From: emery@tc.fluke.COM (John Emery)
Subject: The Son of God
Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 20:08:47 GMT




Not long ago, I posted many scriptures (260+) that showed that the
New Testament writers clearly supported the deity of Christ.  If anyone
did not see this post and would like a copy of the Scriptures, just
send me a quick message.

In that article, I did not add any commentary but simply listed the
Scriptures.  I would at this time, like to demonstrate that Jesus'
title 'Son of God' was meant by the New Testament writers to be more
than just a religious title but instead a sign of His deity.

There are a number of ways the Bible demonstrates that the Son of God
was more than just a religious title:

--------------------------------------
1.  Demons tremble all fall down before Jesus as they realize He is the Son
    of God:

	Mark 3:11 Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before 
	him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." (NIV)

    In this we see that the authority of the Son of God extends beyond
    the natural realm into the supernatural realm.  It is this title
    that causes the demons to tremble and obey and fall down before.
    The Son of God is the one who has supreme authority.


2.  It took the supernatural death of Jesus to convince the centurion that
    He was the Son of God:

	Mark 15:39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of 
	Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this 
	man was the Son of God!" (NIV)

    Since it took such wonders to convince the centurion of this claim, 
    surely the claim of being the Son of God was more than just a 
    religious title.  Otherwise, it would not take such events to convince
    the centurion.  The fact is that it took wonders for Jesus' claim to
    be the Son of God to stand.

3.  Paul used the resurrection of Jesus as credentials for Him being the
    Son of God. (Romans 1:3-4)

	Romans 1:3-4 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a
	descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was 
	declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from 
	the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. (NIV)

    Jesus' resurrection was a demonstration of His victory over physical
    death.  Of all the possible titles of Jesus that Paul could vindicate
    through this testimony, he chooses 'the Son of God'.  Also, note that
    Paul uses 'the Son of God' to make a distinction from Jesus' human
    nature.  Thus he appoints supernatural qualification to this title.

4.  Jesus was accused of blasphemy by religious leaders for claiming to be
    the Son of God:

	John 10:36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his 
	very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of 
	blasphemy because I said, `I am God's Son'? (NIV)

    In verse 33, the Scripture clearly equates Jesus' claim to be God's Son   
    to being God, putting Himself on the same level as God the Father.
    And because the Jewish leaders believed He was only a mere man, this
    lead to their charge of blasphemy which was eventually the charge with
    which the condemned Jesus to death (see Matt 26:63-66).

5.  The apostle John wrote of the miracles of Jesus as the credentials that
    for being the Son of God that we might believe and have life:

	John 20:31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus 
	is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have 
	life in his name. (NIV)

    John knew what it meant to claim that Jesus was the Son of God.  And
    to give evidence to this claim, he wrote his gospel that testifies of
    Jesus in many miraculous ways and which contains many claims of deity.
    This passage shows the great implications of the title 'Son of God'.

6.  After the Apostle Paul's encounter with Jesus, he began to preach.  And
    the message he preached was that Jesus was the Son of God:

	Acts 9:20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus
	is the Son of God. (NIV)

    Of all the many wonderful things Paul could preach on Jesus, he chose
    his main emphasis to be that Jesus was the Son of God.  This had to be
    quite a title for Paul to give his whole life and suffer immensely to
    convince people of.

7.  Next, the supernatural results of believing and confessing that Jesus 
    is the Son of God is a confirmation to the significance of this title:

	John 5:25 I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now 
	come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and 
	those who hear will live. (NIV)

	1 John 4:15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, 
	God lives in him and he in God. (NIV)

	1 John 5:5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who 
	believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (NIV)

	1 John 5:12 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have 
	the Son of God does not have life. (NIV)


So, in summary, there are many signs of the great significance of Jesus'
claimed title of the Son of God:

This title had so much power that demons fell down before Jesus and
confessed Him.  It had so much significance that it took the supernatural
signs around Jesus' death to convince the centurion that He was the Son of
God.  It had so much weight behind it that God spoke out of Heaven announcing
it.  The claim of this title was so significant that Paul used Jesus'
resurrection from the dead as the confirming credentials to this claim.
Paul's miraculous conversion convinced him that Jesus was indeed the Son
of God and he then gave his whole life proclaiming and convincing people
of it.  The apostle John wrote a whole book on the miraculous signs Jesus
performed as evidence to convince the reader that Jesus is the Son of God.
So significant was Jesus' claim to be the Son of God that the religious
rulers accused Him of blasphemy and condemned Him to death!

In their own words:

"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for
 blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."  (John 10:33)


Jesus also referred to Himself as "the" Son in reference to "the" Father.
Just as there is only one Father, the NT writers clearly portrayed that
there was one unique Son:

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

1 John 4:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and
only Son into the world that we might live through him. (NIV)

And in declaring this unique Son of God, it is written that the Son is
*exactly* like the Father (Heb 1).  So much so that to believe in the
Son is the same as believing in the Father; to know the Son is the same
as knowing the Father; and to see the Son is the same as seeing the 
Father.

May God bless you and may you find life in His Son!

-- 
John Emery		"You say we've risen to a new age of light.
emery@tc.fluke.COM       You're telling me what used to be wrong
			 is now right."