IS JESUS CREATED OR BEGOTTEN?
1 John 2:22 — “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”
We have a historical account of what our Pioneers believed on this subject. It is shared elsewhere on this website under the header, "the Pioneers.". And then we have the theologians with their new views and in some cases, denying truly that Jesus is the Son of God. You see, in order to be the son, he would have to had a beginning.
Today there are lots of mistruths, misconceptions and distortion of truth about our Pioneers and what their system of beliefs were. People became Seventh-day Adventist because of our beliefs in the early days. If they knew what was going on today, they wouldn't even recognize this denomination. Doesn't that seem odd to you? After all, if people in the Lutheran church changed what Martin Luther believed and taught, they couldn't call themselves Lutherans. Well today we have the modern Adventist church who are Seventh-day Adventist in name only.
"Adventist beliefs have changed over the years...Most startling is the teaching regarding Jesus Christ....Many of the Pioneers including James White, J.N. Andrews, Uriah Smith, and J.H. Waggoner, held to an Arian or Semi-Arian view. That is that the Son at some point in time, before the creation of our world was generated by the Father. The Trinitarian understanding of God, now part of our fundamental beliefs, was not generally held by the early Adventists. Even today, a few do not subscribe to it." — William Johnson, editor - Adventist Review, January 6, 1994
The above statement by Mr. Johnson is incorrect when he tries to fit the founders of the faith into a box called Arian or Semi-Arian. They were not anywhere close to Arius’ teaching because he had a problem with the Divinity of Christ and the Pioneers believed Christ had the Father’s “God nature.” But his personality and identity was not a god the son, but the Son of God. Trinitarian-ism was definitely not held by the early Adventists. The words “god the son” and “god the holy spirit” are not found in the Bible. They had to be manufactured by theologians.
"Most of the founders of Seventh-day Adventism would not be able to join the church today if they had to subscribe to the denominations Fundamental Beliefs. More specifically, most would not be able to agree to belief #2, which deals with the doctrine of the Trinity." — George Knight, Ministry Magazine, October 1993, p. 10
To correct Mr. Knight, all of the founders would not be able to join the church, not just most. Imagine this being done to Martin Luther. They wouldn't be Lutherans any more.
“That most of the leading SDA pioneers were non-Trinitarian in their theology has become accepted Adventist history, surprising as it sounded to most Adventists 40 years ago when Erwin R. Gane wrote an M.A. thesis on the topic. More recently, a further question has arisen with increasing urgency: was the pioneer’s belief about the Godhead right or wrong? As one line of reasoning goes, either the pioneers were wrong and the present church is right, or the pioneers were right and the present Seventh-day Adventist Church has apostatized from biblical truth.” — Jerry Moon, The Trinity, p. 190
With this quote in mind, if one could say that the Pioneers were wrong, then Adventism and Sister White are a lie. Think about it. So in reality, it forces you to believe the Pioneers.
Theologians and writers of Adventist periodicals today say that a Father and Son is not literal, it is only a metaphor. This is truly a sad state of thinking. A metaphor did not send a metaphor to save us.
“The Son is not the natural, literal Son of the Father. . . . The term “Son” is used metaphorically when applied to the Godhead.” - Angel Manuel Rodriguez, Director of the Biblical Research Institute, Adventist World Magazine, November 2015, p. 42
Just read John 3:16-18. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. v17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. v18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
God would have had to have a son previously in order to send him. Jesus’ beginning didn’t start in Bethlehem. It was sometime back in infinity before creation. You won’t hear the next two quotes from any pastor.
“From eternity there was a complete unity between the Father and the Son. They were two, yet little short of being identical; two in individuality, yet one in spirit, and heart, and character.” — Ellen White, Youth's Instructor, Dec. 16, 1897
“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." — Ellen White, Review & Herald, July 9th, 1895, par. 13
"Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." 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. In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.“ — Ellen White, Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895
Are you not saying that Christ was created by the Father when you insist that He was begotten? Isn’t begotten the same thing as being created? Do you believe that Christ was created?
"Created" No, Christ is not a created being. We have never believed that nor ever taught that. It is a serious blasphemy to suggest that Christ is created. The misunderstanding in people’s mind is due to the false assumption that the words ‘begotten’ and ‘created’ mean the same thing. The fact is they do not mean the same thing at all.
The Bible gives us examples of both showing the difference between them. From the Bible we learn that God created the world out of nothing.
