MATTHEW 1:23  Christ is called AImmanuel@ - AGod with us.@ 

 

I TIMOTHY 3:16  AGod was manifest in the flesh.@ 

 

COLOSSIANS 2:9  AFor in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead (divinity) in bodily form.@

 

ISAIAH 9:6  AFor unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.@ 

 

I CORINTHIANS 15:47  AThe Second Man is the Lord from heaven.@ 

 

JOHN 20:26‑29  Thomas called Christ AMy Lord and My God.@ (Christ did not correct him.)

 

                                                  THE ONLY ABEGOTTEN@ SON OF GOD

 

MATTHEW 1:18,20,23  Mary was His human mother and God in heaven was His divine Father.

 

LUKE 1:35 AAnd the angel answered and said to her, AThe Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.@

 

HEBREWS 1:4-6  ABeing made so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.@ (Angels are created beings. Jesus was Abegotten.@)

 

JOHN 1:14 AAnd the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.@

 

JOHN 1:18 ANo one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.@

 

JOHN 3:16  AFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have ever-lasting life.@

 

JOHN 3:18 AHe who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.@

 

I JOHN 4:9 AIn this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.@

 

  

HE WAS THE SON OF GOD BEFORE HE INCARNATED

 

PROVERBS 8:22-25 AThe LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth;@ [Jesus was begotten from God the Father long before this world was created.]

 

This passage from Proverbs is from an allegory on wisdom.  But these are also the words of Christ concerning Himself, and His existence with His Father prior to His incarnation.  Paul was alluding to this passage when he wrote, A...Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God@ (1Cor.1:24) and A...Jesus Christ, who of God is made unto us wisdom...@ (1Cor.1:30).

 

The Hebrew word in this passage translated Abrought forth@ means Ato be born.@  In the Septuagint translation (300BC) from the Hebrew to Greek , the word Agennao@ was chosen.  This is the same word which Paul uses in Hebrews 1:5, speaking of Christ.

 

At the last supper, Jesus prayed to His Father.  A part of that prayer reads,

 

JOHN 17:5   AAnd now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began@ 

 

JOHN 17:8  He also said, AI came forth from You [Father] and they have believed that You sent Me.@

 

JOHN 16:27  AI came forth from the Father AND  have come into the world.@

 

Matthew 16:16-18   Peter said, AYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.@

And Jesus said, AUpon this rock I will build my church.@

 

Why call Him the Son of God, if He was not really a Son at all?

 

Was Christ  simply a different manifestation of one divine being

Who also exists as Athe Father@ and as Athe Holy Spirit?@ 

 

LUKE 22:42 Christ prayed, ANot my will but Thine be done.@ 

 

How could there be Amy will@ and AThy will,@

if Christ and His Father are two manifestations of the same  divine being?

 

JESUS CLAIMED TO BE THE SON OF GOD.

 

JOHN 5:18  ATherefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God@. 

JOHN 10:30-33  (Christ speaking) A>I and my Father are one....= The Jews answered Him, saying, >For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.=@

 

Christ was not saying that He and the Father were two manifestations of the same divine being.  In John 17:20-23 Christ prayed that His followers would also be Aone@ with the Father and Himself. 

 

CHRIST FORGAVE SINS COMMITTED AGAINST GOD

 

MARK 2:7  AWho can forgive sins but God alone.@ (JOB 14:4,ISA 43:25) 

 

DAN 9:9  ATo the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness,...@

 

LUKE 5:24  A>But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins=;  He said to the man who was paralyzed, >I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.=@

 

LUKE 7:48‑49  AAnd He (Christ) said to her, >Your sins are forgiven.= And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, >Who is this who even  forgives sins?=@

 

MARK 2: 5‑12  A...He (Christ) said to the paralytic, >Son your sins are forgiven you.=.......  >But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins=-- He said to the paralytic, >I say unto you, arise, take up your bed, and go your way to your house=@ (Matt 9:6).

 

(This story illustrates that forgiveness is not just a legal maneuver; blotting out a mark against our name in a book in heaven. Forgiveness is healing the effects of sins upon our nature. Only God can forgive sins because only God has this healing power.  No mere human being can forgive sin.

