The gospel of John presents to us the relationship between God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son. John 1:18 states that no one has seen God at any time, but also that the Son who is...
The gospel of John presents to us the relationship between God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son. John 1:18 states that no one has seen God at any time, but also that the Son who is in the bosom of the Father has declared the Father. John 1:1 tells us that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In verse 14 the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This means that the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, in God and that God was manifested in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.
The verse in John 1:18 tells us that the relationship between the Son and the Father is permanent. It does not say that the Son was in the bosom of the Father, but that He is in the bosom of the Father, which is a continuous thing and a blessed fact.
People ask if the Father forsook His Son when the Lord Jesus was on the cross, or if it was the Triune God who forsook the Lord Jesus Christ. These are things that we cannot explain with our feeble human minds, but what we have presented to us in the Bible should be sufficient so we can by faith come to conclusions. Firstly, the word ‘Trinity’ or ‘Triune God’ is not found in the Bible. It does signify that there is God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Verses like Genesis 1:1-2, 26, Isaiah 6:3, 8; 48:16 signify that there is more than one person in the Trinity, but He is One God (Deuteronomy 6:4) in three Persons. These above verses are supported by the words of a well-known hymn ‘God in three Persons, blessed Trinity’.
This comes with a level of maturity and understanding as we continue reading our Bibles and praying. I will leave you with a simple fact – the Father never forsook the Son, even on the cross in the three hours of darkness. The Bible is very clear and precise when the Lord Jesus cried out ‘my God, my God, why have You forsaken me?’ (Matt 27:46) which was also quoted in Psalm 22. Here the Lord Jesus Christ is Man (he was not eternally Man but became Man when He was on earth) and God in His holiness and righteousness, had to forsake the Lord as Son on Man in the three hours of darkness. God could not pass sin away and could not overlook sin. No man could make this kind of atonement or be a substitute than the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God. Therefore, when the Lord Jesus Christ as Man was made an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10; 2 Cor 5:21), God’s holiness and righteousness was met and God in that character forsook Him. Even on the cross, the Son is always in the bosom of the Father and the Son still had the loving relationship with His Father, so the Father in that character never forsook His Son. Think about this – a true father would not forsake his son. If we recall Luke 15 the younger son going away from his father, did his father forsake him? Never! It was the prodigal son in Luke 15 who forsook his father.
Again, we cannot understand the depths of these things, but we can by faith accept this and give praise to the Father and the Son.
