What Do the Independent Ministries Say?

Russell Standish

“Scripture reveals only two events at which Christ was begotten of the Father - at His birth “into the world” and at His resurrection. Neither of these events lends the least credence to the view that Christ was an emanation of the Father at some time in the past or that He was devoid of life from eternity.” (The Remnant Herald, April, 1997, p. 5)

Vance Ferrell

“...the Roman Catholic Church ultimately accepted, partially or entirely, the correct view of Christ’s and the Holy Spirit’s divinity and membership in the Godhead...” (Tract # DH-201)

Ralph Larson

 “Why do the Scriptures refer to Christ as the “only begotten” Son of God?

Because He was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary and began His life on earth by the normal birth process.” (Landmarks Magazine, Feb.1994, p. 17)

Austin P. Cooke

“It appears that the pioneers, not having a theological background, misunderstood the nature of the Trinity. They also had problems in understanding what constitutes a person...

“It is asserted by the exponents of the revived error that the Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ Himself because He said, “I will come to you”. If so, then Jesus in his heavenly state would need to be omnipresent, i.e. everywhere present.

“This claim clashes with other scriptures and also with the Spirit of Prophecy. Jesus is the Godman. He will be a member of the human race forever. He surrendered His omnipresence forever in becoming man in order to redeem the human race. This limits the presence of Jesus.” (The Anchor, 1997)

V.R. Christensen

“There is no evidence in scripture that the term “Son of God” is applied to Christ in any literal sense...In biblical times the term “Son of God” was nothing more than a title, in the same sense the term “prophet” is a title.

“Because the disciples believed Jesus’ relationship to God was special, they heightened the meaning of the existing terminology of sonship, and referred to Christ as God’s “only” Son. It was the word only not the term begotten, that gave Jesus His unique place in the disciples eyes. In the NT perception every Christian is “begotten” by God, (1 John.5:18) so the term “begotten” has no special meaning of its own, it was the word “only” which set Christ apart.

“...In OT revelation, as Yahweh Christ was the Father. In the NT He who was first called “Father” fulfilled another role in which He is called the “Son”. In biblical testimony the same Jesus is both Father and Son, but at different times...

“The Father and  Son do not exist as separate beings, they coexist as one God...” (The Trinity Debate - Part One)

John Grosboll

“...This was one of the major reasons offered by the high priest why they had to crucify Jesus, because He claimed to be Jehovah - the eternal God. [Publisher’s note: Jesus never claimed to be “the eternal God.” He consistently claimed that He was the SON of the eternal God.]

“...A second point that we notice in Ellen White’s writings is that she speaks of one God. She does not teach that there are three Gods, but that there is one God. And yet, at the same time, as we will see, she teaches that this one God includes the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which are three personalities mysteriously united as one.”

“...Notice, there is One upon the throne. There is one God, but this one God includes both Christ and the Father.” (Landmarks Magazine, December 1996, “The Godhead”)

Robert Sessler

“Thus the Godhead is made up of three distinct divine Persons, Beings, and Gods - making a heavenly trio - united together in one purpose.” (The Godhead, 1,2, or 3 Gods?, p. 28)

“With these above texts in mind, it seems clear that Jesus was not literally born out of the Person of the Father as spiritualists teach, but that he literally became the only born or begotten Son of God at his human birth, continuing on as such throughout eternity. Through the plan of redemption, God literally became Christ’s Father when Michael became Jesus in humanity, and Michael literally became the only born or begotten Son of God when he became Jesus Christ in humanity.” (Ibid. p. 33)

Excerpt from a letter published in “Watchman What of The Night” #XXXI

“Jesus died once. Therefore, there was only one time in the history of time and eternity that Jesus was dead - without life. It was at the resurrection that He became the begotten of the Father. Acts 13:39 proclaims “this day have I begotten thee.” Any reference, and there are many, to God as the Father and Jesus as the Son prior to and during His sojourn on earth is in the same sense that Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8)”