 

JESUS WAS GIVEN THE AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE SIN

 

MATTHEW 6:12  In the model prayer, we are to pray to the Father for forgiveness.  But God the Father has given to His son authority to forgive sins.

 

JOHN 3:35 AThe Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.@

 

JOHN 5:22 AFor the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.@

 

THE SON OF GOD AWILL BAPTIZE YOU WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.@

 

MATT 3:11 AI indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.@

 

MARK 1:8  AI indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.@

 

LUKE 3:16 AJohn answered, saying to all, AI indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.@

 

JOHN 1:33  AI 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.=@

 

JOHN 20:22 AAnd when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, AReceive the Holy Spirit.@

 

GOD HAS COMMANDED MEN AND ANGELS TO WORSHIP CHRIST.

 

PHILIPPIANS   2:10‑11  AThat at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.@  (Notice that only two divine Beings are glorified.)

 

HEBREWS 1:6  ABut when He again brings the first born into the world, He says: >Let all the angels of God worship Him.=@

 

MATTHEW 2:11 AWise men directed of the Holy Spirit worshiped the infant Jesus.@

 

REVELATION  5:13 AAnd every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: ABlessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!@ (Two divine beings are worshiped here.)

 

IF CHRIST WERE NOT OUR GOD,

WE COULD NOT WORSHIP HIM AND  STILL KEEP THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.  

 

EXODUS 20:3‑6  AThou shalt have no other gods before me.@  AThou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them.@

 

MATT 8:2 AAnd behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, >Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.=@

 

MATT 14:33, MATT 28:9, REV 5:8‑14   Jesus received worship while on this earth.

 

THE BIBLE FORBIDS THE WORSHIP OF CREATED BEINGS

 

COLOSSIANS  2:18,    REVELATION 19:10,  REVELATION 22:8.9

 

NOTE: Does Revelation 3:14 refer to Christ as a created being? 

The word Abeginning@ is Aarche@, which can also be translated correctly Ahead@ or Achief.@  Christ is the creator, the ruler, the head, the chief over all of creation.  Christ refers to Himself as the AAlpha and Omega@, the beginning and the end.  (REV 21:6, REV 22:13)

 

                               CHRIST EXISTED LONG BEFORE THIS WORLD WAS CREATED.

 

JOHN 8:58  (Jesus speaking) ABefore Abraham was, I AM@ (EXODUS 3:14).

 

MICAH 5:2  ABut thou Bethlehem Ephrath, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel: Whose goings forth (origins) have been from old, from everlasting.@

 

JOHN 17:5  (Christ=s prayer) AAnd now, O Father glorify, Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.@

 

II COR 8:9  AFor you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor,...@

 

HEB 3:3  AHe who hath builded the house, hath more glory than the house.@

(speaking of Christ and the temple) 

 

JOHN 6:38  AFor I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me .@

(Here again we see two individual wills.)

 

JOHN 1:1‑2  AIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.@

 

JOHN 1:15  AJohn (the Baptist) bore witness of Him, and cried out, saying.  This was He of whom I said. He who comes after me is preferred before (is greater than) me: for He was (existed) before me.@

 

PHIL 2:5‑6  ALet this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men;@

 

PROVERBS 8:22‑30  Athe Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before his works of old.  I was     set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. (v. 24‑30) Then I was beside Him, as a master craftsman; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before Him;@

 

 

COMPARE PSALM 45:6 WITH HEBREWS 1:1‑10 LOOKING FOR THE  

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOD THE FATHER AND HIS SON. 

 

PSALM 45:6‑8  (David speaking of Christ) AThy throne, O God (Jesus), is forever and ever; the scepter of Thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God (the Father), hath anointed Thee (Jesus) with the oil of gladness (the Holy Spirit)  above Thy fellows. (Compare HEB 1:8,9)  All Thy (Jesus) garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of ivory palaces, whereby, thy have made Thee glad@.

PSALM 50:1‑6  (A beautiful Old Testament prophecy of the second coming of Christ.  Compare the Old Testament wording with the New Testament prophecies of the same event.)

