Of the Father’s love begotten,
ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the Source, the Ending He,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see
evermore and evermore!
Part of my mission with Defaulting to Grace is to bind together followers of Jesus, understanding that, even with cultural and preferential differences, we are the Body of Christ. To be sure there are varying doctrinal interpretations about secondary and tertiary beliefs, but fundamentally, there is no Protestant nor Catholic, Orthodox nor Nontraditional, Baptist, Presbyterian, nor Lutheran; for we are all one in Christ Jesus.
As a unified Church, believers cling to the primary doctrines:
There is one God in three distinct persons
Jesus is the Incarnation of the Godhead, fully human and fully divine
Jesus will one day return and reign over the earth
Humans are saved by faith alone in Jesus alone
The Bible is the Word of God and is sufficient for living a Christian life
It's a simple list that no one can fully understand nor explain to anyone who doesn't choose to believe. Faith is by definition knowing the unknowable and trusting that the Father will reveal to us what we need to know at the appointed time.
The concept of Jesus as the human incarnation of God who laid aside his power to become one of us, all without losing any portion of his deity may be the most difficult for narrow-minded humans to grasp. The tenet of the God-man may be one of the most challenged doctrines of Christianity from the time of the earliest believers. The Alexandrian, Arius denied that Jesus could be of the same nature as the Father because the Creator is beyond all suffering. His teaching, Arianism, was a primary feature of a controversy over Christology, the nature of Christ. Until that time, Christians accepted the coexistence of human and divine natures in Jesus. In response, the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. composed a creed that many churches recite today because it defines the fundamentals of our faith.
"We believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, Light of light, Very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate and was made man; He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven, He shall come to judge both the quick and the dead; And in the Holy Spirit" (Original Nicene Creed, 325, A.D.)
Sometime before 400 A.D. an upper-class lawyer, having shed the luxuries of public life, penned a poem that in many ways reaffirmed the Nicene Creed in metric form. Aurelius Clemens Prudentius saw the poem, Corde Natus ex parentis (Of the Father's Love Begotten) as necessary because the Arian heresy continued to divide the Church over the nature of Jesus. His poem was set to the plainchant tune of Divinum Mysterium sometime in the 10th century. It was translated from Latin to multiple European languages from the 13th to 16th centuries, and into English in the middle of the 19th century.
In its entirety, seven stanzas detail the role of Jesus as Creator, Incarnate God, Praiseworthy, Judge, and Triune God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Most modern hymnals include three or four, but only reading all seven offers a holistic declaration of Jesus as "Wholly human. Wholly God. The two natures are bound together in love" (L'Engle, 1997, 79). The poem is at the end of this post in its entirety, along with a musical arrangement that may be reminiscent of the Plainsong Chant.
"Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, He the Source, the Ending He,
of the things that are, that have been, and that future years shall see evermore and evermore!"
The first Sunday of Advent is traditionally centered on Hope, and the first stanza of the Prudentius poem offers the reason we who are believers have hope. The Apostle John, in his visions of Revelation, three times identifies Jesus as "the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13). In his letter to the Colossians, Paul wrote of Jesus,
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven" (Colossians 1:15-23).
Jesus created all things by his spoken word, and the world holds together because of him (John 1; Colossians 1). Hope means we can rely on Jesus, for no better reason than he is able to reconcile us to God--because he IS God. Do I fully understand the wonder of that hope? I do not. But I believe it. And I proclaim it every time I call on the name of Jesus. Moreover, all of my brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter what their traditions may be, also proclaim the Hope of Jesus as Creator, Incarnation, and King every time they speak his name. The name of Jesus reconciles us to the Father and to each other. Grace upon grace, we who have hope can stand, sit, kneel, and dance in unity now and forever.
Of the Father’s love begotten,
ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the Source, the Ending He,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see
evermore and evermore!
O that birth forever blessed,
when a virgin, full of grace,
by the Holy Ghost conceiving,
bore the Savior of our race;
and the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
first revealed His sacred face,
evermore and evermore!
This is He whom heav'n-taught singers
sang of old with one accord,
whom the Scriptures of the prophets
promised in their faithful word;
now He shines, the long-expected;
let creation praise its Lord,
evermore and evermore!
O ye heights of heav'n, adore Him;
angel hosts, His praises sing:
pow'rs, dominions, bow before Him
and extol our God and King;
let no tongue on earth be silent,
every voice in concert ring,
evermore and evermore!
Righteous judge of souls departed,
Righteous King of them that live,
On the Father’s throne exalted
None in might with Thee may strive;
Who at last in vengeance coming
Sinners from Thy face shalt drive,
Evermore and evermore!
Thee let old men, thee let young men,
Thee let boys in chorus sing;
Matrons, virgins, little maidens,
With glad voices answering:
Let their guileless songs re-echo,
And the heart its music bring,
Evermore and evermore!
Christ, to Thee with God the Father,
and, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
and unwearied praises be,
honor, glory, and dominion,
and eternal victory,
evermore and evermore!
Of the Father's Love Begotten (Medieval A Capella Hymn)
Resources:
L'Engle, M. (1997). Bright Evening Star. Waterbrook Press.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Text Edition: 2016. Crossway Bibles
One of my favorite hymns of all time.