Eternal Subordination is contrasted with the view held by Augustine, where the obedience of the Son to the Father is only by virtue of His human nature.
Two prominent modern advocates of the doctrine are Wayne Grudem and Bruce Ware, though they often use the monicker "eternal relations of authority and submission" to further nuance their view.
[9][3] The doctrine of eternal functional subordination has been criticized by theologians such as Glenn Butner, Matthew Barrett, Michael Bird, R. Scott Clark and Kevin Giles.
[6][10][11][8][12] Wayne Grudem asserts that the Son eternally submits to the Father, emphasizing that authority is not an inherent attribute of God but rather a feature of relational dynamics within the Trinity.
[13][14] However, its critics have argued that Wayne Grudem's view of the divine will is contradictory.