Where Is the Evidence?
Mark Driscoll claims that Latter-day Saints “demote” Jesus by teaching He is the Firstborn of the Father’s spirit children and our elder Brother, even including Lucifer. He contrasts this with the “biblical” doctrine that Jesus is eternally begotten, of one substance (homoousios) with the Father.
But here are the questions he never answers:
Where does the Bible ever use the Greek word homoousios (same substance) to define Christ’s relationship to the Father?
Where do the apostles explain “begotten” (monogenēs) in terms of abstract essence, rather than actual sonship?
Where is the scriptural evidence that Christ’s unique Sonship excludes others from being sons and daughters of God?
Driscoll assumes the Nicene Creed as his starting point. But the New Testament never uses its categories. The burden is on him to prove that his definitions, hammered out in the 4th century, are the only legitimate ones.
The Bible’s Witness: Christ as Firstborn and Brother
The New Testament is clear that Christ is utterly unique yet also our Brother in the family of God.
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” Monogenēs means “unique, one of a kind,” not “same substance.”
Colossians 1:15 – Christ is “the firstborn of every creature.” The language is about order, inheritance, and preeminence, not philosophy.
Romans 8:29 – Christ is “the firstborn among many brethren.” That verse alone shows it is not heresy to call Him our elder Brother.
Hebrews 2:11 – Christ is “not ashamed to call them brethren.”
The Bible itself affirms what Driscoll calls heresy: Christ is the unique Son of God, yet also the Firstborn among many sons and daughters.
The Bible’s Witness: Christ Distinct from the Father
If Jesus is truly the same ousia as the Father, why does the New Testament so plainly distinguish between them?
Matthew 24:36 – “Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” If Christ is the same essence as the Father, how can He lack knowledge the Father has?
Matthew 28:18 – After the resurrection, Jesus says, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” If He already possessed all power eternally as the same being as the Father, why must it be given to Him?
John 17:11, 21 – Jesus pleads that His disciples “may be one, as we are.” Clearly the oneness here is unity of will and purpose, not a metaphysical blending of substance (unless Mr. Driscoll is arguing for a nirvana doctrine, where the disciples are absorbed into God’s immaterial essence?).
John 20:17 – The risen Christ tells Mary Magdalene, “I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” If Christ and the Father are the same essence, why does Christ call the Father “my God”?
These verses alone put the burden of proof squarely back on creedal Christianity. The Trinity doctrine claims unity of essence. The Bible testifies to unity of will and distinction of person.
Answering the “Lucifer as a Brother” Objection
Critics often caricature LDS belief by saying Jesus and Lucifer are “brothers,” as though this somehow makes them equals. But the doctrine is simple: all of God’s spirit children share a premortal parentage (Acts 17:28–29 – “For we are also His offspring”). Within that shared family, Jesus stands utterly above the rest.
Here the real difference is in what each tradition means by “angel.” In Greek, angelos simply means “messenger” or “heavenly being.” Latter-day Saints believe that humanity itself had a premortal angelic existence – we were God’s spirit children sent as messengers into mortality. Traditional Christianity often depicts angels as an entirely different species, sometimes with wings or strange forms like those in Revelation. But biblically, “angel” is a role, not a species.
Christ is the Firstborn, chosen from the foundation of the world, the Lamb slain for our redemption (1 Peter 1:19-20; Revelation 13:8).
Lucifer was also a heavenly being, but he rebelled, forfeiting his place and becoming Satan (Isaiah 14; Revelation 12:9).
Acknowledging a shared origin as God’s offspring does not erase the infinite difference in role and divinity. Even in traditional Christianity, Satan is still a created being, which already makes him of the same created order as humanity. By that logic, he is a “fellow creature.” Latter-day Saints simply use family language where others use creation language. Either way, Jesus is not lowered. He remains the uniquely divine Redeemer, exalted far above all.
Early Christian Views
The earliest Christians also did not interpret “begotten” in Nicene categories.
Justin Martyr (c. 100-165 AD) described Jesus as “the first-begotten of God” and compared Him to fire kindled from fire (Dialogue with Trypho 61).
Origen (c. 184-253 AD) taught eternal generation but admitted Christ’s subordination to the Father.
Irenaeus (c. 130-202 AD) wrote, “He became what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself” (Against Heresies 5, Preface).
The creedal formula of “eternally begotten, consubstantial with the Father” came later. The earliest witnesses sound much closer to scripture and, in many respects, to Restoration teaching.
The Bible’s Witness
If Jesus is “the same essence” as the Father, why does the New Testament repeatedly distinguish between them?
Matthew 24:36 – “Of that day and hour knoweth no man, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”
John 17:21 – Jesus prays His disciples “may be one, as we are one.” Unity here is plainly of will, not of essence.
John 20:17 – The risen Christ says, “I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”
The Bible consistently presents Father and Son as distinct beings who act in perfect unity. That is precisely the LDS view.
The Book of Mormon’s High Christology
Far from demoting Christ, the Book of Mormon proclaims Him in strikingly high terms:
2 Nephi 25:26 – “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ.”
Mosiah 3:8 – Christ is “the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning.”
Ether 3:14 – Jesus reveals, “Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life.”
Mosiah 15:1-4 – Abinadi testifies that God Himself would come down to redeem His people, showing both unity and distinction of Father and Son.
The Restoration is not a “lower Christology.” It is a scriptural Christology, one that restores the Jesus of the New Testament and the prophets.
The Restoration’s Clarity
The Restoration affirms both truths: Jesus is the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, utterly unique, and the firstborn in the spirit, our elder Brother.
First Presidency Statement (1909) – “Jesus, however, is the firstborn among all the sons of God—the first begotten in the spirit, and the only begotten in the flesh.”
Doctrine and Covenants 93:21 – “I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the Firstborn.”
This doctrine does not demote Christ. It exalts Him as Redeemer, the Firstborn, the Only Begotten in the flesh, and the very Eternal God of Israel.
Replacing the Burden of Proof
So here is the challenge back to the critic:
Show us where the Bible uses homoousios or any equivalent to define Christ’s divinity.
Prove that monogenēs means “same substance” instead of “unique Son.”
Explain why Paul and the author of Hebrews explicitly call Christ our “Firstborn” and “Brother” if that is supposed to be heresy.
Reconcile why Jesus Himself distinguishes between Himself and the Father, receives power from the Father, and prays to the Father, if they are supposed to be the same being.
Account for the Book of Mormon’s witness that Jesus is both the Son of God and the Eternal God, in full harmony with the Bible.
Until those questions are answered, the claim that Latter-day Saints “diminish Christ” has no foundation. The evidence points the other way. It was post-apostolic Christianity that redefined Christ in philosophical terms foreign to the Bible. The Restoration restores Him to His rightful place: our Savior, our Redeemer, and our elder Brother.