Open AccessTHE ETERNAL “SUBORDINATION” OF THE SON OF GOD?
Author(s) -
Gerald Bray
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
unio cum christo
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2473-8476
pISSN - 2380-5412
DOI - 10.35285/ucc4.1.2018.art3
Subject(s) - subordination (linguistics) , analogy , new testament , philosophy , word (group theory) , theology , sociology , linguistics
The relationship between the Father and the Son in the Trinity can be described in terms of “eternal subordination,” but it is unhelpful to do so. The New Testament uses the language of subordination with respect to this relationship only in 1 Corinthians 15:28, and then with a very specific act in mind. The word also has Arian connotations that are best avoided. The submission of the Son to the Father is a voluntary act of mutual love, not something imposed or made inevitable by their personal identities. The divine analogy for the marital bond is that of Christ and the church, not of the Father and the Son.