Creed Words

“Eternally begotten from the Father, true God from true God, of one being with the Father.” Do we have the foggiest idea what we’re saying every Sunday, what those words really mean?
When I was in Lutheran confirmation class in 1938, I was told that “begotten” described a unique process by which the Son continuously streamed from the Father without diminishing the Father in any way. It was NOT related to birthing, producing, or dividing—it was unique. [Never mind the list of “Jacobean begats” in Jesus’s geneology as recorded by Matthew 1!]. in A tough concept to get one’s head around. Now what about “eternally”? That meant that it began before the universe [or time ?], has continued through the present, and will continue indefinitely. It is without beginning or end. Another tough concept.
Some interesting questions arise: What was before God? If their connection were broken, could the Son exist apart from the Father, either spiritually or physically? Could the Father have existed prior to the Son? If He were the Creator, as stated in John 1, why wasn’t the Son specifically mentioned in either of the creation stories in Genesis? What was the Son doing all the time before the Father sent him to us? For that matter, since He’s sent us his Spirit to be with us, what’s He busy doing now all day long—does it take all that time to intercede for us—doesn’t the Father get the point from a shorter intercession? Enough to make one’s brain swim!