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THE KING’S BUSINESS
found anyw h ere of th e re a l a n d full D eity o f Jesu s Christ. W h ile no m an h a th seen G od , "G o d on ly b eg o tten , w h o is in th e b o som o f th e F a th e r, hath declared Him.” T h e w o rd tra n sla te d " d e c la re d ” is a v e ry significant w o rd . It m ean s to u n fo ld— declare. It is th e w o rd from which ou r w o rd “ exegesis” is d e riv ed . It w as th e w o rd u sed co n stan tly in classical G re ek w ritings o f th e in te rp re ta tio n o f d iv ine m ysteries. T h e th o u g h t is th a t H e W ho H im self w as G o d , G o d O nly B egotten, a n d W h o w as ev e r in th e b o som o f th e F a th e r, H e an d H e on ly h a s fully rev e a led , ex p o u n d e d an d in te rp re te d G o d . In o th e r w ords, w e c an on ly know G o d as Jesu s C h rist in te rp re ts H im to us. H e on ly c an give us th e u n d e rs ta n d ing th a t w e m ay know G o d (1 Jo h n 5 :2 0 ) . H e in te rp re ts G o d , n o t m erely b y H is w ords, b u t m uch m o re b y w h a t H e H im self is. T o see H im is to see th e F a th e r (J o h n 1 4 :9 ; 1 2 :4 5 ). A ll th a t c an b e know n o f G o d is rev e a led in th e P e rso n a n d w o rd s o f Je su s Christ. T o know H im W h om th e F a th e r sent is to know th e F a th e r H im self (J o h n 1 7 :3 ). No m an know s th e F a th e r ex c ep t th e Son, a n d h e to w hom th e Son rev eals H im (M a tt. 1 1 :2 7 ) . W ith th is trem e n d o u s th o u g h t th e In tro d u c tio n to th e G o sp el p ro p e rly closes a n d from this p o in t w e n a t u rally go on to a full h istoric sta te m en t o f th e e a rth ly life an d te a c h ing of th e in c a rn a te W o rd in which H e fully reveals G od .
F a th e r. H e w as so from all e te rn ity ; H e w as so w h en H e w as h e re on e a rth ; an d H e is so now . A cco rd in g to alm o st all o f th e m o st ancien t Mss. th e O n ly B ego t ten S on” shou ld re a d “G o d only b e g o tte n .” T h is re ad in g is p re fe rred b y W e stc o tt a n d H o rt, T regelles, Nestle, Weiss, in fact, b y all th e s ta n d a rd au tho rities on T ex tu a l C riticism , ex c ep t T isch endo rf. T h e w eigh t of ev idence fo r this re ad in g seem s w ell nigh overw helm ing. P ro f. H a rn a c k says th a t D r. H w t in his discussion o f th e read ing , es tab lish ed ( it) b e y o n d c o n trad ic tio n .” If th is is th e tru e read ing , a n d th e m o re I stu d y it th e m o re I am inclined to b e liev e it is, it is a w o n d e rfu l sta tem e n t o f th e D eity of Christ. H e is “G o d on ly B eg o tten .” It sets fo rth H is D eity n o t only as H e w as b e fo re H is in carn ation , b u t it sets fo rth th e tru th th a t H e w as G o d ( “G o d on ly b e g o tte n ” ) d u r ing th e d ay s of H is flesh. It an n ih i la te s th e M illenial D aw n d o c trin e th a t H e w as n o t G o d d u ring th e d ay s of H is flesh an d all sim ilar e r rors. O f course, this tru th is found elsewhere, even if it is n o t here, an d it is found h e re ev en if w e ta k e th e o th e r read ing , “T h e on ly b e g o tte n Son ,” th o u g h n o t so decisively as w ou ld b e th e case if th e re ad in g “G o d only b e g o tte n ” is th e co rre c t re ad in g of w h a t J o h n said. In th a t case th is passage m u st b e p la c ed a long side R om an s 9 :6 as one o f th e m o st w on d e rfu l d e c la ra tio n s to b e
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