 

AOur God shall come, and shall not keep silence; A fire shall devour before Him, (II Thess 1:8)  And it shall be very tempestuous round about him.  He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, (John 5:28,29) That He may judge His people. Gather my saints together unto Me;  (MATT 24:31, I THESS 4:16, II THESS 2:1) those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare His righteousness, for God is judge Himself@ (II COR 5:10) (JOHN 5:22 Athe Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son).

 

JESUS CLAIMED

THAT HE WAS HIMSELF THE SUBJECT

OF ALL THE OLD TESTAMENT WRITERS, WHEN HE SAID:

 

JOHN 5:39  AYou search the scriptures (Old Testament) for in them you think you have eternal life: and these            are they which testify of Me.@

 

I TIMOTHY 2:5  AFor there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus@; 

(This statement applies with equal force to Old Testament times. See study AThe MEDIATOR.@)

 

JOHN l:18  (Christ said) ANo one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him@  (Jn 5:37; Jn 6:46).

 

How could it be said then that the Lord Aknew@ Moses Aface to face@ and spoke with him Aface to face, as a man speaks to his friend@ (DEUT 34:10,  Ex 33:11).  Moses was speaking with Christ.

 

EXODUS 6:3  AAnd God spoke to Moses and said to him: >I am the Lord= ... >I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty...@ 

 

This must be the preincarnate Christ speaking to Moses, because He later said, ANo man has seen the Father@ (John 1:18) and ANo man has seen God at any time@ (John 5:37, John 6:46).   

 

 

COMMENTARY

 

AThe Word was with God, and the Word was God@ (John 1:3). 

What are our options for understanding this passage?

 

The word translated AGod@ simply means Adivine being,@ in the Greek.  AThe Word (Christ) was with Adivine being@ ( the Father) and was Adivine being.@  We could understand that AGod@ is one divine being who manifests as two persons.  Or we could say that the Father is one divine being and the Son is another. 

 

If we take the second option, that the Father is God, as is the Son, how do we then understand the passage which says that AGod is one?@ (Deuteronomy 6:4).  How do we understand the command to Ahave no other gods?@ (Exodus 20:3).

 

My personal belief is that God the Father is one divine being, and is the one and only God Supreme.  When we worship the Father as supreme, we fulfill the first commandment.  God the Father beget a Son in His exact image  (almost like a clone, if you will excuse the word.)  Just as the son of a human father is a human being, so the Son of The Divine Father was Himself also divine.  The only difference between the Father and the Son was that the Son was begotten and had not always existed.  As the Father is all-knowing, so was the Son before His incarnation.  The Son was also all-powerful, and omnipresent.  At the incarnation, when the Son assumed human form, He emptied Himself of divine power.

 

After the sin of Eve and Adam, the Son became the mediator between the Father and the estranged world (1 Timothy 2:5).  Finally the Father sent His Son into the world, to live and die, to effect a reconciliation with all who would be won.  Paul makes it clear that we are reconciled to the Father through His Son  (Colossians 1:19-20, 2Corinthians 5:18-19).

 

Because the Son represented His Father to human beings, and because the Son was exactly like his Father, He was called by the same name/s in the Old Testament.  He stood in place of His Father.  He acted as God to human beings.  Yet the Father is supreme.  The Father is called the God of Christ (John 20:17, Romans 15:6, 1Corinthians 11:3, 2Corinthians 1:3, 2Corinthians 11:31, Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 1:17, Colossians 1:3, Hebrews 1:9, 1Peter 1:3, Revelation 1:6, Revelation 3:12).

 

The Father is the ultimate source of life (1Corinthians 8:6) and it was by His will that all things were created (Revelation 4:9-11, 1Corinthians 15:24-28).  The whole family in heaven and earth is named after the Father (Ephesians 3:14-15).

 

The Father=s will is recognized in Scripture as supreme (Ephesians 4:6, Luke 11:2, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 12:50, Matthew 26:42, Mark 14:36, John 5:30, John 6:38-39, Galatians 1:4, Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 1:11, Hebrews 13:20-21, Revelation 4:11).