The Person of the Son of God
Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon
his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Prince of Peace."
It is crucial to remember that the existence of the Son of God did not commence
with His birth in Bethlehem. He is spoken of as the Son before He became a man (Isaiah 9:6; Galatians 4:4) Galatians
4:4 "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,".
Micah prophesies of His birth, but yet states that His "goings forth have
been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2) "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to be from old, from everlasting." John
says that He existed "in the beginning" before anything was created (John 1:1-3) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and
without him was not any thing made that was made."
Even before He was born of Mary. He appeared to men in the Old Testament
as the "Angel of the Lord." It is clear that this Angel is no ordinary angel because He is identified as God (Exodus
3:1,4) "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside
of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to
see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Here am I."; He pardons sin (Exodus 23:20, 21) "Behold,
I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware
of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him."; and He is
worshipped (Joshua 5:13-15) "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked,
and behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him,
Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I come.
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15
And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest
is holy. And Joshua did so." While these passages do not say that this member of the Godhead was the preincarnate
Christ, we may conclude that they are the same person since their work is the same.
While Christ was preexistent and appeared occasionally to men in the Old
Testament, He took on a body permanently when He was conceived in Mary's womb. Thhis incomparable event of God's becoming
man in Jesus Christ is called incarnation. This miracle was prophesied hundreds of years previously (Isaiah 7:14)
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel." and was fulfilled historically in Mary, in whose womb the Holy Spirit's power conceived a child (Matthew 1:23)
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted
is, God with us." (Luke 1:35) "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God." Thus Christ, the sinless God-man, was qualified to become our Redeemer.
(2 Corinthians 5:21) "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him."
Having been born of a woman, Jesus Christ was fully man apart from sin (John
1:14) "And the Word was made flesh, and swelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, and glory as of the only begotten of
the Father.) full of grace and truth." As a man He experienced the normal physical, mental, social, and spiritual growth
as others did (Luke 2:52) "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." He suffered pain,
hunger, thirst, fatigue, temptation, pleasure, and rest. Because of His complete humanity He can be sympathetic and
compassionate toward us (Hebrew 4:15) "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
While Christ was fully man He was also fully God, as these facts indicate:
He is called God (John 1:1) "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (Hebrew
1:8) "But unto the Son he saith,, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of thy kingdom."; He did works
that only God could do, such as forgive sins (Mark 2:7) "Why doth this man thus blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God
only?" and create (Colossians 1:16) "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and
for him:"; He had attributes that only God could have, such as truth (John 14:6) "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been
so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father, and how sayest
thou then, Shew us the Father?" and omniscience, all-knowing (John 2:24, 25) "But Jesus did not commit himself
unto them, because he knew all men, 25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man."
and He claimed equality with God (John 10:30) "I and my Father are one."
The question may then be raised as to whether Christ lost anything of diety
when He became a man (Philippians 2:6-8) "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
While there is and inscrutable mystery involved in this unparalleled act of condescension, one can be certain that He lost
none of God's attributes, because He was still God (John 20:28) "and Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God."
He was fully God and fully man united in one person forever. Even now, at the right hand of God, He is the God-man (1
Timothy 2:5) "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;". The great condescension
of the Son of God's becoming a man serves eternally as a perfect model of humility and self-giving love (Philippians 2:5)
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:".
The Early Life of the Son of God
John 10:10 "The theif cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come
that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
Since the gospel narratives are mainly concerned with Jesus' earthly ministry,
it is important that the main aspects of His teachings be recognized. The most important of these are the kingdom of
God
(Matthew 5-7; 24-25); His divine authority over men (Matthew 7:28, 29) "And it came to pass,
when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having
authority, and not as scribes." (Mark 2:10) "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath
power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)" His own role as God and Messiah demonstrated
by miracles and signs (Matthew 16:15-20) "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered
and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not rewarded it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also
unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then He commanded His disciples that
they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ."; the significance of His death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21)
"From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of
the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." (Luke 24:26) "Ought
not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?"; the relationship which His disciples and subsequent
believers are to share with Him (read John 13-16); and the urgency of His commission to believers to make disciples
(Matthew 28:19, 20) "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
Of the many events of His earthly life the most significant without a doubt,
are His death and resurrection. On these two pivotal, historical incidents rests the validity of the entire Christian
faith (1 Corinthians 15:14) "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching in vain, and your faith is also vain."
It is vital then to understand the nature of these two events. The death of Christ was first of all a humiliating physical
death (John 19:18, 33) "Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs:". More than that, for a brief
time it constituted a spiritual separation from God (Matthew 27:46) "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud
voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Within this moment
there occurred the inexplicable mystery of the Father punishing the Son for the sins of the world (1 Peter 3:18) "For
Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the
flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" (2 Corinthians 5:21) "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
This event, though it was the greatest crime of human history, was in the
plan of God (Acts 2:23) "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and
by wicked hands have crucified and slain:", and thus became the basis of salvation for sinners (Isaiah 53:5) "But he was wounded
for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
The power of the death of Christ would be nullified without His bodily resurrection.
Though it does not justify us, the resurrection demonstrated that His death, by which believing sinners are justified, was
valid (1 Corinthians 15:12-20). While skeptics have denied the bodily resurrection of Christ, the historical evidence
for it is overwhelming; the many separate accounts of post-resurrection appearances, the empty tomb, and the transformed disciples.
Every life that has been dramatically and wonderfully changed by believing in Christ since the first century is a testimony
to its historical reality. Futhermore, it is the power of the resurrection that marvelously empowers Christians today
to live the Christian life (Ephesians 1:19, 20) "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe,
according to the working of his mighty power, 20 Which we wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set
him at his own right hand in the heavenly places." (Philippians 3:10) "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;".
Jesus' long discourse know as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is so
named because He taught His disciples and the crowds that followed Him from a mountainside at the beginning of His public
ministry (Matthew 5:1). The traditional site of the Sermon is marked today by a beautiful little church, the Chapel
on the Mount of Beatitudes, one of the major stopping points for tourists who visit the Holy Land.
The central theme of the Sermon is summarized in (Matthew 5:48) "You shall
be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." The word perfect does not refer to sinless or moral
perfection. It indicates completeness, wholeness, maturity-being all that God wants a person to be. This goal,
although we never attain it in life, should continually challenge us to greater service for the Lord.
The Major sections of the Sermon on the Mount are as follows:
1. The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12): The blessed rewards of living as citizens
of Christ's kingdom.
2. The lessons of salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16): The effects of Christian living on
the world.
3. True righteousness (Matthew 5:17-48): The deeper meaning of the law of God.
4. Practice without hypocrisy (Matthew 6:1-18): The right motives for giving, praying,
and fasting.
5. The Christian's concerns (Matthew 6:19034): Serving God with singleness of purpose
and putting the concerns of His kingdom first are actions that free us from anxiety over lesser things.
6. Warning against judgment (Matthew 7:1-6): The dangers of judging others harshly and
carelessly.
7. Invitation to prayer (Matthew 7:7-12): The blessings and privileges of prayer.
8. The two ways (Matthew 7:13,14): Choose the narrow way, not the broad way that leads
to destruction.
9. A tree and its fruit (Matthew 7:15-20): "By their fruits you will know them."
10. The importance of deeds (Matthew 7:21-29): To obey God is far better than talking
about your obedience.
