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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
Muslims ask, "How could Allah, being one, have a Son?" Misunderstanding the Trinity, they sometimes charge Christians with worshiping three gods. However, Christians believe that only one true God exists.
Jesus Himself upheld monotheism. When asked for the greatest command, Jesus responded, "... The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mark 12:29-30).
Jesus taught that God is one, and Jesus taught that He was one with God (John 10:30). In response, the Jews picked up stones to stone Jesus because they thought He was guilty of blasphemy. Similarly, Muslims would say a man claiming to be God would be guilty of "shirk." However, Jesus is not a mere man claiming to be God. He is the Son of God in human flesh (John 10:36-38).
The title "Son of God" does not mean Jesus was literally born from God. The Bible does not teach a physical relationship between God and Mary, as Muslims sometimes charge. At the birth of Jesus, the angel told the virgin Mary:
"... 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.... of his kingdom there will be no end.' And Mary said to the angel, 'How will this be, since I am a virgin?' And the angel answered her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy-the Son of God'" (Luke 1:30-35).
Pastor John MacArthur explains these verses: "Since a son bears his father's qualities, calling a person someone else's 'son' was a way of signifying equality. Here the angel was telling Mary that her Son would be equal to the Most High God" (The MacArthur Study Bible).
Man's testimony that Jesus is God's Son
When people witnessed Jesus' miracles, teaching, death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, many believed Jesus is the Son of God.
• Followers of Jesus testified after He calmed a storm: "And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God'" (Matthew 14:32-33).
• Peter testified: "Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven'" (Matthew 16:13-17).
• A woman, whose brother Jesus raised to life, testified: "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?' She said to him, 'Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world'" (John 11:25-27).
• Even the demons know Jesus is the Son of God: "Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, 'You are the Son of God'" (Mark 3:11).
• A military officer and soldiers who were guarding Jesus at His death on the cross testified: "When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'" (Matthew 27:54).
• Thomas testified after Jesus rose from the dead: "Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord.' But he said to them, 'Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.' Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.' Thomas answered him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.' Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:24-31).
Jesus' own testimony that He is God's Son
• "This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill [Jesus], because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life'" (John 5:18-24).
• At Jesus' trial, He testified: "... Again the high priest asked him, 'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?' And Jesus said, 'I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven'" (Mark 14:61-62).
• "We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true-even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20).
God's testimony that Jesus is His Son
• God spoke at Jesus' baptism: "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).
• "While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, 'This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him'" (Luke 9:34-35).
• "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:9-13).
• Previously, God had spoken to man through His prophets, but then He sent His own Son: "In the past God spoke to our forefathers by the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom 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. After he had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven" (Hebrews 1:1-3).
Jesus is the "exact representation" of God. Although one with His Father in essence, Jesus is also distinct in Person as God's Son. God has revealed Himself as one God manifest in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Even before the world began, Jesus was always with God and was God (John 1:1-2; 17:5). God created all things in the universe through Jesus (John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-20).
Although eternally one with God, Jesus came to earth in the form of man (Philippians 2:5-11). Born to the virgin Mary, Jesus is fully God and fully man at the same time (the incarnation: Matthew 1:22-23; John 1:14; Romans 1:3-4; Colossians 2:9; 1 John 4:1-3; 5:20).
Believe in the Son of God
We must believe God's Word that Jesus is God's Son, even though it's hard to understand. We will die with many hard questions unanswered. But we dare not die without responding to God's promise of judgment and salvation through His Son (John 3:35-36; 5:25-29; Acts 10:38-43; 17:30-31; 1 John 4:14-15).
As the perfect Son of God, Jesus didn't deserve the punishment for sin, death (Romans 6:23). But by dying on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus paid the penalty of sin and broke the power of sin for those who would be in Him (Romans 8:1-3).
God is calling sinners to turn from their own way to follow the living Lord Jesus in repentance and faith (Luke 24:46-47). We cannot save ourselves. Only those who turn from sin and trust in the Son of God are saved from sin and eternal death.
"God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God" (John 3:16-18).
