Why Do You Think Jesus Is The Son Of God?

Red Sky at Morning

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I was asked by someone on the forum "Why do you think Jesus is the Son of God?"

To me, that was too important a question to simply throw out a quick fire answer to.

Luke 24 (NKJV) tells the story of two disciples walking together to Emmaus, and of someone meeting them on the way.

The Road to Emmaus
13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”

18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”

19 And He said to them, “What things?”

So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”

25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

The Disciples’ Eyes Opened
28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.​

Jesus met these guys where they were at and answered their questions on an emotional, intellectual and spiritual level. For each of us who are followers of Jesus as Lord and Saviour, we will have our own story of coming to this knowledge. All our stories of how we came to believe Jesus was truly the Son of God will be different, as each of us are different from one another.

We might not all have the debating skill of a defence lawyer, but each of us who are truly Christians are 'witnesses'. If it helps to visualise it, picture a courtroom where we are each invited to the stand to give an account, the lawyer pressing us with the question "Why do YOU think Jesus is the Son of God?".

We have had (and continue to have) our own conversation on the road to Emmaus that has led us to say with the disciples “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

I will share some of the things that happened my own journey down that road, and I invite others who have had similar experiences to add their voices.
 
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Irrespective of any Sacred Scripture which do have an importance in my eyes, rest assured, i will say why i believe Jesus is a Prophet of God:

  1. I cannot help but reflect on this wonderful creation and come to the conclusion that there's An Almighty Creator Responsible for it.
  2. Since i've never seen Him, i can only believe that He Exists and Is Constantly Maintaining everything afloat.
  3. Since i took birth, and so did my parents, i refuse to believe that The Supreme Being Bears any likeness to us mere mortals.
  4. Since i simply don't know and cannot prove it, i don't wish to say something concerning which i have doubts about.
  5. Logically, to be a son or daughter to somebody, you'd assume at first hear that that somebody has a sexual organ, something to feel shyness for. The term private parts itself alludes to that it should remain private and is something nobody wants to be publicly exposed, to say the least. Therefore it would only be wise not to say things which could make others ascribe such things to Almighty God.
 

Lisa

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I like this story too...
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." She said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?" Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw." He said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly." The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He. "
John 4:7-30

So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?" They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.
John 4:7-26, 28-30

From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I have done." So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.
John 4:39-42

-----------------------------------------------------------
I was thinking of this story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman while reading the op. Here again Jesus, goes out to someone and starts a conversation with them...someone who is a woman and a lowly Samaritan to boot. But, He doesn't make her feel like a lesser person. I like that about Jesus, He never makes you feel like you're less of a person. If He were like some kings, queens, heads of state, He definitely would...but He, being the Son of God, doesn't talk down to anyone...just talks to you. He even knows her background...she doesn't have to tell Him any of it..He knows and He wants her to know that He's the one she needs...He has the living water because He is the living water.

In Jeremiah 2 God is telling His people that the have forsaken Him, the fountain of living waters..Jesus, gives the living waters because He is the living waters, He is God. Not only is she impressed with what He says and isn't so ashamed or insulted by His knowing all about her...she runs off to the others in the town and tell's them who she's just met, and it's compelling enough that they go to Him themselves. Also compelling is that they believe not just because of her...but because they heard it from Him.

I think that we all want someone to really know us and to love us and help us. We all know that we need someone and we keep looking for people to help us...not realizing maybe that no one has it all together and they probably can't help us with our problems. I have been there...searched around myself and have been disappointed by people. But, when I went to God, when I went to His Son Jesus, I found that person. God is more than the invisible man in the clouds who's going to punish us. He is really a caring and good God who wants the best for us. I have found that to be true in my own life.

He has counseled me and helped me all through my life. I could not be the person talking to you now without His being in my life, giving me courage and support in talking to anyone. I was always the timid, scared girl who was scared to say what I thought because people could get mad and not talk to you again, or laugh at you or think you're stupid or something. Some people look to self help books or human counselors, I looked to Jesus. I wanted to know Him because I heard He loves people and how I needed someone to love me! And I did find an amazing love. He tells us to come to Him all that are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest. And he did give me rest and peace as I trust in Him. :)
 

Karlysymon

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So, Christians have always been accused of foisting a Son upon God because, supposedly He cannot reproduce like His own creation, but what does God have to say about the matter?
During Christ's adult life, there are 3 recorded incidents when men heard the voice of God and when He testified to the sonship of Christ....in the presence of witnesses. Afterall, "A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses"(Deut 19:15).

