1 Peter 2:22