See http://www.gotquestions.org/God-have-son.html
Jeremiah Kaaya
I do strongly think that the underlying fact here is in whether God the Father of Jesus is actually the same as the god of the Muslims; Allah. Having been formerly a Muslim, I believe my submission can be of help here. Firstly, I should never involve myself in an argument with a Muslim on whether Jesus is the Son of God or not. This is because; Allah is not JEHOVAH/YAHWEH (Exodus 6:2). JEHOVAH God the Father of Jesus is one but in three offices. He is not three Gods; He is one God/JEHOVAH/YAHWEH. It is not to mean that Jesus by being the Son of God is another God, NO. JEHOVAH God is one God. Amen. Allah has no son; on the other hand JEHOVAH God has a Son and sons in us. The other major underlying difference lies in the fact that the perspectives of Father/father differ in both faiths. The perspective of father in the Muslim faith is only after having sexual relations with a woman and therefore have a biological child. This is actually where the argument of whether Jesus is a Son of God or not emanates. The Muslim belief is that god/Allah is too holy to have sexual relations with human beings, he can’t therefore be a father. Yet since to be a father you must have had sexual relations with a woman according to the Muslim faith, it is blasphemy to say Jesus is the son of God/JEHOVAH/YAHWEH. The Christian perspective of Father on the other hand is not embedded in having sexual relations with a woman. One can be a father in many perspectives, e.g. by virtue of age, responsibility, etc. But in this particular case of God/JEHOVAH being the Father of Jesus and to us, because Jesus is our elder brother, JEHOVAH God is a Father to us because He is our creator, He feeds us, He has all the responsibility over us, that is why He is called by a number of names which are meant to depict what He is to us, e.g. JEHOVAH JIREH, JEHOVAH SHALOM, JEHOVAH NISSI etc. Jesus is not the Son of God by way of after having had sexual relations with Virgin Mary, NO, NEVER, actually the Bible states it clearly how Mary wondered how it would happen yet she was a virgin, this is what the angel Gabriel had to say to Mary in Luke 1:35;......The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the highest will overshadow you; therefore that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God”. By Christians calling Him (Jesus) what He is; the Son of God, it is never meant to mean that God had to first have sexual relations with Mary so that they gave birth to Jesus, NO, NEVER. Jesus existed even before Mary did (John 8:58). We are children of God not after sexual relations, but because He (God) is our creator, He feeds us, He is responsible for and over us (John 1:12-13). In view of the above, both Muslims and Christians must understand that differences in perspectives firstly emanate from the fact that the two are referring to two different God/gods. One called Allah who can’t be father because by being so, he must have had sexual relations with a woman. He therefore can’t be father because he can’t do that. And the other called JEHOVAH who is Father not by having sexual relations with a woman, but by virtue of His being our creator and His responsibility for and over us. Allah is therefore not the father of Jesus; it is JEHOVAH/YAHWEH who is the Father of Jesus and us. With God/JEHOVAH/YAHWEH, all is possible (Luke 1:37), (Matthew 19:26). So, the question should be; can Allah be a father? NO, he can’t. Can JEHOVAH be a Father, YES He can. JEHOVAH/YAHWEH God is the Father of Jesus. Allah has no son. God bless
Ayoade FAMUREWA
The concept of being a father or father ism can be viewed in many other ways than a product of sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. Father- son relationship can be established as a result of shared character. That is if one called the son thinks, acts, and does as the other one that was already known called the father. Jesus entire life fits into this. He was compassionate,full of love, just, faithful,creative,saved, healed, forgave sins, raised up the dead which no man can ever do,displayed ultimate love to mankind by offering Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus said"John 10:30 KJV [30] I and my Father are one. In the same vein why do we call some people sons of the devil or sons of satan? Does is it mean that satan had sexual intercourse with whoever the mother of the person or persons is? Of course not, it is simply because the person displays the character of satan which we all know is always negative and destructive. Responsibility or creatorship can be another reason for father- son relationship? Why are we called children of God? Is it not because He creates us and ultimately responsible for our well being. Does it means we do have have our biological fathers or does it mean that God had sexual intercourse with our mothers.? No, it is simply because He is the one that formed us and made us man or woman. Why do we call Faraday(for those who study elementary science) for example "father of Electricity"? People that thought it is only sexual interaction that brings about father - son relationship might forever be asking where is the " mother of electricity". Faraday was the father of electricity simply because he gave birth to the idea, it was his invention, he created it. Likewise it was God's idea to send his son to the world through Virgin Mary who was just a carrier. The Bible records this in the book of Luke 1:31-35 KJV [31] And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. [32] He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: [33] And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. [34] Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? [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. Have we also ever wondered why satan is the "father of lies"? Did he give birth to lies by sexual intercourse? No, it was because he originated it. Another point I will not want us to forget here is that we are talking about God here and not man. Many times we limit God power by the limit of our knowledge. Many times we equates God with man. Is God that is omnipotent not capable of doing anything He wants to do? Must he have sexual intercourse like mere man before He has a son? Can't He that spoke all things into existence capable of producing a replica in form of a son for Himself? Was there a mother when He made Adam and Eve? Then what other proof do we need if God call Jesus His beloved son Matthew 3:16-17 KJV [16] And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: [17] And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And Jesus himself called God His father John 15:10 KJV [10] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. Luke 23:34 KJV [34] Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. If we believe that God is truthful and Jesus is truthful then their testimonies must be true and established.
Shantkumar S. Kunjam
I agree with whatever is said above with some reservations. There is another related argument is referring to Jn. 3:16 that, How can God have only one son, could He not have more than one? Firstly, our Lord jesus is God's Son because He is personification of God's wisdom, power, holiness, love, light and all other things that God is. In Gen. 1:3 God spoke (not like the words that come out of our mouth), that is, to do the creative work the Word of God came out of God. In other words God gave His creative Word birth, as it says in Pro. 8:22. And hence the N.T. testifies that Jesus is that creative Word by which God created everything that exists(Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2). Jesus is God's Son is demonstrated in the way He lived on earth. His life's story is recorded in N.T. for everyone to see. There is only one person who has challenged the world "Which of you convict Me of sin?" (Jn. 8:46). Just imagine How God will look like in human form. Jesus says, Look at Me and you will have seen God in Me (Compare Jn. 14:9). Jesus is the replica of God in human form "... the brightness of His glory, and express image of His person" (Heb. 1:3). So God cannot have many types of replica. He has just one replica, Jesus our Lord. The life of Jesus climaxing in resurrection is the proof that Jesus is the Son of God, "and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4). Like all the believing Christians I have personally experienced Jesus to be the Son of God, my Savior and Lord. He has done wonders in my life. To a wretched sinful person like me, He transformed me and has given me the status of God's child and hence I can call God, Abba, Father, my heavenly Father in Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. If all this is still not convincing then wait for the time when Jesus, as He has promised, comes back and show the world that He is God, the Son of God, before whom all knees will bow and tongues will confess that He is what He had claimed to be, "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11). Only problem here would be that if any one wants to be convinced only by His second coming then it will be too late to receive the salvation in Jesus Christ. "... that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in you heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:9-10). So, let everyone do it.
Bruce Lyon
If we read in Luke 3:38 the genealogy of Jesus starts with Adam, who is referred to as the son of God. Think about that a man specially created from the dust of the earth, into whom is breathed the breath of life and become a living soul/being is called the son of God. Now how does this apply to Jesus being called the son of God. The reason is that he was specially created in the womb of Mary by the power of God's Holy Spirit and by a special biological miracle Jesus was uniquely begotten and at his birth is proclaimed to the son of God. Paul refers to him as the second man "1Cor:15:47: The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the lord from heaven." in other words specially created by God's Holy Spirit. Jesus is also called the "last Adam" The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a life giving spirit - at his resurrection. Why is he referred to as the last Adam? Because there would be no need for another special created man to reconcile humanity to God, Jesus accomplished this completely and at his resurrection is recognized as the "last Adam". He accomplished what the first Adam did not. Perhaps is we believed in the creed of Jesus we would not have a difficulty in believing that YHVH is one, the Hebrew word for one is echad and has the same meaning as the English word for one. The creed of Jesus is: Mark 13: 28 ¶ And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; Yahovah our God is one Yahovah: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for THERE IS ONE GOD, AND THERE IS NONE OTHER BUT HE: And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. Neither are any one of us far from the Kingdom of God, who believe as the scribe did in his answer to Jesus. Jesus was a Jew who probably repeated the Shema 3 times a day as all righteous Jews did in his day and the Shema is: Hear, O Israel, Yahovah our God is one Yahovah, this should be our creed as well if we follow what Jesus believed and lived by.
