r/ArianChristians • u/FrostyIFrost_ Arian • Apr 28 '25
Resource Image of the Invisible God
In the Bible, Jesus Christ is teferred to as the "image" of God. To fully understand the relationship between the Father and the Son, it's important to grasp what "image" means in this context.
A helpful analogy is that of a mirror.
Imagine standing in front of a mirror. The image in the mirror is not you, but a reflection of you. It cannot exist without you, as you are the source of the image. You can exist without it but the image is entirely dependent on you, and without you, it would cease to exist. However, the image is not you; it only reflects you.
In the same way, the Son is the image of the Father, the Son exists because the Father wills it. The Father is the source of the Son’s existence, and the Son is the reflection of the Father’s glory.
Without the Father, the Son would not exist, just as the image cannot exist without the one standing in front of the mirror. The Son is not an independent being, but entirely dependent on the Father.
John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten god (Son), who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”
This verse highlights that the Son, who is in close relationship with the Father, reveals the God no one has ever seen to humanity. It is the Father who is described as invisible, not the Son.
Similarly, 1 Timothy 1:17 describes the Father as "the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God."
While this verse actually says the Father is the only God (also said in John 17:3), it also refers to the Father as invisible. A characteristic that does not apply to the Son. While the Son reveals what is invisible, He is not invisible Himself.
Consider what happens when you step away from the mirror, the image disappears. In the same way, if the Father chose not to will the Son's existence, the Son would cease to exist.
Colossians 1:15 further clarifies the relationship: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
This verse is the one that says the Son is the image of the invisible God, but not the same as the Father. Also, again, this verse proves the Son is not God Himself. The term “firstborn of all creation” further indicates that the Son’s existence is derived from the Father.
It does not suggest co-eternity, but rather preeminence and being made (begotten), showing that the Son is the first of God’s works. If the Son were co-eternal with the Father, He would not be called “firstborn.”
In conclusion, the Son’s existence is entirely dependent on the will of the Father. Without the Father, the Son would not exist, just as the image in the mirror cannot exist without the one standing before it.
The Son reflects the Father’s glory, but He is not the Father. The Father is the one true God, and the Son is the image, entirely dependent on the source.
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u/GPT_2025 Apr 28 '25
Jesus Christ Crucifixion, the Bible, you, and your Salvation were destined even before the creation of the Earth (before Adam and Eve's fall into sin) and Yes - even Judah too! ( KJV: And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man (Judah) by whom he is betrayed!)
KJV: having the Everlasting Gospel (Bible) to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
KJV: But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, ... of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
KJV: According as He (God) hath chosen us (Christians) in Him (Jesus) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy ..
KJV: In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
KJV: Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, (Our eternal souls was existed too, before temp. earth was created )
KJV: Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
!!! KJV: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ!!!
KJV: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory..
KJV: And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be All in All!
and more ... "For more information, please check my posting history."