InstaStudy

How Did the Father Send the Son? Understanding the Word, God, and First-Century Jewish Greek Thought

A deep-dive Bible study exploring the biblical concept of the incarnation. This study examines how the Father sent the Son, not as a separate pre-existent person, but as the literal manifestation of the one true God in human flesh, contrasting strict Hebrew monotheism with first-century Greek philosophical concepts of the Logos.

1. Strict Monotheism and the Jewish Context of the Logos

1.1 The Shema and Absolute Oneness

Verses: Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:24; Malachi 2:10
  • God is revealed as an absolute numerical unity, not a plurality of distinct persons.
  • The Creator stretched out the heavens alone and by Himself, leaving no room for an active secondary creator.

1.2 The Hebrew Concept of the Word (Dabar and Memra)

Verses: Psalms 33:6; Isaiah 55:11; Psalms 107:20
  • In Jewish thought, God's Word is His active power, breath, and self-expression, not a separate entity.
  • The Word is sent forth to accomplish a specific purpose on earth and returns fulfilled in its action.

2. Redefining 'Sending' in the New Testament

2.1 Sending as Manifestation, Not Spatial Relocation

Verses: 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 3:8; John 3:17
  • The 'sending' of the Son refers to the visible manifestation of the invisible God in human flesh.
  • It represents a change in state—the omnipresent Spirit taking on a human existence—rather than a second person traveling through space.

2.2 The Analogy of Divine Commission

Verses: John 1:6; Galatians 4:4; John 20:21
  • Just as John the Baptist was 'sent from God' without pre-existing in heaven, the Son's sending denotes a divine commission in time.
  • The sending of the Son occurred 'when the fullness of the time had come,' marking the historical birth of the Messiah.

3. The Incarnation: The Father Manifest in the Son

3.1 The Father Dwelling in the Son

Verses: John 14:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 1:19
  • The deity residing within the Son is the Father Himself, who performs the miraculous works.
  • To see the Son is to see the Father, because the Son is the visible image of the invisible God.

3.2 The Son Begotten in Time

Verses: Luke 1:35; Hebrews 1:5; Galatians 4:4
  • The Sonship began at the incarnation through the conception by the Holy Spirit, not in eternity past.
  • Scripture speaks of a specific day the Son was begotten, refuting the concept of an eternal, uncreated Sonship.

4. Confronting First-Century Greek Philosophical Influences

4.1 The Greek Philosophical Logos vs. John's Logos

Verses: John 1:1; John 1:14; Colossians 2:8
  • Philo and Greek philosophers viewed the Logos as an intermediary, subordinate second god (demiurge) between God and the world.
  • John corrected this Hellenistic dualism by declaring that the Logos was not an intermediary, but was fully God Himself made flesh.

4.2 The Fullness of Deity in One Person

Verses: Colossians 2:9; Ephesians 4:5-6; Isaiah 9:6
  • All the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Jesus Christ, leaving no room for subordinate divine persons.
  • Believers are complete in Him, recognizing Jesus as both the Father in His deity and the Son in His humanity.