Amie Stewart
Muslims worship the God of Abraham and Ishmael, the illegitimate son of Abraham whom he fathered when he was impatient and disobeyed God. The Muslims Mohammad came thru this line and is not the same God we as Christians and even Jews worship, who is the God of Abraham, Isaac (the true son of Abraham and Sarah who was from the Promise) and Jacob, which is the ancestral line that Jesus came thru. We do not worship the same God as Muslims.
John Fernandes
One must understand that Allah of Islam and God of Bible are two different - Allah is merciless where as our God the Father is Loving & forgiving Islam started 625 years after Christianity, and Muhammad would never ever dream of saying that Jesus is God or Son of God, if he say thus he would have no follower to follow him. Quran rejects the trinity father, his wife & his son, but the Christian Trinity is Allahu, Kalimatullahi Roohuallahi means Allah, The word of Allah & Spirit of Allah, This Christian Trinity is not rejected in the Quran. Jesus is also called in Quran Kalimathullahi, Word of God, Ruhullahi- Spirit of God, Isal masih, Jesus the Messiah, Quran also state that Jesus is born by the Spirit of Allah, but refuses to beleive that He is Son of God Moreover if Muslim reads the Bible he would be enlightened in knowledge, because Quran state if you (Muslim) have any doubt refer the book of the People (Scripture-Bible) Quran 10:94
Janet Austin
Jesus is definitely God’s son. Scripture says Jesus is God incarnate—God in the flesh; He is the word made flesh (John 1:14). It is as if God said, “I want to show you how much I love you” …and God’s words became Jesus. Stated differently, God’s deepest desires became reality when His words became actions in the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus definitely existed before Mary did... absolutely. In fact, Jesus says, (John 10:30) "I and the Father are one." He can say that because Mary's egg did not became part of Jesus (at least, that's what I believe). She was simply the conduit for the birth. The fact that her body/blood fed Him is what makes Jesus able to say He is human (in part). The translation of “her (Mary’s) seed” in Genesis 3:15 means her offspring (not her egg). We find the term seed in other places in Scripture also, yet as far as I’ve studied (using as my main resource “THE INTERLINEAR NIV HEBREW-ENGLISH OLD TESTAMENT by John R. Kohlenberger III) "seed" means offspring or children and or the man’s seed. Hope that helps.
Kenneth Heck
There is a popular apprehension that behind all the various names of God in the various religions on earth (past and present) there is only one true God or Supreme Being for everyone on the planet. This intuition may be true, but it can't be confirmed through scripture, and no agreement is possible about the name of the true God at present. This idea appears to have emerged from philosophical speculations about the nature of deity by theologians, rather than sacred scripture. All notions about God coming from Islam are not applicable to Christianity, any more than the notions coming from Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, the Greco-Roman religion, etc. Although there seem to be overlapping concerns between them, Christianity and Islam do not have the same god, do not have the same idea of what the true god is, and do not have the same religious objectives. Any reconciliation between Christianity and other religions, if possible, can come only in the future when the Kingdom of God on earth has been fully implemented. This reconciliation is implied in Zech 14:9 - "And the LORD shall be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD shall be one, and his name one." To answer the question, Jesus is the son of the Most High God, as God is defined in Judeo-Christian spirituality. Allah, as defined in Islam, does not, and cannot have a son. Syncretism, the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, is always false.
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