At the Baptism (Luke 3:21-22)
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form
like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5-6)

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This
is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified.

At some Feast before the Passover (John 12:20-30)
‘Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, ‘This voice was for your benefit, not mine."

Now, i don't know any other instance, in the life of any man, where the Ancient of Days "thunders" from His great throne, before the entire universe, testifying to a sonship. And why would He even take the time to do that? Why didn't He thunder before Israel when He sent to them the many prophets that they killed, because they had to listen to them? Peter, James and John were on that mountain and he wrote:
"For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eye-witnesses of His majesty. He received honour and glory from
God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we
were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18)

Then there's John the Baptist and His testimony (John 1:33-34). So who sent John and why did He testify the way he did?
"And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit
descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with
water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy
Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

Even the centurion couldn't help himself, except to make the same statement at the crucifixion (Matt 27:54)

If i doubt or disbelieve the Father's very own testimony and/or claims in this case, then by extension i can do the same to the events at Sinai or the countless other claims that God makes about Himself in Scripture. Richard Dawkins might then, just about, be right.

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept
Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was
merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.~ C.S.Lewis
 

Damien50

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So, Christians have always been accused of foisting a Son upon God because, supposedly He cannot reproduce like His own creation, but what does God have to say about the matter?
During Christ's adult life, there are 3 recorded incidents when men heard the voice of God and when He testified to the sonship of Christ....in the presence of witnesses. Afterall, "A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses"(Deut 19:15).

At the Baptism (Luke 3:21-22)
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form
like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5-6)

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This
is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified.

At some Feast before the Passover (John 12:20-30)
‘Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, ‘This voice was for your benefit, not mine."

Now, i don't know any other instance, in the life of any man, where the Ancient of Days "thunders" from His great throne, before the entire universe, testifying to a sonship. And why would He even take the time to do that? Why didn't He thunder before Israel when He sent to them the many prophets that they killed, because they had to listen to them? Peter, James and John were on that mountain and he wrote:
"For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eye-witnesses of His majesty. He received honour and glory from
God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we
were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18)

Then there's John the Baptist and His testimony (John 1:33-34). So who sent John and why did He testify the way he did?
"And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit
descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with
water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy
Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

Even the centurion couldn't help himself, except to make the same statement at the crucifixion (Matt 27:54)

If i doubt or disbelieve the Father's very own testimony and/or claims in this case, then by extension i can do the same to the events at Sinai or the countless other claims that God makes about Himself in Scripture. Richard Dawkins might then, just about, be right.

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept
Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was
merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.~ C.S.Lewis
/clap

Now for the detractors to state that it is metaphorical or symbolic in meaning or to assume the Holy spirit was someone that it wasn't or to assume Songs of Solomon to be a reference to what it isn't.

I stand by Dawkins in this regard as in the old Testament: Thus saith the Lord and in the new testament: Honor the Lord your God

 

floss

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Please correct me if I'm wrong. One of the reason why I think Jesus is known as the Son of God because he is trying to show us that we can join the God family by becoming a believer (Christian). When we accepted God as our Father, we become His son/daughter. It is so easy for me to pray to Father God and called him my best Father ever. I believe Jesus want us to be humble and become His children. As a believer, we are Father God's son and daughter that's why we should consider each other brother/sister in Christ otherwise we would be his bastard. Therefore, rejoice that we are His forever children.

A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord. Deut 23:2
 
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Unless those passages have been inserted/altered in order to attribute to The Almighty what is common to us, that is ...
 
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JoChris

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The very simple answer: because I believe the bible is true.

If the bible is the inspired Word of God, if it is without error, fault, a product of mere human imagination et. al......

.... because the bible says Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for my sins and rose from the dead I believe that it is true.

A lot of faith is required to UNBELIEVE in the bible. I know, I tried.
 

Karlysymon

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Unless those passages have been inserted/altered in order to attribute to The Almighty what is common to us, that is ...
@God_Is_Formless

I expected that statement to come up and like i said, if those passages are insertions or were altered, what's stopping me from believing that the following are interpolations or alterations? Some claims God makes about Himself:

Isaiah 46:9-10
Remember the former
things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the
beginning, from ancient times, what is still to
come. I say, “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”

Malachi 3:6
I the Lord do not change, so you, O Jacob are not destroyed.

Exodus 34:6-7
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to
anger, abounding in love
and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving
wickedness, rebellion and
sin...

