Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
How Can Jesus be God and the Son of God?
John 1:1-3 (NASB)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
In the beginning was the Word. He was not the Son of God, but He was the Word of God. Because man was lost to Him, He chose to do something no other God in any other religion has ever done. He chose to sacrifice Himself to save us.
You see, something most Christians do not realize is that God was forgiving sin since the days of Adam. Just look up the word atonement in the Bible and you will find many scriptures where God commands His people to sacrifice animals to atone for their sin. Atonement is not forgiveness. It is the action one takes to right a wrong in hopes of forgiveness. But why would God command the slaughter of animals if He was not willing to forgive them? The truth is, God was willing to forgive them...
Leviticus 4:20 (NASB)
20 He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; he shall do the same with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.
Yet, even with God forgiving sins, nobody was allowed into heaven.
John 3:13 (NASB)
13 No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
The problem was not our sins needing to be forgiven, but our souls needing to be washed clean from the corruption of sin. You see, the forgiveness of our sins was more about fixing our relationship with God. The cleaning of our souls is what allows us into heaven. Unfortunately, no animal could ever be pure or holy enough to wash our souls clean. No man born from the seed of Adam could ever be pure enough to save us. There was only one way to save us.
The Word became flesh. He was born through woman, but had no human father. That way He was born without the corruption of sin staining His soul. Though He was the Word of God, who was God, being born in the flesh, the fact He was born through a woman meant He was not the Son of God, but He was the only "begotten" Son of God. Even though He was God in the flesh, His Father was not man, but God Himself. So the Word was God and took on flesh to become the Son of God.
When Jesus died, He had to go willingly. If He had been taken by force, He would be nothing more than a martyr. Nobody would have been sacrificing Him to God or anything like that when they killed Him. The only way He could truly be a sacrifice, was if He went willingly. He had to know He was going to die and still go willingly for it to be a sacrifice.
At the last supper, Jesus told them to buy swords and when they said they had two already, He said it was enough. He knew that if they did not have any weapons, they would not have attacked the armed guards who came to take Him. So He made certain there were two swords. Then when the soldiers came to take Him, and His disciples drew their swords to attack the guards, Jesus was able to stop them. By stopping them from fighting for Him and going in peace, He made it very clear that He was not being taken by force, but He was willingly going to His death. He knew it was the only way we could ever be saved, so He went willingly. He sacrificed Himself to save us.
Because it was not an imperfect animal being sacrificed, or any man born from the seed of Adam, He was truly pure and holy. Because He was God in the flesh, He was pure and holy enough that His sacrifice was enough to wash our souls clean.
I understand that I only explain how it works. If you want the scriptures to prove that Jesus is God, please read this article... Is Jesus God or the Son of God?
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
In the beginning was the Word. He was not the Son of God, but He was the Word of God. Because man was lost to Him, He chose to do something no other God in any other religion has ever done. He chose to sacrifice Himself to save us.
You see, something most Christians do not realize is that God was forgiving sin since the days of Adam. Just look up the word atonement in the Bible and you will find many scriptures where God commands His people to sacrifice animals to atone for their sin. Atonement is not forgiveness. It is the action one takes to right a wrong in hopes of forgiveness. But why would God command the slaughter of animals if He was not willing to forgive them? The truth is, God was willing to forgive them...
Leviticus 4:20 (NASB)
20 He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; he shall do the same with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.
Yet, even with God forgiving sins, nobody was allowed into heaven.
John 3:13 (NASB)
13 No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
The problem was not our sins needing to be forgiven, but our souls needing to be washed clean from the corruption of sin. You see, the forgiveness of our sins was more about fixing our relationship with God. The cleaning of our souls is what allows us into heaven. Unfortunately, no animal could ever be pure or holy enough to wash our souls clean. No man born from the seed of Adam could ever be pure enough to save us. There was only one way to save us.
The Word became flesh. He was born through woman, but had no human father. That way He was born without the corruption of sin staining His soul. Though He was the Word of God, who was God, being born in the flesh, the fact He was born through a woman meant He was not the Son of God, but He was the only "begotten" Son of God. Even though He was God in the flesh, His Father was not man, but God Himself. So the Word was God and took on flesh to become the Son of God.
When Jesus died, He had to go willingly. If He had been taken by force, He would be nothing more than a martyr. Nobody would have been sacrificing Him to God or anything like that when they killed Him. The only way He could truly be a sacrifice, was if He went willingly. He had to know He was going to die and still go willingly for it to be a sacrifice.
At the last supper, Jesus told them to buy swords and when they said they had two already, He said it was enough. He knew that if they did not have any weapons, they would not have attacked the armed guards who came to take Him. So He made certain there were two swords. Then when the soldiers came to take Him, and His disciples drew their swords to attack the guards, Jesus was able to stop them. By stopping them from fighting for Him and going in peace, He made it very clear that He was not being taken by force, but He was willingly going to His death. He knew it was the only way we could ever be saved, so He went willingly. He sacrificed Himself to save us.
Because it was not an imperfect animal being sacrificed, or any man born from the seed of Adam, He was truly pure and holy. Because He was God in the flesh, He was pure and holy enough that His sacrifice was enough to wash our souls clean.
I understand that I only explain how it works. If you want the scriptures to prove that Jesus is God, please read this article... Is Jesus God or the Son of God?