When Did Christ Become The Son?

[Jesus] called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.   John 5:18

When did Christ become the Son? He has always been the Son. He’s the eternal Son; his nature never changes. I became a father when my son Andrew was born in 1986. Before I had a son, I was not a father. When did God become Father? God has always been Father. He’s the everlasting Father; his nature never changes.

The Father was never without the Son, and the Son was never without the Father. God did not gain a Son when Jesus was born. God sent his Son, who was already at the Father’s side, into the world to be born of a virgin. Christ did not begin his existence in Mary’s womb. Before he took on flesh, God the Son shared the Father’s glory, the Father’s life, the Father’s activity, and the Father’s love.

The Bible makes it clear that the Son has always been equal with the Father. There is no ranking of Father, Son, and Spirit in order of importance. To accomplish our salvation, the Son, “though he was God” (Philippians 2:6), chose to subordinate himself to the Father.

On one occasion, Jesus said to his disciples, “If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am” (John 14:28). This is like me saying, “The president is greater than I am.” I don’t mean the president is more human than I am; I mean he has a more exalted position than I do.

When Jesus said, “The Father . . . is greater than I am,” he didn’t mean the Father is more divine; he meant that the Father had a more exalted position—which would become obvious as Jesus went to the cross. Christ was saying to his disciples, “If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, because that means I am returning to share his exalted position.”

Jesus is no longer on the cross. He died, was buried, and then was raised from the dead. Jesus ascended into heaven, and that’s where he is now, exalted at the right hand of the Father—all glory and power and praise belong to him!

For further reading, see Philippians 2