“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Hebrews 11:3)
Therefore, to create is to make something out of nothing. The first chapter of the Bible is a good illustration of things being created; things that were made out of nothing. God did not have to use pre-existing matter to make new things. This is how it is further described:
“In the formation of our world, God was not beholden to preexistent substance or matter. For the "things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." On the contrary, all things, material or spiritual, stood up before the Lord Jehovah at His voice, and were created for His own purpose. The heavens and all the host of them, the earth and all things that are therein, are not only the work of His hand, they came into existence by the BREATH OF HIS MOUTH.” – Ellen White, Selected Messages 3, p. 312.1 (Emphasis added at the end – note Spirit of God is the breath of God in this example)
Ellen White goes on to quote Hebrews 11:3 and Psalm 33:6. Thus we see a clear demonstration of the meaning of the word “create”, which is to make something out of nothing. It is when something comes into existence while there was no pre-existing matter for it to come from. Therefore it is created.
“Begotten”, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. It is when something comes out of another thing existing before it. Think of an original source or ultimate source here as a reference. Any begotten thing or creature has to have a source from which it stems. This source is not nothing (as in creation). Anyone who is begotten has come out of a begetter, therefore showing that there are two involved in the process. It is an obvious fact that the begetter is the source of the begotten thing, and therefore the source of the begetter is the same source as the begotten of it. In other words, the two can be traced back through the one line. Once again, the first book of the Bible furnishes us with an example of what we are talking about:
“God said” can be found ten times, and “God called” can be found three times in Genesis 1. Both of these words deal with the mouth, or verbalization of the action. The speech of God from his mouth is creating the action of creation.
Genesis 1:3 — And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Genesis 1:5 — And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Genesis 1:6 — And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Genesis 1:8 — And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Genesis 1:9 — And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
Genesis 1:10 — And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:11 — And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
Genesis 1:14 — And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Genesis 1:20 — And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Genesis 1:24 — And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
Genesis 1:26 — And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:28 — And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:29 — And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
A very popular verse often quoted and misapplied from Genesis 1 is found in verse 2. “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
What is the Spirit of God? Strong’s Concordance tells us the Hebrew word and the Greek word translated as spirit in the Bible have the same meaning. The Hebrew word רוּח† “ruach” means “breath, wind, spirit.” This is the same word translated as spirit in Genesis 1:2. If God “said” or God “called” as a method of creation, then breath would align with this very well. It has to do with the mouth of God producing or speaking what was taking place in creation. Sort of like a verbalization.
And this can be summed up and confirmed with Psalms 33:6 – “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” He speaks and things come to be, they come into existence. His word is His power and authority instilling the beginning of creation. Now we will get into "begotten."
“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Genesis 3:16
In the above verse the words “bring forth” are from the Hebrew word ‘yalad’ (Strong’s #3205) which means: to bear, bring forth, beget.
It has been further translated in the KJV and other editions as begat, begot, begotten, begetting, bore, bare, born, brought forth, bearing, bear, became the father, giving birth, produced, deliver(ed), midwife, child, delivered, borne, birth, labour, travail and brought up. This has been noted hundreds and hundreds of occurrences. Both female and more so, male lineages are used in the wording and illustrations in the text. (See also Luke 3:23-38 [Genealogy of Jesus] where we see the line being traced back through each preceding father, up to the ultimate source.)
The word “bear” is used universally for many things, but in child bearing, a few examples are:
Genesis 16:11 – And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ismael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
Genesis 17:19 – And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
Leviticus 12:5 – But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.
Judges 13:5 - For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Judges 13:7 - But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
Ruth 1:12 - Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;
Here are some examples of the Bible’s use of “bare” which is found 186 times in 178 verses (exclude the usage of “bare the ark” as in the ark of the covenant, as well as “bare his armour”, and other miscellaneous uses) with the majority of them in the Old Testament showing a woman bringing forth children. Most of the New Testament references are in the usage of “bare witness,” “bare false witness,” “bare record.”:
Genesis 4:1 - And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Genesis 16:1 - Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
Genesis 16:15 - And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
Genesis 16:16 - And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
Numbers 26:59 - And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister.
Judges 13:24 - And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
Ruth 4:13 - So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.
1 Samuel 1:20 - Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.
1 Chronicles 2:4 - And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.
Hosea 1:8 - Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
And then we have usage of “travail” referencing the difficulty or pain of a woman bringing forth a child.
Genesis 38:27 - And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.