Jeremiah 9:24
....I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on
earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD."

Ezekiel 33:11
Say to them, “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in
the death of the wicked,
but rather that they turn
from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil
ways! Why will you die,
people of Israel?”


Or His many other promises, especially for the future. It is one slippery road! I mean, the above could be insertions aswell. For all we know, an ancient parchment could surface tomorrow proving alterations and that Richard Dawkins is right afterall:
"The God of the Old
Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic,
racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully."

We are finite beings and we can never fully comprehend that the Eternal God exists as 3 separate beings. He doesn't procreate like His creation but the Self-Existent One manifests as 3 individual Persons.
Hebrews 1:2-3
but in these last days He has spoken to us by his Son,whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the EXACT representation of His being, SUSTAINING all
things by His powerful
word...."

Its really a "take it or leave it" or "believe Me or don't believe Me" situation.
 
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I expected that statement to come up and like i said, if those passages are insertions or were altered, what's stopping me from believing that the following are interpolations or alterations?
Your conscience would stop you for one. Truth distinguishes itself easily from error. There's Only One God.

Anything that can make somebody come to a conclusion which contradicts it in any way would and should be doubtful.
 

Todd

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I believe Jesus is THE son of God, because we are all called to become sons(and daughters) of God. Jesus was the messenger sent to show us how to be son's of God. He was the first one, so he gets the title THE son of God, but we all get to follow in his footsteps and have the opportunity to become the sons of God.

Just a very small sample of verses throughout the Bible that speak of men being the sons of God....
1 John 3:10
2 Samuel 7:14
1 Chronicles 28:6
Psalm 2:7
Hosea 1:10
Matthew 5:9
1 John 3:1-3
Revelation 21:7
 

Red Sky at Morning

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I believe Jesus is THE son of God, because we are all called to become sons(and daughters) of God. Jesus was the messenger sent to show us how to be son's of God. He was the first one, so he gets the title THE son of God, but we all get to follow in his footsteps and have the opportunity to become the sons of God.

Just a very small sample of verses throughout the Bible that speak of men being the sons of God....
1 John 3:10
2 Samuel 7:14
1 Chronicles 28:6
Psalm 2:7
Hosea 1:10
Matthew 5:9
1 John 3:1-3
Revelation 21:7
That is where the significance of the need to be "born again" comes from. In order to become a 'son' of God, you need the new birth.

If anyone is not sure if they are truly born again (and perhaps you want to be) you might check out this article (the video is pretty good too)

http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/everyone-who-has-been-born-of-god-overcomes-the-world

1John 5

1"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
 

Mr. Blah

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Messages
580
That is where the significance of the need to be "born again" comes from. In order to become a 'son' of God, you need the new birth.

If anyone is not sure if they are truly born again (and perhaps you want to be) you might check out this article (the video is pretty good too)

http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/everyone-who-has-been-born-of-god-overcomes-the-world

1John 5

1"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
Please explain what is "the new birth" or "being born again".

Is it a sort of "enlightenment", having mind-changing experience?

Why is this special Christian doctrine so abstract and vague?
 
Joined
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Messages
3,150
So, Christians have always been accused of foisting a Son upon God because, supposedly He cannot reproduce like His own creation, but what does God have to say about the matter?
During Christ's adult life, there are 3 recorded incidents when men heard the voice of God and when He testified to the sonship of Christ....in the presence of witnesses. Afterall, "A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses"(Deut 19:15).

At the Baptism (Luke 3:21-22)
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form
like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5-6)

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This
is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified.

At some Feast before the Passover (John 12:20-30)
‘Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, ‘This voice was for your benefit, not mine."

Now, i don't know any other instance, in the life of any man, where the Ancient of Days "thunders" from His great throne, before the entire universe, testifying to a sonship. And why would He even take the time to do that? Why didn't He thunder before Israel when He sent to them the many prophets that they killed, because they had to listen to them? Peter, James and John were on that mountain and he wrote:
"For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eye-witnesses of His majesty. He received honour and glory from
God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we
were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18)

Then there's John the Baptist and His testimony (John 1:33-34). So who sent John and why did He testify the way he did?
"And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit
descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with
water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy
Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

Even the centurion couldn't help himself, except to make the same statement at the crucifixion (Matt 27:54)

If i doubt or disbelieve the Father's very own testimony and/or claims in this case, then by extension i can do the same to the events at Sinai or the countless other claims that God makes about Himself in Scripture. Richard Dawkins might then, just about, be right.

