lighteth every man. To speak in
theological language of the pre-existence of the Son is cold, and may
obscure the truth which it formulates in so abstract a fashion, and may
rob it of power to awe and impress. But there can be no question that in
our text, as is shown by the juxtaposition of 'sent' and 'born,' and in
all the New Testament references to the subject, the birth of Jesus is
not regarded as the beginning of the being of the Son. The one lies far
back in the depths of eternity and the mystery of the divine nature, the
other is a historical fact occurring in a definite place and at a dated
moment. Before time was the Son was, delighting in the Father, and 'in
the beginning was the word and the word was with God,' and He who in
respect of His expression of the Father's mind and will was the Word,
was the Son in respect of the love that bound the Father and Him in one.
Into the mysteries of that love and union no eyes can penetrate, but
unless our faith lays hold of it, we know not the God whom Jesus has
declared to us. The mysteries of that divine union and communion lie
beyond our reach, but well within the grasp of our faith and the work of
the Son in the world, ever since there was a world, is not obscurely
declared to all who have eyes to see and hearts to understand. For He
has through all ages been the active energy of the divine power, or as
the Old Testament words it, 'The Arm of the Lord,' the Agent of
creation, the Revealer of God, the Light of the world and the Director
of Providence. 'He was in the world and the world was made by Him, and
the world knew Him not.'

Now all this teaching that the Son was long before Jesus was born is no
mere mysterious dogma without bearing on daily needs, but stands in the
closest connection with Christ's work and our faith in it. It is the
guarantee of His representative character; on it depends the
reliableness of His revelation of God. Unless He is the Son in a unique
sense, how could God have spoken unto us in Him, and how could we rely
on His words? Unless He was 'the effulgence of His glory and the express
image of His person': how could we be sure that the light of His
countenance was light from God and that in His person God was so
presented as that he who had seen Him had seen the Father? The
completeness and veracity of His revelation, the authoritative fulness
of His law, the efficacy of His sacrifice and the prevalence of His
intercession all depend on th