Chp.58 - The Preincarnate Christ Doesn't Function As A Son

"Then I continued, “I purpose to quote to you Scriptures, not that I am anxious to make merely an artful display of words; for I possess no such faculty, but God’s grace alone has been granted to me to the understanding of His Scriptures, of which grace I exhort all to become partakers freely and bounteously, in order that they may not, through want of it,3 incur condemnation in the judgment which God the Maker of all things shall hold through my Lord Jesus Christ.” And Trypho said, “What you do is worthy of the worship of God; but you appear to me to feign ignorance when you say that you do not possess a store of artful words.” I again replied, “Be it so, since you think so; yet I am persuaded that I speak the truth.4 But give me your attention, that I may now rather adduce the remaining proofs.” “Proceed,” said he. And I continued: “It is again written by Moses, my brethren, that He who is called God and appeared to the patriarchs is called both Angel and Lord, in order that from this you may understand Him to be minister to the Father of all things, as you have already admitted, and may remain firm, persuaded by additional arguments." Justin Martyr. (1885). Dialogue of Justin with Trypho, a Jew. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, p. 225). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company. Justin continues to submit to the exclusivity of the Scriptures as the sole authority of the revelation of God. This expresses a heart that has grown out of the incorruptible seed of the eternal, immutable Word. Justin now wants to make the argument that the preincarnate Christ is observed as both Angel and Lord Yahweh.

Hebrews 1:1–13 (NKJV) 1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”? 6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” 7 And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” 10 And: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. 11 They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; 12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.” 13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Justin takes Trypho, without looking at the book of Hebrews, to show how Moses observes the "preincarnate" Christ in the function of an Angel of God, not in the function of a Son of God. Genesis 31:10–13 (NKJV) 10 “And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. 11 Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ” Justin wants Trypho to notice that this same "Angel of God" is the same God who appeared to Jacob at Bethel where the ladder between heaven and earth was revealed.

Genesis 28:10–13 (NKJV) 10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. At Bethel this same God appeared "above" the ladder upon which the angles of God ascended and descended. This describes this God as being superior to the angels of heaven. But (for sake of Jacob) appears to him in the vision as an Angel. Therefore this expresses that Christ, in his preincarnate state, is not observed subordinate to the Father as a Son, nor as merely an Angel. But rather is observed as Yahweh of very Yahweh in all equality. It is only in the incarnate "function" that he is observed as a Son (slave), and not just "a" son, but the only Son of God possessing the fullness of God in two distinct natures.

But Jacob doesn't confess that he had seen God face to face until he wrestled with Him in the "appearance" of a man. Face to face with God is the safest route to peace. Jacob was in great fear of his elder brother whom he deceived out of not only his material blessing but his father's spiritual blessing. This was not only an offense to man but to God. Therefore this visitation of God in the appearance of man "represents" (symbolically) for us the face to face encounter of the incarnate Christ crucified. But for Jacob it was only the shadow of the man as he wrestled in the night with the preincarnate Angel of God. All of us must wrestle with God in the glory and light of the cross. All of our sins must be exposed in the nakedness and public triumph of God over sin. Because of Jacob's deception he walks in the weakness of a limp, but because God let him win through the future glory of the man of God, in the distinct person of the Lord Jesus Christ, he lives to see God face to face (1Cor.13:12;2Cor.3:18;4:6). Genesis 32:24–31 (NKJV) 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” 31 Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.

This too was to be a revelation of the glory of God. Here, in the progression of Jacob's fellowship with God, he understands the personal need for the "Face of God." But it's not until Moses that we are revealed the name of God--I AM WHO I AM. Through this holy name we understand the eternal existence of God and that He shall do all that he pleases to express the glory of His great Name. He is one God distinct in three persons that function individually in the created order, but are one substance who actively agree as one will and mind in the glorious order of the spoken Word (Gen.1:3;Jn.1:1;Lk.21:33). The glory of this order is that it is not only the Father's Word but equally the Word of Christ (Col.3:16;Rom.10:17 ESV). Therefore he is not the "eternal" Son but the eternal Word by which (we are) begotten as sons of God (1Pet.1:23).