We have examined how the gospel message requires a new concept of deity: The Trinity. Although the word “trinity” is not used in Scripture, the claim that God is a singular plural is undeniable. With the incarnation of Jesus, Scripture presents a person who is totally God and totally man without compromising either. Not understanding it does not make it untrue!
All the initial disciples struggled to replace their preconceived ideas of who Jesus was with the one he was revealing himself to be. John, writing his Gospel some sixty years after Christ’s ascension, presents Jesus as the one and only incarnate God-man.
In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God (John 1:1-2).
In the opening verses, John refers to Christ as the eternal Word. He then records nine other titles given to Jesus in his first chapter.
- The Word. Verse 1: “In the beginning was the Word.”
- God. Verse 1: “And the Word was God.”
- Light. Verse 9: “The true light . . . was coming into the world.”
- Jesus Christ. Verse 17: “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
- Lamb of God. Verse 29: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
- Rabbi. Verse 38: “And they said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), where are you staying?”
- Messiah. Verse 41: “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
- Son of God. Verse 49: “You are the Son of God!”
- King of Israel. Verse 49: “You are the King of Israel!”
- Son of Man. Verse 51: “You will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Jesus preferred to call himself the Son of Man, referring to his humanity and his claim to be the Messiah (Daniel 7). The New Testament authors, however, preferred the Son of God.
The names Messiah (Christ), Anointed One, and Son of Man all referred to the long-expected deliverer and king whom the Jews were looking for. However, the Jewish expectations regarding their Messiah did not include a claim to deity. The title Son of God most embodies Jesus’ claim to deity. To understand this more fully, we need to look at two terms: “Son of God” and “only begotten.”
Son of God
The title “son of God” has multiple meanings throughout Scripture and does not always refer to a deity.
- Humanity as sons/children of God
Looking at Jesus’ genealogy, as given by Luke, Adam is called the son of God, implying that all of humanity can claim to be God’s sons or children since we all came from Adam.
- God’s Covenant People: Israel as God’s Son
When Yahweh threatens to kill Pharaoh’s firstborn, he identifies Israel as his firstborn son (Exodus 4:22-23).
- At various places, angels are called “sons of God” (Job 1:6, 38:7).
The Son of God is God the Son
One of the critical debates in the first centuries following the birth of Christianity was the meaning of Jesus as the Son of God. It took several church councils to work through and codify the meaning as referring to deity.
The Jews expected their Messiah to be a unique figure like Elijah, but deity was unexpected and even resisted. Jesus’ claim of Messiah was complicated by his additional claim of equality with God the Father. In the familiar John 3:16, Jesus introduces the modifier “only begotten.” Some translations use “one and only Son” or “only Son” as their description.
Begotten (begat, beget) usually refers to a child who shares the exact nature of his father. By using this term in John 3:16, Jesus says he shares the exact divine nature as the Father, the same substance. When you beget something, it is of the same kind as yourself. However, when you make something, it is of a different substance than yourself. So, we make a bookcase, and we begat children.
In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis whimsically illustrates this point: When you beget, you beget something of the same kind as yourself. A man begets human babies, a beaver begets little beavers and a bird begets eggs, which turn into little birds. But when you make, you make something different from yourself.
Modern translations use the word “fathered” for the awkward word begotten, but it carries the same meaning as “the same kind” as opposed to “make” or “create.” God created (made) man in his own image but not from the same “substance” as God himself. Humans were made, not begotten. But ever since God made the first couple, the rest of us are begotten!
And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth. (Genesis 5:3 KJV)
Jesus, on the other hand, was begotten, not made. Due to the confusion surrounding the term Son of God, some suggest using God the Son to complement the terms God the Father and God the Spirit, thus clarifying the Trinity.
We should not be indifferent regarding what people believe about the nature of Jesus, the Son of God. The Ligonier survey mentioned in the previous blog should warn that an increasing number of people in our churches, let alone the population at large, have an inadequate understanding of the Jesus of the gospel. Those people are more aligned with Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, Muslims, and Hindus than with the Christian faith of the Bible. In the fourth century, the 73% of our church audience that believes Jesus was created by God would have been excommunicated or certainly never baptized.
A case study
A recent article by Suraj Nepali, a missionary to Hindu students, asks the question, “Why would Hindus become Christians if they already believe in Jesus? He then relates a typical conversation with a Hindu student. 1
SN: “Do you believe in Jesus?
HS: “Yes, I do.”
SN: “Do you believe in Jesus’ death for the sins of all human beings?
HS: “Yes, I do believe Jesus died for our sins.”
SN: “Do you believe Jesus rose again from the dead?”
HS: “Yes, I do believe that Jesus rose again from the dead. This is what the Bible says.”
Suraj goes on to say, “This man talks as you would expect a person to talk who professes Christ as their Lord and Savior. But he is still a Hindu. He still believes in all the other gods as well. In Hinduism, there is a god for every aspect of life. Jesus is just the god for the forgiveness of sins.”
This Hindu student sounds a lot like many “evangelicals” mentioned earlier who believe in Jesus but not the Jesus revealed in Scripture. Could the lack of discipleship and transformation of people within our churches be somehow connected to this misconception of the nature of Christ? Does the gospel we present contribute to or clarify this caricature of Christ?
In the next blog, we will examine how the gospel reveals the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity.
1. The Gospel Coalition TGC, Why Would Hindus Become Christians if They Already Believe in Jesus?
16/07/2024, Suraj Nepali