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the Son are vitally linked with eternal life. These verses should make all who hesitate to
ascribe equal honour to the Son as to the Father consider the validity of their claim to
eternal life.
The confusion between the great truth that there is one God, and the revelation of the
"Persons," as related to creation and redemption, is to be deplored. We must rid
ourselves of the creeds and traditions of men, but we must "hold fast that which is good,"
and realize that the Father and the Son equally share the attributes of Deity. The title
"Son of God" of course has reference to the mediatorial office of Christ, and sometimes it
is difficult for us to distinguish the line of demarcation between His true Deity ("the true
God") and the voluntarily assumed humanity, "Christ come in the flesh." Nevertheless, it
is for us to believe that which is written. "Who by searching can find out God unto
perfection?" "God is Spirit," and has revealed Himself to men in a way that fills the
Scriptures with wonder. It is a delight to study passages of Scripture wherein all the
attributes of Deity ascribed to the Father, to Jehovah, or to the Creator as such, are
equally ascribed to the Son of God, and which effectually give the lie to the words of the
Open Letter, "His creature and Servant-Son," for while the Lord Jesus was man, born of
woman, yet He was, nevertheless, according to Holy Writ, "the true God and eternal
life."
The title "Son of God" is used by many to belittle the glory of the Lord Jesus. It is
clear from the Scriptures that the Jews understood this title to be a blasphemous claim to
Divine attributes. They understood him to claim equality with God (John 5: 18); and to
make Himself God (John 10: 33).
Some may object and say, "the Jews misunderstood Him, and we must not build a
doctrine upon such a frail foundation." Did they misunderstand Him? It would have
been easy for the Lord to have corrected their mistake. It was indeed imperative that He
should do so, not only for Himself and for the glory of His Father, but for the sake of
these men, who by their mistaken views (if such they were), were thirsting for His blood.
The Lord did not mitigate in one iota the fulness of His claim. He allowed it to remain
in all its repulsiveness to the Jewish mind, and died at last upon the cross, giving no sign
that His claim had been misunderstood. The Lord Jesus accepted the Jewish
interpretation of the title Son of God, and sealed its acceptance with His blood.