That Jesus Christ is of the seed of David, according to the flesh, few will deny except deists; but that he is the Eternal Son of God, many have denied and do deny, which has caused much distress and sorrow in the hearts of those who are seeking to know Him of whom Moses and the prophets did write.
For the strengthening of the faith of such seekers, these lines are penned.
"with a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Thus the Father and the Holy Spirit bare witness to the Sonship of the Lord Jesus. See Matthew 3:16-17; and Mark 1:10-11.
See his almighty power in raising Lazarus from the dead, which he declared was for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. And many other such works as these the glorious Son of God did, and claimed equality with the Father, saying, "I and my Father are one;" which the Jews understood clearly, as declaring his Godhead.
Nor did the blessed Saviour contradict this, but answered, "Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Jesus answered, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
Here he styles himself the eternal Son of the eternal Father by a demonstration, declaring himself to be the giver of eternal life to all his sheep.
But further, as God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit, have witness from heaven, both to the Messiahship and Sonship of Christ Jesus; and John the Baptist, who was a burning and shining light, bare the same testimony; and as the blessed Son of God, who had the Spirit without measure given to him as Mediator, who is the faithful and true witness, also bare the same testimony, and all according to the Spirit of holiness; so the most gracious God and Father hath given the blessed Spirit to his children in all ages, and declares them to be his witnesses that he is God; whose testimony in the Word being according to the' Spirit of holiness we will now endeavour to inquire into.
II. Abraham is called to offer up his only-begotten son, Isaac, of whom it was said, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called;" but faith in the Son of God overcame his natural or parental feelings; and by faith he builds the altar, lays the wood, binds his son Isaac, and raises his hand with the knife; at which moment, God called to Abraham, out of heaven, and showed him the ram, which he offered instead of his son.
And what a discovery did God make to Abraham of the Son of his love and of his everlasting covenant with him!
And in Psalm 14, he says, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever," which in the epistle to the Hebrews is applied to the Son.
No doubt these three faithful men witnessed of him to the king as their God; and the faith by which they stood was the faith of the Son of God, which he honoured, and quenched the violence of the fire, delivered his servants that trusted in him, and showed himself who he was even to this heathen king; which is recorded for our encouragement under similar trials.
But we will now come to the New Testament, and endeavour to show, that where the Holy Ghost wrought true faith in the hearts of his saints, that faith received, and believed in, the Son of God, even when it was first wrought in the heart.
Christ saw Nathaniel under the fig-tree before Philip called him, which, when Nathaniel discovered, and perceived his omniscience, he exclaimed, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel." Christ acknowledged his faith, and told him he should see greater things.
Again. The man that was born blind, whose eyes Jesus opened, was cast out by the Jews for confessing Christ as the worker of this miracle.
"…and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
Thus, the omniscient Judge draws the line of separation between the children of light and those given up to blindness of mind.
But further. Paul declared that God the Father revealed his Son in him that he might preach him; and immediately after he had received the Holy Ghost he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
But the time would fail to point out the many times Paul sets him forth in his epistles as the Eternal Son of God, the Maker of all things, and upholder of all things by the word of his power, showing withal our blindness and great ignorance of this glorious person; also, his kindness in the gift of the Holy Ghost, to instruct us into a knowledge of him, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the stature of the fulness of Christ.
Thus we see that the faith of bible saints in all ages has received and embraced the eternal Son of God, with all his saving benefits.
And now, reader, let me ask thy conscience, Dost thou believe in the Son of God?
Hath God the Father ever revealed him to you by faith, or drawn thy heart and affections towards him, to behold a little of his glory?
And what has thy faith done for thee?
Has it ever obtained any promise?
Has it ever overcome the world?
For "who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" implying, that if tbou believest not that Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son, the world will be too much for thee, and Satan, the god of it, will make thee his slave secretly if not openly.
But if the Son hath made thee free, thou canst say with John, "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding to know him that is true;" and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.
This is the true God and eternal life; and, through rich and sovereign grace, the writer can testify that God the Father revealed in him his dearly-beloved Son, and assured his heart of his good pleasure in him, causing pardon, reconciliation, and peace, to flow into his poor soul more than thirty years ago; and at that day he could say, with melting heart and weeping eyes, "O Lord, I will praise thee: thought thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me.
This everlasting love conquers the rebel, slays the enmity of his mind, makes him willing to renounce all his own righteousness, and with all his heart bow to sovereign grace, believing nothing less could ever reach his case as a fallen son of Adam. Thus, Christ Jesus is declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, which was given to the Mediator without measure, and was never to depart from his seed forever.
III. But Christ's resurrection from the dead is said to have an influence in this, which we will inquire into Christ, by his doing and dying, finished the work that the Father gave him to do.
His resurrection is a receipt in full, that not one jot or tittle was left undone and it was such a blow to his enemies, as they have not been able to heal to this day.
Hence, the Holy Ghost was given, which is the li of all real religion to this day in the world; for if Christ be not risen, our faith is vain, and we are yet in our sins; but the power of God that was put forth in our hearts, to beget us again to a lively hope, is a proof to us of Christ's resurrection.
But some, who style themselves Ministers of Christ's gospel, tell us they cannot find the eternal Sonship of Christ in the Scriptures; but surely he that gives eternal life must be eternal.
Others go farther than this, and impiously ask, How can God beget God? and suppose him to be a Son either by adoption or by office, applying his Sonship only and exclusively to his human nature.
Others go farther still, declaring, that to talk of the eternal Son of God, is to talk eternal nonsense. This appears awful, as it is setting at nought God's holy word, and advancing towards Arianism.
And O, when he appears as our life, and we see him as he is, he will indeed be declared to be the Son of God, with power, when our bodies shall be fashioned like his glorious body, by the resurrection at the last day; but all his enemies that would not that he should reign over them, shall be consigned to the bottomless pit for ever.