The Eternal Son

But how could Christ be begotten if He has always existed?

"Christ was the Son of God; He had been one with Him before the angels were called into existence. He had ever stood at the right hand of the Father; His supremacy, so full of blessing to all who came under its benignant control, had not heretofore been questioned." Patriarchs and Prophets p. 38

"The existence of Christ before His incarnation is not measured by figures" Signs of the Times, May 3, 1899.

"The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father." (R&H, April 5, 1906; and 1 SM, p. 247)

Christ was "with the Father from all eternity." Acts of the Apostles p. 39

These statements seem conclusive. So do the following biblical texts:

Of course, this is dealing with the continuation of time into the future.
"From eternity" is dealing with the continuation of time into the past.
Yet, we understand that the meaning of "for ever" may not be the same as "unending"
"Eternal hell fire", we believe, will not burn "forever", will not continue without an end.
Likewise, "from everlasting", "from eternity" need not require existence without a beginning.

The Son Before Time
One solution suggested by the Ante-Nicene Fathers was to posit that Time had a beginning when the Son created all things including Time. Thus, if the Son was begotten and proceeded forth from the Father prior to the creation of Time, it could be truly said that "there never was a time" when the Son, the Word, was not with the Father. "In the beginning was the Word." From everlasting, before men or angels, He was born not created.

"As to when He was begotten, it is not for us to inquire, nor could our minds grasp it if we were told. The prophet Micah tells us all that we can know about it in these words, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity." Micah 5:2, margin. There was a time when Christ proceeded forth and came from God, from the bosom of the Father (John 8:42; 1:18), but that time was so far back in the days of eternity that to finite comprehension it is practically without beginning." EJ Waggoner Christ Our Righteousness, Is Christ a Created Being?

"The Word existed as a divine being, even as the eternal Son of God, in union and oneness with His Father. From everlasting He was the Mediator of the covenant…Before men or angels were created, the Word was with God, and was God." Review and Herald, April 5, 1906; Evangelism p. 615-616

Yet Christ is fully divine in nature, equal in value to the law of God.

"Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore. The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His right. He was equal with God, infinite and omnipotent." Review and Herald, April 5, 1906. SDABC Vol. 5 p. 1126.

"Behold the Saviour of the world, in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Faith and Works p. 16; Review and Herald Feb 24, March 3 1977; Manuscript 36, 1890.

"The divine Son of God was the only sacrifice of sufficient value to fully satisfy the claims of God's perfect law. The angels were sinless, but of less value than the law of God. [Jesus was equal value] They were amenable to the law. They were messengers to do the will of Christ, and before him to bow. They were created beings, [Christ was not] and probationers. Upon Christ…no obligation was laid…to undertake the work of atonement. It was a voluntary sacrifice." Review and Herald Dec 17, 1872 [bracketed comments added]

"It was Christ who from the bush on Mount Horeb spoke to Moses saying, "I AM THAT I AM."…"And to us He says: "I AM the good shepherd." "I AM the living bread." "I AM the way, the truth, and the life."…I AM the assurance of every promise. I AM; be not afraid." The Faith I Live By p. 47

"The greatness of God cannot be measured or comprehended. And that doctrine that denies the absolute Godhead of Jesus Christ, denies also the Godhead of the Father; for no man knoweth the Son but the Father. The mightiest created intelligence cannot grasp divinity. The principalities and powers of heaven are overwhelmed with the vastness of the theme of Christ's character and the mystery of the union of divinity and humanity." Signs of the Times 06-27-95

Godhead came from the old English word Godhede (Godhood) which paralleled manhede (manhood), terms for divinity and humanity.

He came from the bosom of His Father to save fallen man.

"Praise and adoration were poured forth for the self-denial and sacrifice of Jesus; that he would consent to leave the bosom of his Father, and choose a life of suffering and anguish, and die an ignominious death to give life to others." 1 Spiritual Gifts p. 26.

"Jesus was the Majesty of heaven, the beloved Commander of the angels, whose delight was to do his pleasure. He was one with God, in the bosom of the Father; yet He thought it not a thing to be desired to be equal with God while man was lost in sin and misery. He stepped down from his throne." Bible Echo and Signs of the Times 3-15-1893

Other early Adventist pioneers also believed in the begotten Son of God, notably Uriah Smith and James White:

"God alone is without beginning. At the earliest epoch when a beginning could be, - a period so remote that to finite minds it is essentially eternity, - appeared the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1. This uncreated Word was the Being, who, in the fullness of time, was made flesh, and dwelt among us. His beginning was not like that of any other being in the universe. It is set forth in the mysterious expressions, "his [God's] only begotten Son" (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9), "the only begotten of the Father" (John 1:14), and, "I proceeded forth and came from God." John 8:42. Thus it appears that by some divine impulse or process, not creation, known only to Omniscience, and possible only to Omnipotence, the Son of God appeared. And then the Holy Spirit (by an infirmity of translation called "the Holy Ghost"), the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the divine afflatus and medium of their power, representative of them both (Ps. 139:7), was in existence also." Uriah Smith, Looking Unto Jesus, p. 10. 1898

"Christ is the only being begotten of the Father." James Edison White, Past, Present and Future, p. 52. 1909 p. 13.

