For the introduction to this series go here.

A Revealed Relationship: Father and Son

One of the best places to begin contemplating the divine mystery of the Trinity is with the most concrete and tangible imagery God gives us: the titles Father and Son, which describe the relationship between the members of the Godhead.

This is one of the most profound Biblical images because of what it teaches us about the intimacy and closeness that exists between the members of the Trinity.

Not a Human Construct

Unlike analogies we draw from nature, this is not merely a human construct imposed on God—it is God’s own self-revealed language. Scripture consistently presents the First and Second Persons of the Trinity in these relational terms: the Father loves the Son (John 3:35), the Son delights in doing the will of the Father (John 4:34), and their unity is absolute (John 10:30).

Misunderstandings to Avoid

Yet this imagery also leaves room for misunderstanding. In our world, father–son relationships typically involve hierarchy, origin, and generational succession. The danger of projecting human limitations (e.g., generational time, inferiority, dependency) onto this relationship leads to errors like Arianism.

But none of those human limitations apply to the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. The Son is not created by the Father, nor did He begin to exist at a point in time. The apostle John affirms truth when he writes, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1).

Eternally Begotten, Not Made

When the Biblical authors or the early Church fathers used the term “begotten,” this was what they were getting at. Christ was not a created being like us, but had a unique and eternal relationship with the Father. Or as the Nicene Creed so carefully states, the Son is eternally begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father.

In this eternal relationship, the Son willingly submits to the Father—not in a way that implies inferiority, but in love. As Paul writes in Philippians 2:6–7,

“Though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself… becoming obedient to the point of death.”

This is a submission of role, not of essence. The Father is not “more God” than the Son; they are equal in divinity, majesty, and glory.

Gregory of Nazianzus said it beautifully:

“The Son is not the Father, because He is begotten; the Father is not the Son, because He begets. But the distinction does not divide the nature, nor does the relationship cause confusion.”

Love at the Heart of God

The image of Father and Son reveals something deeply personal about God:

“God is love” (1 John 4:8). And love, by definition, requires relationship. The Trinity reveals that before God created anything, he was not alone. He has always existed as a communion of persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—in an eternal exchange of love and glory.

Drawn Into Divine Fellowship

In John 17, we hear Jesus speak to the Father about the glory they shared before the world existed (v.5), and His desire that His followers would be brought into that loving unity:

“As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us…” (v.21)

Amazingly, the triune God invites us into this eternal relationship. Through faith in Christ, we are adopted as children of the Father, indwelt by the Spirit, and brought into communion with the Son. In other words, God doesn’t just love from afar—He draws us near into the very fellowship of the Trinity.

As we continue exploring other glimpses of God’s triune nature, the relationship of Father and Son will remain our grounding image—one that reveals both God’s love and His eternal glory.

Tomorrow we will look at how marriage (specifically the marriage of Christ and his bride the Church) reveal the heart of God.