This Article: (12 Pages)
- 1. The Son of God
- 2. The Son of Man
- 3. The Special Birth of the Son of God
- 4. Paul's ideas regarding God and the... Son of God
- 5. What is meant by Jesus being Sent?
- 6. God's Character Shown to the World
- 7. There is no power but that of Yahweh
- 8. Jesus as the Man
- 9. In the Beginning was the Word... (John 1)
- 10. The Title 'God'
- 11. Could Christ have Pre-existed?
- 12. Our future as Sons of God
3) The Special Birth of the Son of God
How special is the action of the spirit of God to make a son? There are a number of occasions where Yahweh has given a special male child.
Sarah the wife of Abraham was over 90 when she miraculously conceived and gave birth to Isaac.
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.... But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. (Genesis 17:17-21)
Isaac was a son of promise, and his birth was miraculous. John the Baptist's birth was likewise a miracle.
And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him..., behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believe not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. (Luke 1:18-20)
Though a special miracle, Isaac and John were genetic desendents of their parents. Jesus is only half, the other half was a special creation. A new Adam.
The Bible presents Jesus as a human, who, like certain special people and Adam has a beginning at an instant made with the special action of the Spirit of God.
What about trinity?
Some Christian religious systems claim a belief in what is known as the Trinity, which accepts the principles of 'one God', but a God who at the same time is a triune being made up of Father, Son and Holy Ghost (or Spirit). This idea is commonly taught although, the word 'trinity' is found nowhere in the Bible.
Origins of the Theory of the Trinity
The idea of the Trinity is a not a biblical doctrine. It developed as an explanation of the nature of Jesus and his relationship to God, but is too simplistic and is seriously flawed because of this simplicity. It unfortunately became a political issue and became enforced as religious dogma.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica states of this doctrine that,
“the dogma of the Trinity was not drawn directly from the New Testament... They were only formed through centuries of effort, only elaborated by the aid of the conceptions and formulated in the terms of Greek and Roman metaphysics.”
In simple terms this means that the ideas were borrowed from pagan Greek and Roman mythology.
Church Bishops produced the Nicene Creed, defining the Trinity, at their Conference at Nice in 325CE. It was a period of apostasy and departure from the Apostles' teaching, and, of immorality and great laxity among both the clergy and their congregations. Standards of behaviour and doctrine had been lowered. Writing of the state of the church, clergy and academics by the 3rd and 4th century, Mosheim wrote,
“Many were sunk in luxury and voluptuousness, puffed up with vanity, arrogance and ambition; possessed with a spirit of contention and discord, and addicted to many other vices that cast an undeserved reproach upon the holy religion of which they were the unworthy professors and ministers... sumptuous garments dazzled the eyes and minds of the multitude.”
Eusebius (ca. 260–339), a contemporary of the period stated,
“Christians grew negligent and slothful, envying and reproaching one another... bishops quarrelling with bishops and the people divided into parties... The bishops had cast off almost all concern about religion; they were perpetually contending with one another... they were full of ambition and tyrannically used their power.”
Onto this stage came Constantine. Gibbon (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) describes Constantine in the following way. He was,
“a Roman General whose religion might still be a subject of doubt, and whose mind had not been enlightened by study or by inspiration and was indifferently qualified to discuss, in the Greek language, a metaphysical question on an article of faith.”
Sabinus (d. 304), a bishop of the Macedonian sect and contemporary with those who wrote the Nicene Creed and established the Trinitarian doctrine, spoke of them in this manner: they were “idiots and simpletons” and “such as had no intelligence in the matter.” If the Nicenists had been wise in the scriptures, why did it take an unbaptised semi-heathen emperor to establish unity and conformity among them and to accept this emperor as the head of the church? It was from these appalling conditions that the defining of the Trinity arose.
The Bible God is Declared to be One God
God's declaration through Moses to the nation of Israel was:
“Hear, O Israel, Yahweh our Elohim (God) is one Lord.” (Deuteronomy 6: 4)
The monotheism of the Hebrews was a distinguishing feature in a polytheistic world.
This same teaching was the basis of the message given by the prophets, Jesus, and the Apostles. The nation of Israel and the early Christian congregations, were founded on the doctrine of One God and Jesus as the Son of God. The prophet Isaiah's belief in one God is shown in the following verses, which also speak of the Creator as proclaiming the future which is yet to happen.
“I am Yahweh, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.”(Isaiah 45: 5)
“Remember the former things of old: for I am God and there is none else; I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” (Isaiah 46: 9)
Mark records that the Messiah confirmed that the concept of the Creator as revealed to Israel remained the same.
And Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.”(Mark 12: 9)
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