"Christ is the agent through whom God has created all things, but that he himself came into existence in a different manner, as he is called the only begotten of the Father." J. N. Loughborough, Insert A-1, Lest We Forget, Volume 4, Number 2, Second Quarter, 1994

"Back in the ages, which finite mind cannot fathom, the Father and Son were alone in the universe. Christ was the first begotten of the Father, and to Him Jehovah made known the divine plan of Creation." S. N. Haskell, The Story of the Seer of Patmos, pp. 93, 94. 1905

"Christ was the firstborn in heaven; He was likewise the firstborn of God upon earth, and heir to the Father's throne. Christ, the firstborn, though the Son of God, was clothed in humanity, and was made perfect through suffering." S. N. Haskell, The Story of the Seer of Patmos, pp. 98, 99. 1905.

"Christ is the only literal son of God. 'The only begotten of the Father.' John 1:14. He is God because he is the Son of God; not by virtue of His resurrection. If Christ is the only begotten of the Father, then we cannot be begotten of the Father in a literal sense. It can only be in a secondary sense of the word." J. G. Matteson, Review & Herald, October 12, 1869 p. 123

The Son's Pre-existence
Many texts establish the pre-existence of the Son of God.

pros (acting togethwe, pertaining to) not meta (being with) or para (beside, next to, near)

"And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: 'The Lord possessed Me
in the beginning of His way, before His works of old.'" PP p. 34

The same Hebrew word is used to mean "possessed" and "gotten"

God the Father "possessed" and "had gotten" His Son "in the beginning"

But there was a time before the devil's beginning when the devil was Lucifer.

The Son of God already existed when Lucifer began to rebel with his jealousy of Christ.

Michael, The Archangel
The title Archangel occurs only twice in scripture.
In 1Thes 4:16 the Lord descends with the voice of the Archangel and raises the dead.
In Jude 9 the Archangel disputes with Satan over the body of Moses, who is then raised from the dead.
There is only one Archangel known to the Bible, the Chief Messenger of God, the Word of God.
Michael is Hebrew for "one who is like God"
But God says, "I am God, and there is none like me" Isaiah 46:9
There is no contradiction if Michael actually is God.

Many scriptures identify the pre-incarnate Christ as Michael, the Angel of the Lord's presence.
As the Son of God, the Word, He created all the worlds and their inhabitants..
As the Son of God, He is the mediator between God and His creation…
The Son was first mediator between God and angels, manifesting God to them in a form like them.
This was the first step in descending to save His fallen creatures.

EGW called Jesus "Michael the Archangel"
(Desire of Ages pp. 99, 379; Spiritual Gifts Vol. 1, p. 158; Prophets & Kings p. 572)
Michael, the angel of God's presence, dealt with man before His incarnation.

"The mighty angel who instructed John (Rev. 1:1) was no less than the person of Christ" Manuscript 59, 1900.

Rev 10:6 "In swearing by the creator, the angel who is Christ, swore by himself" Manuscript 129; 7SDABC, p. 798.

The Son of God is the eternal Mediator between God and all created beings, even angels.
Thus, He humbled Himself to commune with the angels being fashioned in angelic form.
Then the Son of God became the Son of Man. He humbled Himself once more, being fashioned as a man.

The Son from the beginning of the world
Heb 1:16___[Jesus vs 9] took not on Him the nature of angels, but He took on Him, the seed of Abraham

Yet He, appearing as an angel, was the One who interacted with humanity "all the days of old"

Christ's pre-existence was a mystery.

But it was no longer a mystery.
Jesus Christ is revealed as the begotten Son of God.

Melchizadek was like the Son of God, a type,
to demonstrate the eternal priesthood of Christ.
But, notice, the Son of God was not made like Melchizadek.
While no lineage is given for Melchizadek (without father…), Christ has a Father in heaven.
And because He shares the Father's nature, He too is eternal and everlasting.

Jesus begins and ends His work of salvation in our lives.

The King and His redeemer speak as one; they both share the name LORD (Jehovah).

Isa 44:6____The LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first and…the last

But only the Father is and was and is to come.

Continued: The Son's Sacrifice