Sonship of Christ in Adventism

Introduction. Much of the unique, early Adventist teachings on the sonship of Christ have been altered by the adoption of the Trinity doctrine. Trinitarianism attacks the sonship of Christ in at least these three fundamental ways, summarized as follows:

Sonship	Early Adventist	Trinitarian
1. His birth	Literal	Metaphorical - "role" playing
2. His authority	Subordinate to the Father	Equal to the Father
3. His righteousness	Dual atonement	Single atonement

1. His birth. Christ is the only begotten Son of God before creation and time, and for all eternity. Trinitarianism teaches his sonship to be metaphorical and role playing. See eternal Sonship for further study.
2. His authority. Christ ever was and ever will be subordinate to the Father. Trinitarianism teaches equality, not subordination.
3. His righteousness. Christ's righteousness can become my righteousness, both imputed and imparted, when we sustain a living connection with him. Without his righteousness, we are not properly "clothed" for the heavenly wedding feast. It is not just faith in Christ, but the faith of Christ that a believer must have in order to be welcomed into the kingdom. Trinitarianism believes in single atonement where everything was accomplished at the cross and no further salvific "work" needs to be done. Whereas early Adventists believed in a dual atonement where the work of sanctification (i.e. "cleansing of the sanctuary") needs to be accomplished in the soul that is to be alive at the Second Coming.This belief follows the sanctuary pattern of the "daily" and the "yearly."

Began in heaven. The authority of the Son of God was a key issue in the rebellion that started in heaven.

• 1SG 17.2: It was the highest sin to rebel against the order and will of God. All heaven seemed in commotion. The angels were marshaled in companies with a commanding angel at their head. All the angels were astir. Satan was insinuating against the government of God, ambitious to exalt himself, and unwilling to submit to the authority of Jesus. Some of the angels sympathized with Satan in his rebellion, and others strongly contended for the honor and wisdom of God in giving authority to his Son. And there was contention with the angels. Satan and his affected ones, who were striving to reform the government of God, wished to look into his unsearchable wisdom to ascertain his purpose in exalting Jesus, and endowing him with such unlimited power and command. They rebelled against the authority of the Son of God, and all the angels were summoned to appear before the Father, to have their cases decided.

Evidently, what initiated Satan's rebellion in heaven was the elevation of Christ with unlimited authority and power. Satan was jealous of Christ. It filled him with envy, jealousy and hatred to not receive the highest honors as Christ received.

Satan's attack on Christ's sonship. Satan's attack on Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13) was over his sonship. Twice he said, "If you are the Son of God..." (Matthew 4:3, 6; Luke 4:3, 9), in an attempt to have Jesus question his mission as an obedient, submissive son. Why is Christ's sonship such an issue? It is an issue because it is the antithesis of Satan's agenda. Christ as an obedient, subordinate Son of God goes against what Satan is all about. Satan's desire is to be equal with God, "I will make myself like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14). Satan's quest is for supremacy, not submission. He desires to have autonomy and independence, to do whatever he sets his mind to do apart from God's will and His law. Satan's agenda is not that of love to God and others but of self-centeredness. Satan desires not to serve, but to be served.

Begotten of the Father. The Father's claims that Jesus is His Son (Matthew 3:17; 17:5; Mark 1:11; 9;7; Luke 9:35; 2 Peter 1:17) are statements of fact, based on reality—not a metaphor, not a designation. Jesus is truly the begotten Son of God, derived from the Father's substance.

• John 8:42: Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth [G1831] and came [G2064] from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.
• John 16:27-28: For the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out [G1831] from God. 28 I came forth [G1831] from the Father, and am come [G2064] into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
• John 17:7-8: Now they have known that all things whatsoever you have given me are of you. 8 For I have given unto them the words which you have given me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out [G1831] from you, and they have believed that you did send me.
• Compare:
• Matthew 12:43-44: When the unclean spirit is gone out [G1831] of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, "I will return into my house from whence I came out [G1831];" and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.

In EGW's own words:

• 18LtMs, Lt 303, 1903, par.14: When Christ first announced to the heavenly host His mission and work in the world, He declared that He was to leave His position of dignity and disguise His holy mission by assuming the likeness of a man, when in reality He was the Son of the infinite God. And when the fullness of time was come, He stepped down from His throne of highest command, laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown, clothed His divinity with humanity, and came to this earth to exemplify what humanity must do and be in order to overcome the enemy and to sit with the Father upon His throne.
• RH July 9, 1895, par. 13: The Eternal Father, the unchangeable one, gave his only begotten Son, tore from his bosom Him who was made in the express image of his person, and sent him down to earth to reveal how greatly he loved mankind.
• OHC 12.2: God's love for the world was not manifest because He sent His Son, but because He loved the world He sent His Son into the world that divinity clothed with humanity might touch humanity, while divinity lays hold of divinity. Though sin had produced a gulf between man and his God, a divine benevolence provided a plan to bridge that gulf. And what material did He use? A part of Himself.
• ST May 30, 1895, par. 3: A complete offering has been made; for “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son,”—not a son by creation, as were the angels, nor a son by adoption, as is the forgiven sinner, but a Son begotten in the express image of the Father's person, and in all the brightness of his majesty and glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection.

See The Incarnation for further study.

Subject to the Father. Jesus' claim that "the Father is greater than I" (John 14:28) is a statement of fact, based on reality. Jesus remains divine, yet subject to the Father as a literal (begotten) son. And this will be true for eternity, given that when all things are put under Jesus' feet, Jesus will in turn hand over the kingdom to the Father.

• 1 Corinthians 15:28 (AMP): However, when all things are subjected to Him (Christ), then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One (the Father) who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all.

