One question that arises is what to do with the “Son” aspect of Jesus. How can Jesus be “God” when God sent His “Son”? The word “Son” seems to indicate a person who was born or came into existence at a specific point in time. John 3:16 was ambiguous for a few years.
But with the understanding of the concept of God as we have just learned, the text – John 3:16 – made perfect sense. We have already made the case explaining that “GOD” is not a person. It is a title, like president, and a quality, like love. Understanding this helps us to recognize that it wasn’t a person who sent His Son, but a quality, an essence, an attribute that sent Jesus Christ to die for us.
During desert Storm in 1991, Mr. Bush had to make a decision. As Mr. Bush he did not want to send men to fight a war with Iraq and die. He loathed war. But as a holder of the title, “President of the United States”, he had to do it. The quality, attribute of President, required him to uphold the office of President.
The attribute, quality, of the “God-title” is Love. When sin invaded the world, the attribute of the God title and the Holders of the God title were compelled to act out of that attribute. That attribute of love compelled Jesus to fight against the invader and give His life for His children. (Same with you when you become a Christian.)
A person may see a child being abused and may not act. But a person with the title and attribute of parent, especially the parent of that child, will act! The attribute compels him to.
What then do we do with the title “Son of God”? Was Jesus brought into existence and does He have a beginning? No! Many use the phrase, “I am the beginning and the end” to argue that Jesus was born into existence or created and is not God but a “Son of God”. But if that were the case then He must also have an end. But we know that He will never have an end just as He never had a beginning. He has always existed. The phrase “beginning and the end” is only an expression of limitlessness. So what do we do with “Son”?
Once we recognize that God is a title, “Son of God” becomes clearer. You see, Yahweh, Jehovah, Jesus, is the only entity with the God title who went through the “birth” process. Unlike us, who came into existence at the time of birth, Jesus did not. (To make reading the Bible easier to understand, when reading the Old Testament, substitute “Jesus” for “LORD” and it will make more sense.)
He who is from everlasting to everlasting, simply altered His state of existence and went through the birth process. Now the Ancient of Days, the other person with the God title, could call Him “Son”. The “God title” now had a “God-title” Holder who went through the birth process.
Jesus, who is holder of the God title, is also holder of the birth title “Son”. No other persons of the “God-title” have this “birth” title. The Ancient of Days never went through the birth process. The Holy Spirit never went through the birth process. Only Jehovah did. He truly is the “Son” of God. “But you, Bethlehem Ephratha, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, WHOSE ORIGINS ARE FROM OF OLD, FROM ANCIENT TIMES.” Micah 5:2.
Earlier it was shown that the Ancient of Days and Jesus both have physical bodies. Both have flesh and blood since we are created in their likeness and image. Yet many will point to John 4:24 and state that God is a “Spirit” and believe that they have no body or form. If this were the case, the Bible would be a lie and we would have no salvation. But there is a simple explanation for that text.
We must always read the whole verse, and Bible, to learn truth. Those who use only a portion of a text with no regard to the rest of it can make fools of themselves as 2 Peter 3:16 makes this very plain. The whole verse of John 4:24 reads, “God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
If the word “spirit” is talking about a lack of physical form then we are in real trouble. Not one of us lacks a real, physical form. How are we going to worship God since you and I are “flesh and blood” and not a “spirit”? That would make no sense at all! But if we let the Bible explain itself, all is made perfectly clear.
John 6:63 states, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” This clearly shows that what Jesus is talking about is not a physical state of being, but a spiritual state of being. Who God wants are people who will worship Him “spiritually” in truth so that we might have life. There are two spiritualties fighting for control of our souls. We must fight the one spirit and allow the other to control us. We must become spiritually righteous through obedience to the teachings of Jesus. These are the only “spirit” worshipers that God will accept.
Before ending this section I would like to clarify a couple of important points that seem to cause so much trouble to the simple minded. Names! There are those who will bring up the genealogy of Jesus in the New Testament books and show that they don’t agree with each other. There are different names and some with more names and some with less.
I would like to answer that as simply as I can. Let us use our own examples of names today. Remember, the New Testament genealogy of Jesus was written in Greek from Hebrew lists. Therefore, names can be changed in the translation. How many of you are from Spanish, German, Italian, Swiss, Asian or any “foreign” background in which your “family” name was changed when it was “Americanized”?
Also, think of yourself, an inmate in prison. How many different names do you have? You have your “given” name, “family” name, “street” name, “prison” name, “special names” your mom or aunt calls you by, “special names” your wife calls you by and who knows how many other “names”. Should we judge the Bible any different than we would judge our own selves today?
Let’s take an example: In Matthew 1:11 you have the name “Jeconiah”. But that is just a variation of the name, “Jehoiachin” as used in the Old Testament. Same person, different spelling. If you check out the list in Luke you will find no such name mentioned. Probably Luke is using a more abbreviated list. He may not have had access to the more complete list that Matthew had or was simply more interested in the major family heads. Anyone doing a genealogical search on their family understands those problems. Lots of “missing links”. I’m still finding bones in my family’s “missing links”.
Again, we see this problem with names in Proverbs chapter 31. Who is “King Lemuel”? Well, actually, there could be a simple explanation. Proverbs was written by King Solomon. Maybe he was called “King Lemuel” in chapter 31 because, if you read carefully, you will find that chapter 31 was taught him by his mother. “Lemuel” may be a term of endearment that she used for him when he was a little boy while teaching him these sayings. See how simple? How many of you have special names of endearment that have been given you by your mom, grandma and aunts, etc.?
Related Texts
Psalm 84:1, 3 Matthew 26:31
Psalm 86:11 (Way, Truth) Luke 1:76
Psalm 95:3, 6 Luke 2:11
Psalm 98:6 John 1:1-5, 14, 49
Psalm 100:3 John 5:18, 40
Psalm 144:1 John 8:12, 58
Psalm 145:1 John 10:11, 14, 33
Isaiah 1:4 John 20:28
Isaiah 2:3, 5 1 Corinthians. 10:1-4
Isaiah 5:24 Colossians 1:16
Isaiah 6:5 1 Timothy 1:17
Isaiah 9:2, 4, 6 Titus 2:13
Isaiah 10:17, 20 Hebrews 1:8
Isaiah 12:6 Rev. 1:8, 17, 18
Isaiah 17:7, 10 Revelation 2:8
Isaiah 26:4 Revelation 11:17
Isaiah 28:16 Revelation 22:13