 |  |
Son." The reader is reminded that No.5 of this series is devoted to the consideration of
the term "The only true God".
In the O.T. we read `like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that
fear Him' but the title here is "The Lord" Who is likened to `a father'. Rotherham's
version is nearer to the original and reads:
"Like the compassion of a father for his children."
If any will quote Psa. 89: 26 "Thou art my father, my God" he should remember
that the language is prophetic and actually applies to the future exaltation of Christ "I will
make Him My Firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth" (Psa. 89: 27). Nowhere
in the O.T. is God revealed as "Father"; there the great Name of God is "Jehovah".
It can be said without risk of denial, that God is not revealed as "Father" until the
Word was made flesh and was seen as "The only begotten of the Father" (John 1: 14).
The two titles Father and Son are relative terms, neither can be true apart from the apart
from the other. To speak of `the eternal generations of the Son' is to misuse language,
and rob us of the One Mediator "Himself Man Christ Jesus" (I Tim. 2: 5 R.V. margin).
Those who invented the term meant well; they were defending the Deity of Christ, but
by their anxiety, they make Him for ever dependent, for ever derived, for ever owing His
existence to another, which immediately destroys His essential Deity, and if we use their
language, we shall be compelled to adopt the language of Cudworth already quoted and
by giving supreme honour to the Father, and by refraining from giving equal honour to
the Son, we shall eventually find ourselves condemned by the words of John 5: 23:
"That all men should honour the Son, EVEN AS they honour the Father, He that
honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him."
If we misuse the word `person' if we insist that the Trinity is `essence' and do not
perceive that it is `economical' or `dispensational', we shall reap the consequences that
come from attempting the impossible.
"Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto
perfection?" (Job 11: 7).
To us, the mystery of God is resolved in the face of Jesus Christ, and the mystery of
godliness is that God was manifest in the flesh, and Ezekiel in the overwhelming and
complicated imagery of his opening vision sees at length the resolution of the mystery,
saying:
"Upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of A MAN above
upon it" (Ezek. 1: 26).
Not only does dispensational truth discover the
callings of the redeemed their several
spheres of inheritance, the differings ages and
their goals, it illuminates the very
assumptions of the Invisible God, Who for the
purposes of Creation is revealed as
Elohim, for the carrying out of the purpose of the
ages, is revealed as Jehovah; for the