Relationship-based not authority-based. We are prone to ask an authority-based (inherent power, performance-based) question with respect to the Father and Son: Is the Son equal with the Father? However, the question we should be asking is a relational one: What do you think of Christ? Whose Son is He? (Matthew 22:41).

Jesus' example to us, even before the incarnation, is that of submission. While on earth, Jesus ever sought to do His Father's will. Jesus became the pattern for us to follow. In order to find oneness with the Father, we must be like Christ who was one with the Father. Indeed, Jesus is the Way to the Father; Jesus is the Truth (proclaiming the Truth of the Father); Jesus is the Life (imparted by the Father). By following Jesus relationally we can come to the Father as Jesus came to the Father. Jesus did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped (Philippians 2:6).

Christ our righteousness

Faith of Christ. It is Christ's righteousness that is both imputed and imparted to us when we sustain a living connection with him. Without his righteousness, we are not properly "clothed" for the heavenly wedding feast. It is not just faith in Christ, but the faith of Christ that a believer must have. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20). [the original Greek says faith of, not faith in the Son of God. It is correctly translated in the KJV but not in other modern translations.]

Source of righteousness. The emphasis on works and obedience in order to obtain salvation reveals a confused belief that man has some kind of personal power to keep the commandments of God that is aided by the work of Christ. This sentiment was changed in Adventism with the 1888 message. This is what Ellen White wrote:

• TM 91.2: The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. [See Appendix.] This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure.

The 1888 message in a nutshell is that all power to obey comes from and through Christ and we are totally helpless without it.

• RH November 22, 1892. par. 7: The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth. For it is the work of every one to whom the message of warning has come, to lift up Jesus, to present him to the world as revealed in types, as shadowed in symbols, as manifested in the revelations of the prophets, as unveiled in the lessons given to his disciples and in the wonderful miracles wrought for the sons of men. Search the Scriptures; for they are they that testify of him.
• RH November 22, 1892. par. 8: If you would stand through the time of trouble, you must know Christ, and appropriate the gift of his righteousness, which he imputes to the repentant sinner. Human wisdom will not avail to devise a plan of salvation. Human philosophy is vain, the fruits of the loftiest powers of man are worthless, aside from the great plan of the divine Teacher. No glory is to redound to man; all human help and glory lies in the dust; for the truth as it is in Jesus is the only available agent by which man may be saved. Man is privileged to connect with Christ, and then the divine and the human combine; and in this union the hope of man must rest alone; for it is as the Spirit of God touches the soul that the powers of the soul are quickened, and man becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. He was manifested to bring life and immortality to light. He says, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” The psalmist declares, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”

It is not an inherent power from within, but a gifted power from without. Christ both imputes and imparts his righteousness to us.

• COL 159.3: No outward observances can take the place of simple faith and entire renunciation of self. But no man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work. Then the language of the soul will be, Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul.
• RH December 18, 1888, Art. A, par. 5: God consented to let his Son take upon himself the results of man's transgression of that law, thus making it possible for man to be pardoned, and to become obedient to all God's commandments. It is the righteousness and perfection of his Son, who takes upon himself our sins, our defects, our weaknesses, which God accepts; and through faith in the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour we are prisoners of hope. Christ's righteousness becomes our righteousness, if we sustain a living connection with him. Then we cease to transgress the holy law of God, and become partakers of the divine nature.
• RH June 4, 1895, par.7: Righteousness within is testified to by righteousness without. He who is righteous within is not hard-hearted and unsympathetic, but day by day he grows into the image of Christ, going on from strength to strength. He who is being sanctified by the truth will be self-controlled, and will follow in the footsteps of Christ until grace is lost in glory. The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven.

In the last quote, "until grace is lost in glory," suggests that the believer starts with grace and ends with glory. A similar idea, of this growth and progression is stated by Paul in Romans 8:30, "And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

Power of God in Jesus Christ.

• 8T 291.3: Our condition through sin has become preternatural [[def. beyond what is normal or natural]], and the power that restores us must be supernatural, else it has no value. There is but one power that can break the hold of evil from the hearts of men, and that is the power of God in Jesus Christ. Only through the blood of the Crucified One is there cleansing from sin. His grace alone can enable us to resist and subdue the tendencies of our fallen nature. This power the spiritualistic theories concerning God make of no effect. If God is an essence pervading all nature, then He dwells in all men; and in order to attain holiness, man has only to develop the power that is within him.
• RH April 1, 1890, par. 5: Christ is the source of every right impulse. He is the only one who can arouse in the natural heart enmity against sin. He is the source of our power if we would be saved. No soul can repent without the grace of Christ. The sinner may pray that he may know how to repent. God reveals Christ to the sinner, and when he sees the purity of the Son of God, he is not ignorant of the character of sin. By faith in the work and power of Christ, enmity against sin and Satan is created in his heart. Those whom God pardons are first made penitent.

If human power is relied upon, the person will have no real power to resist and overcome evil.

• 8T 291.4: These [[pantheistic]] theories, followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy. They do away with the necessity for the atonement and make man his own savior. These theories regarding God make His word of no effect, and those who accept them are in great danger of being led finally to look upon the whole Bible as a fiction. They may regard virtue as better than vice; but God being removed from His position of sovereignty, they place their dependence upon human power, which, without God, is worthless. The unaided human will has no real power to resist and overcome evil. The defenses of the soul are broken down. Man has no barrier against sin. When once the restraints of God's word and His Spirit are rejected, we know not to what depths one may sink.

References

• As It Reads, "Jesus, the Son of God"
• Imputed and Imparted.