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept
Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was
merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.~ C.S.Lewis
> Many holy men and prophets were called sons of God
> Jesus himself called God "our father" not just "his father"
> Jesus called the peacemakers "sons of God"
> There are no capital letters in Semetic languages or greek to distinguish 'son' from 'Son'
> Jesus never called himself "son of God" or "God" nor did he tell people to worship him.

Those are all Biblical facts.
 
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Red Sky at Morning

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Please explain what is "the new birth" or "being born again".

Is it a sort of "enlightenment", having mind-changing experience?

Why is this special Christian doctrine so abstract and vague?
Does John 3 help define it for you better? Nicodemus asks the same question...

"1There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:2The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?13And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

From the passage above it is apparent that something spiritual happens when a person truly believes. You will know if you are "born again" because the Holy Spirit confirms it with your spirit. Certainly everyone I know who identifies as "born again" would concur. If you are in doubt, ask yourself if you can read the passage below and think "I can remember a point when that was my decision" (I certainly do).

Romans 10:9

"9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
 

Mr. Blah

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> Many holy men and prophets were called sons of God
> Jesus himself called God "our father" not just "his father"
> Jesus called the peacemakers "sons of God"
> There are no capital letters in Semetic languages or greek to distinguish 'son' from 'Son'
> Jesus never called himself "son of God" or "God" nor did he tell people to worship him.

Those are all Biblical facts.
Question: "What did Jesus mean when He said 'I AM'?"

Answer:
Jesus, in response to the Pharisees’ question “Who do you think you are?” said, “‘Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.’ ‘You are not yet fifty years old,’ the Jews said to him, ‘and you have seen Abraham!’ ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds” (John 8:56–59). The violent response of the Jews to Jesus’ “I AM” statement indicates they clearly understood what He was declaring—that He was the eternal God incarnate. Jesus was equating Himself with the "I AM" title God gave Himself in Exodus 3:14.

If Jesus had merely wanted to say He existed before Abraham’s time, He would have said, “Before Abraham, I was.” The Greek words translated “was,” in the case of Abraham, and “am,” in the case of Jesus, are quite different. The words chosen by the Spirit make it clear that Abraham was “brought into being,” but Jesus existed eternally (see John 1:1). There is no doubt that the Jews understood what He was saying because they took up stones to kill Him for making Himself equal with God (John 5:18). Such a statement, if not true, was blasphemy and the punishment prescribed by the Mosaic Law was death (Leviticus 24:11–14). But Jesus committed no blasphemy; He was and is God, the second Person of the Godhead, equal to the Father in every way.

Jesus used the same phrase “I AM” in seven declarations about Himself. In all seven, He combines I AM with tremendous metaphors which express His saving relationship toward the world. All appear in the book of John. They are I AM the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51); I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12); I AM the Door of the Sheep (John 10:7, 9); I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14); I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25); I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6); and I AM the True Vine (John 15:1, 5).

https://www.gotquestions.org/I-AM.html
 

Red Sky at Morning

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> Many holy men and prophets were called sons of God
> Jesus himself called God "our father" not just "his father"
> Jesus called the peacemakers "sons of God"
> There are no capital letters in Semetic languages or greek to distinguish 'son' from 'Son'
> Jesus never called himself "son of God" or "God" nor did he tell people to worship him.

Those are all Biblical facts.
Great points and good research too!

Jesus is described as the "firstborn of many brethren" when we believe, we are "adopted" into God's family - a concept that must feel completely alien and blasphemous to an Islamic point of view...

I found this link helpful when explaining what "being a Christian" actually means. This may also help with the "son" question a bit...

 
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Great points and good research too!

Jesus is described as the "firstborn of many brethren" when we believe, we are "adopted" into God's family - a concept that must feel completely alien and blasphemous to an Islamic point of view...

I found this link helpful when explaining what "being a Christian" actually means. This may also help with the "son" question a bit...

It wasn't research Red, I was raised to believe about Jesus the same as you. Different strokes for different folks.
 

Mr. Blah

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But why were the Jews angry and then they wanted to stone Him, if it meant something else than His claimant of His own divinity?

There is no doubt that the Jews understood what He was saying because they took up stones to kill Him for making Himself equal with God (John 5:18). Such a statement, if not true, was blasphemy and the punishment prescribed by the Mosaic Law was death (Leviticus 24:11–14). But Jesus committed no blasphemy; He was and is God, the second Person of the Godhead, equal to the Father in every way.
 
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