The Eternal Begetting of God the Son

One of the erroneous doctrines of Oneness Pentecostalism regarding Jesus is that His sonship began with His incarnation in the womb of Mary. Before that, His preexistence was as the Father. In contrast, orthodox Christians hold that His sonship was eternal. That is, that God the Son has been such from all of eternity.

The most explicit biblical reference to that truth is from Psalm 2:7: "The Lord said to Me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten You.'" Oneness people cannot deny the reference of this verse, because we have the inspired interpretation of it in Hebrews 1:5, applying it to the Father's message to the Son.

Instead, the Oneness try to avoid the implications of the Psalm by pointing to its use of "today," which, they claim, must refer to a particular time. However, that assertion ignores the use of "today" in the Bible, especially in the Psalms, and as it is adopted in Hebrews. For example, we read in Hebrews 4:7, from Psalm 95:7, "He appoints a certain day, 'Today,' saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, 'Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.'" Here, it occurs three times, "a certain day" and "today" twice. About what day is the Psalmist talking, Oneness apologist? Well, every day, obviously. There is no day when we are allowed to harden our hearts.

Thus, the question about Psalm 2:7 and Hebrews 1:5, what day is the Father begetting the Son? Well, every day!

Having had this conversation with Oneness, I know their next quibble is, How can a father beget the same son every day? Of course, merely asking that question reveals what a carnal view they have of God, as if He fathers children like a human father does. Sometimes they will even demand, Well, then, who was His mother? Of course, the first response to that is to point out that their carnal demands are to the author of the Scripture, God Himself, not to me. But then, again, I cannot but notice what a carnal view of God they reveal, acting as if God reproduces, or that deity has parents. That is the Mormon doctrine, not anything that should be expected from the God of the Bible!