Question: Why do you insist upon Calvin being self-contradictory on this point [election to sonship ...

January 1, 2004

TBC Staff

Question: The same logic must be applied to the phrase, “thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee” (Ps:2:7; Heb:1:5, 5:5) as you apply to Calvin’s declaration that “in the very head of the Church we have a bright mirror of free election...[Christ] did not become the Son of God by living righteously, but was freely presented with this great honor....” Why do you insist upon Calvin being self-contradictory on this point when he was using a biblical phrase?...I would encourage you to completely drop that section [on p. 233 in What Love Is This?] accusing Calvin of such damnable and sickening heresy....

Answer: Thanks for your concern for accuracy in my book What Love Is This? I must, however, disagree with your defense of Calvin’s likening what he calls Christ’s alleged “election” to sonship, to election of certain people to salvation. You quote, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee” (Ps:2:7), from several translations (one would be enough), as well as the quotation of Psalm:2:7 in Hebrews:1:5 and 5:5.

You then claim that this statement refers to a time when “Christ became the Son of God.” When would that have been? It must have been in eternity past, because Christ was clearly the Son of God before being born into the world (“and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?”- Prv 30:4; “a child is born [the babe through Mary]...a Son is given [the eternal Son of God incarnate] - Is 9:6). But there is no point in eternity that could be called “this day.” Time began with the creation of the universe (Gn 1:1). Furthermore, we agree that Christ, who is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb:13:8), is eternally the Son of God. Therefore, there could have been no time when “Christ became the Son of God” as Calvin states and you contend in his defense.

Do we then have a contradiction in Scripture? Of course not. Psalm:2:7 is not referring to Christ becoming the Son of God at all. That never happened. He always is the Son of God. Paul tells us that the phrase in Psalms:2:7, “this day have I begotten thee,” refers to His resurrection: “God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up [resurrected] Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee” (Acts:13:33). This agrees with His being called “the firstborn from the dead” (Col:1:18).