Jeremiah 4:31 - For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
Jeremiah 50:43 - The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 - For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Now here are some examples of the Bible’s use of “beget” which is found in 10 verses:
Genesis 17:20 - And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
Deuteronomy 4:25 - When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:
Deuteronomy 28:41 - Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
Ecclesiastes 6:3 - If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.
Jeremiah 29:6 - Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
Ezekiel 18:14 - Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,
Now for some examples of “begat”. This can be found in 139 verses in the Bible and it is always the same meaning when it is used. To show that someone brought forth children from their lineage. Now it is using male lineage exclusively.
Genesis 4:18 - And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
Genesis 5:3 - And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
Genesis 5:13 - And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
Ruth 4:21 - And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
1 Chronicles 9:39 - And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal.
Matthew 1:2 - Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
Acts 7:8 - And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.
Acts 7:29 - Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
And now some examples of “bring forth.”
Matthew 1:21 - And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Matthew 1:23 - Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Luke 1:31 - And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Here we have some verses as examples of the use “Begotten.” These first two out of three examples are used to show male lineage.
Genesis 5:4 - And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
Deuteronomy 23:8 - The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.
Judges 8:30 - And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.
Hosea 5:7 - They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
Hebrews 11:17 - By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.
Now we shall look at the usage when talking about the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
John 1:14 - And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:18 - No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
John 3:16, 18 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. v18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
1 John 4:9 - In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Today, theologians of the church will try and tell us an explanation of the word Begotten, and how it doesn’t mean what the Bible tells us or illustrates. From the above Scriptures in this document, we can see all the parallels of ‘yalad’ from the Old Testament examples of Genesis 3:16. From the Scriptures of John chapters 1 and 3, we have the word begotten. Strong’s Concordance shows this as (#3439) monogenḗs and gives a definition of “only begotten, only, unique, one and only, one of a kind, literally one of a class, only of its kind.” The theologians will admit unique, monogenes, but deny that Christ is the literal Son of God, making him co-eternal and co-equal with no beginning. Then how is he a Son when he would then be a twin to God? Hello?
Yes, Christ is unique, one of a kind. Who else was brought forth from male to male without a female? Did you realize that Adam and Eve are a parallel example of this as well? Within human nature, since when does a male beget anything? Yet the first female, Eve was begotten of Adam. Adam was the original source of what would become Eve and the rest of humanity.
Now, think seriously about this. God would have to have a real live Son prior to Bethlehem in order to send Him into the world as part of the plan of redemption, the plan of salvation. However there are leading scholars or theologians today that present the Father and Son relationship is just a metaphor. It has even been proposed by a sick commenter that God would have to have a consort or female god in order to have a son up in heaven.
We do not, nor are we to know the nature of how this took place or how it happened. We are not to use our own preconceived ideas or notions to make up such tings. After all, when Christ was born of Mary in Bethlehem, a male human was not involved which you could say is impossible. But when the Spirit from the Most High is involved (the Spirit OF God), nothing is impossible just like what took place in heaven in the time of eternity before the worlds existed when Christ was begotten.
Proverbs 30:4 - Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
Proverbs 8:22-30 - v22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. v23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. v24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. v25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: v26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. v27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: v28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: v29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: v30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.
The point is clear that whether it is “begotten” or “beget” or “begat,” it means to "bring forth," or to come out of. There is an original source. Something comes out of an original source. And when this does happen, the Bible refers to man (primarily) instead of woman in reference to these words. Begotten, beget or begat does not mean to make something out of nothing. A created being or object does not need an original source, it just appears. There is no material or substance connection.
From the testimony of Jesus, He “came forth.”
John 8:42 - Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
John 16:27, 28 - For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. v28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
John 17:8 - For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
And from the testimony of Jesus himself, he tells us that he came down from Heaven:
John 6:38 — For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
We can illustrate the difference in the following: Lucifer was created (made out of nothing) as per Ezekiel 28:13, 15. Jesus Christ (Michael in heaven) was begotten of the Father (came out of Him) as per John 1:14; 3:16; 8:42. Therefore, the difference between “created” and “begotten” is the difference between Lucifer and Christ! That is as far apart as the creature is from the creator.
Lucifer can be traced back to his original source and it will be found that he was made out of nothing. To attempt to do the same with Michael we are faced with a different outcome. We can trace him back through the Father, but then we can never reach a beginning, for the Father is without beginning. Therefore Christ can never ever be traced back to nothing like Lucifer. Therefore, His source (the Father) is an eternal source with no beginning. That is why Jesus is referred to or known as the Son of God.