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Bible Study • The Godhead
This is one of the biggest differences between the Apostolic truth and Trinitarian teaching, and it is one of the easiest places to be misunderstood. This study is written to make the truth plain, to let Scripture speak for itself, and to help every reader, wherever you are starting from, see clearly what the Bible actually says. Read it with an open Bible and an open heart, and ask the Spirit of God to lead you into all truth (John 16:13).
"Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."
Luke 1:35 KJVStart Here
Before the disagreement, notice how much both sides hold in common. Naming the common ground keeps us from talking past each other.
God is eternal. He had no beginning.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in time and history.
What existed before Bethlehem? That is the real point of disagreement.
Side by Side
Here is what each teaches. Placing them side by side is not to call them equal, but so you can see plainly which one the Bible supports. The difference is not whether God is eternal. It is whether the "Son" is eternal, or whether the Sonship began when the eternal God became flesh.
In this view, the Son existed forever before creation, the Son created the universe, and the Son became flesh at Bethlehem. Trinitarians read passages such as John 17:5, John 8:58, Colossians 1:16, and Hebrews 1:2 as describing this eternal Son.
The eternal God existed. His eternal Word existed. His eternal Spirit existed. These are not three persons. The Word is God's own self-expression, just as your word comes from you. God did not begin. The Word did not begin. Only the Sonship begins, when God comes in the flesh.
The Hinge of the Whole Question
Ask yourself what the word "son" normally means. A son is born. A son is begotten. A son is brought forth. By its very meaning, a son has a beginning as a son. This is the heart of the matter. The eternal God has no beginning, but a "son," by definition, does. So when Scripture speaks of the "Son," it is speaking of something that began, not of an eternal relationship within God.
The Cornerstone Verse
"The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."Luke 1:35 KJV
Notice the small but decisive word: therefore. In plain English, the angel is saying: because God is miraculously causing this conception, therefore the child will be called the Son of God. The title "Son of God" is connected directly to the miraculous conception, not to eternity past. The Sonship is tied to the moment God took on flesh in the womb of Mary.
Sent in the Fullness of Time
"When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law."Galatians 4:4 KJV
Trinitarians usually read this as an eternal Son who already existed being sent into the world. Apostolics read it as God's plan reaching its appointed fullness, so that the Son came forth through birth from Mary, "made of a woman." The phrase joins the sending of the Son to His being born, in time, in the fullness of history.
Read the First Words Carefully
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."John 1:1, 14 KJV
John does not say, "In the beginning was the Son." He says, "In the beginning was the Word." That difference matters. The Word is eternal, and the Word was God. Then John says the Word "was made flesh." So the honest question is this: when did John ever say the Word became the Son? The answer Scripture gives is at the Incarnation. What existed before Bethlehem was not Father, Son, and Spirit as three persons, but the one God, His Word, and His Spirit. The Word is not a second person; it is God's own self-expression, just as a word proceeds from the one who speaks it.
A Common Misunderstanding
Here people often misunderstand the Apostolic position. Apostolics are not saying that a mere man came into existence who was not God. They are saying that the eternal God took on genuine humanity. The humanity of Jesus began at Bethlehem. God did not begin. Paul states it directly: "God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). The One who walked the earth was the eternal God, now dwelling among us in a real human life.
Two things began at the Incarnation: the genuine humanity of Jesus, and the Sonship, which is the name Scripture gives to God manifested in that humanity. Neither God nor His Word ever began. "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). The eternal God and the truly human Jesus are not two persons, but one Lord, God revealed in flesh.
A Simple Picture
Consider a simple picture. Think of a king. Before a prince is born, the king already exists. When the prince is born, the king did not begin. What began was the relationship called "father." In the same way, God existed eternally. When Jesus was conceived, God did not begin, and God did not change. What began was the relationship called "Son," because the eternal God entered genuine humanity.
To answer this clearly, we should state the Trinitarian response plainly. A Trinitarian would say, "The Son was not called Son because He was born. He was born because He already was, eternally, the Son." Many who hold this believe it sincerely, yet Scripture never speaks that way. The Bible ties the title "Son" to the conception and the birth (Luke 1:35; Galatians 4:4), not to eternity past. So the question comes down to this: does "Son" name a separate eternal person, or the eternal God revealed in flesh in time? The Scriptures answer plainly, and we let them settle it.
Handling the Hard Passages Honestly
These are the passages most often raised for an eternal Son. They deserve a careful and respectful answer, not avoidance.
"The glory which I had with Thee before the world was."
"Before Abraham was, I AM."
"I came down from heaven."
"The Son of man which is in heaven."
"By Him were all things created."
"By whom also He made the worlds."
Here is the key. Apostolics do not deny the preexistence of Christ. They affirm it wholeheartedly. When Jesus says "Before Abraham was, I AM," He is declaring that He is the eternal God, the great I AM of Exodus. The disagreement is not over whether Christ existed before Bethlehem in His deity. He did, for He is God. The disagreement is over the word "Son." Apostolics understand these passages as speaking of the eternal divine identity of Christ, the Word, God Himself, while the title "Son" belongs to His Incarnation. The preexistence belongs to Christ's deity. The Sonship belongs to His coming in the flesh.
Being Honest With the Text
It helps everyone to separate what the Bible explicitly states from what each system concludes from it.
A brief note on 1 Timothy 3:16. The reading "God was manifest in the flesh" follows the Majority Greek text and the tradition used by the KJV and NKJV. Some manuscripts read "He who was manifested." Either way, the verse anchors the manifestation of God in a real human life.
Memorize This
Luke 1:35 KJV
"Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."
The Heart of the Difference
The disagreement is not over whether God existed eternally. Both sides affirm that with all their hearts. The disagreement is whether "Son" is an eternal identity, or a title that began when the eternal Word became flesh. Understanding that one distinction is the key to understanding the whole debate.
The answer of Scripture is this. God did not begin. The Word did not begin. The Spirit did not begin. But the Son began, because "Son" is the name the Bible gives to the one true God manifested in genuine humanity. Jesus is fully God and truly man, not two persons, but the one Lord who wrapped Himself in flesh to save us. This is the truth, and it is worth sharing gently and clearly with everyone who loves Jesus and longs to know Him as He really is. So do not take it only from us. Open the Word for yourself, and ask the Spirit of God, who leads us into all truth, to reveal Him to your heart.
Go Deeper
Read Luke 1:35 slowly. What does the word "therefore" connect the title "Son of God" to? How does that shape when the Sonship begins?
John 1 says "the Word," not "the Son." Why does that word choice matter for the question of preexistence? What existed before Bethlehem, according to Scripture?
How can you explain the difference between "eternal Word" and "eternal Son" to a Trinitarian friend in a way that is honest, kind, and rooted in the Bible rather than in argument?
For the Doctrinal and Textual Notes
Scripture is quoted from the KJV. Every point rests on the biblical text itself, and the textual and language notes are drawn from standard reference sources.
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