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We believe that Jesus Christ,
according to his divine nature,
is the only Son of God--
eternally begotten,
not made nor created,
for then he would be a creature.
He is one in essence with the Father;
coeternal;
the exact image of the person of the Father
and the "reflection of his glory,"13
being in all things like him.
He is the Son of God
not only from the time he assumed our nature
but from all eternity,
as the following testimonies teach us
when they are taken together.
Moses says that God "created the world";14
and John says that "all things were created by the Word,"15
which he calls God.
The apostle says that "God made the world by his Son."16
He also says that "God created all things by Jesus Christ."17
And so it must follow
that he who is called God, the Word, the Son, and Jesus Christ
already existed when all things were created by him.
Therefore the prophet Micah says
that his origin is "from ancient times,
from eternity."18
And the apostle says
that he has "neither beginning of days
nor end of life."19
So then,
he is the true eternal God,
the Almighty,
whom we invoke,
worship,
and serve.
13 Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3
14 Gen. 1:1
15 John 1:3
16 Heb. 1:2
17 Col. 1:16
18 Mic. 5:2
19 Heb. 7:3 |
