The Father and the Son Distinguished

As briefly as I can, I will put this one out there (what blogs were originally all about, right?).

This verse has been coming to my mind over the last few days, and coming back. I think it is one of the verses that can speak to the issue of Jesus Only or the Modalist view of God, that says there is only one person in God, and the three designations, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are just manifestations of the one God. I found this teaching close to home where I live, where one of the children's pastors in a very large growing church is teaching this to the children as part of their baptism catechism.

Modalism (the view of United Pentecostals and others) lays great emphasis on the unity of God, but really overlooks the distinctions of the persons of the Godhead, representing the Scriptures as showing God simply manifesting himself to man in three different modes; insisting that God exists as one single solitary person. Modalists try to say that the view of the Trinity is really a polytheistic view, and Trinitarians cannot escape the charge of having three gods.

The concept of the Trinity historically has been the best explanation that Christianity has been able to give for the Scriptural truths that there is only one God, but that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are spoken of as distinct “persons” from one another, and yet are attributed the titles and attributes of Deity.

This verse I refer to is John 1:18. In the NIV (New International Version) I own, it says: “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” OK, I see this as kind of weak in translation, which is why a newer version of the NIV has it a little differently. But note in here the distinction between the Father and the Son. The Son is at the Father’s side, which means he’s separate from the Father as a personality in existence.

A closer translation is the NKJV (New King James Version) which reads, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” Here, we have the phrase “in the bosom of the Father,” which seems to indicate very close intimacy. Still, a Jesus Only person may point out the use of “in” the bosom of the Father. Isn’t that like emanating from within the Father, i.e., the same origin?

Let’s look at a more literal translation: “God no one hath ever seen; the only begotten Son, who is on the bosom of the Father—he did declare.” YLT98 (Young’s Literal Translation) Notice that literally, the Greek doesn't place the Son inside the Father, but on him. The Son is in the most intimate embrace of the Father, and that’s about as close as he can get without being the Father. Get that?

No where does the Scripture say that the Son is the Father, or vice versa, in any sense. I think a solid meditation on Romans 8 can show the distinctions between the persons of the Godhead as well.