Is Jesus The Only Begotten Son Of God? : Part Two

IS JESUS THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD? : PART 2

Copyright 1994 - 2009 Endtime Prophecy Net

Published On : May 25, 1998

Last Updated : April 11, 2009

Taking Jesus Christ "The Accused" To Court, Jesus Is The Son
Of God, God Does Not Lie, Additional Firsthand Testimonies,
Even The Devils Believe And Tremble, Final Conclusions And
Verdict, Strong Meat, Jesus's Unique Status, False Children
Of The Kingdom, Jesus Christ: The High Priest Of Melchizedek

For our next witness, we will bring the "Accused" to the
stand. Concerning His own relationship to His Father, Jesus
is recorded as having said the following in the four
Gospels:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him
might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned:
but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God."
(John 3:16-18, KJV)

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now
is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God:
and they that hear shall live."
(John 5:25, KJV)

"Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent
into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the
Son of God?"
(John 10:36, KJV)

"When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto
death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might
be glorified thereby."
(John 11:4, KJV)

In addition to this, between the four Gospels and the Book
of Revelation, Jesus uses the term "my Father" about sixty
times. One of the shortest verses in the four Gospels, yet
one of the most powerful examples of this, is found only in
the Gospel of John:

"I and my Father are one."
(John 10:30, KJV)

Jesus was recognized by many people and spiritual beings as
being the Son of God, beginning with the angel Gabriel who
appeared to Mary to inform her of her forthcoming pregnancy:

"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."
(Luke 1:35, KJV)

John the Baptist not only recognized Jesus as the Son of
God, but he also referred to Him as the Lamb of God; the
very same term that the Disciple John used in the Book of
Revelation:

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world . . . And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son
of God . . . And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith,
Behold the Lamb of God!"
(John 1:29, 34, 36, KJV)

Jesus was recognized as the Son of God by His Twelve
Disciples and by other followers as well. After the Lord had
walked across the choppy Sea of Galilee, following the
miracle of the loaves and the fishes, they could do nothing
but recognize Jesus for who He truly is and thus said:

". . . Of a truth thou art the Son of God."
(Matthew 14:33b, KJV)

Later, when they were in the coasts of Caesarea Philippi,
Jesus again tested the faith of His Disciples by asking them
who they believed Him to be. Some of them offered a few
answers, but then Simon Peter boldly exclaimed:

". . . Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And
Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven."
(Matthew 16:16b-17, KJV)

The Gospel writer Mark, who some people identify as the same
John Mark of the Book of Acts, and possibly the Marcus
mentioned in some of the Epistles, who accompanied Paul on
some of his missionary journeys, clearly recognized Jesus as
the Son of God. The very first words of his Gospel are the
following:

"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God;"
(Mark 1:1, KJV)

Luke the physician, who is also believed to have accompanied
Paul on some of his missionary journeys, in writing in his
Gospel of the genealogies of Jesus Christ, recorded the
following:

"Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which
was the son of Adam, which was the son of God."
(Luke 3:38, KJV)

After Jesus had called Philip to be a Disciple, Philip went
to find Nathanael to inform him that they had found the
Messiah. At first, Nathanael was incredulous, but he later
acknowledged his error when he also exclaimed with
amazement:

". . . Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of
Israel."
(John 1:49b, KJV)

Just prior to raising Lazarus from the dead in Bethany,
Jesus questioned Martha, the sister of Lazarus and Mary,
regarding His Divinity; and she replied:

". . . Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the
Son of God, which should come into the world."
(John 11:27b, KJV)

John the Beloved, also known as John the Revelator, author
of the Gospel of John, the Epistles of John, and the Book of
Revelation, and also believed by some to have been the
youngest of the Original Twelve, provides ample evidence of
the Sonship of Jesus Christ with the following remarks:

"But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have
life through his name."
(John 20:31, KJV)

"Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God
dwelleth in him, and he in God."
(1 John 4:15, KJV)

"Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth
that Jesus is the Son of God? . . . He that believeth on the
Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth
not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son . . . He that hath the Son
hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not
life. These things have I written unto you that believe on
the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have
eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son
of God . . . And we know that the Son of God is come, and
hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is
true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus
Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life."
(1 John 5:5, 10, 12-13, 20, KJV)

After being chased out of the Temple, Jesus passed by a
blind man whom He healed immediately. This resulted in a
confrontation with the unbelieving Pharisees, who even went
as far as to call in the man's parents. After the blind man
had been questioned and thrown out of the Temple, he
encountered the Lord a second time. Jesus used the
opportunity to test the man's faith in the following
conversation:

"Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had
found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of
God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might
believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen
him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord,
I believe. And he worshipped him."
(John 9:35-38, KJV)

In yet another clear example, at the moment of Jesus' death
on the Cross, we are told by two of the Gospel writers, that
the Roman centurion, and those who were with him, also
recognized the Divine Sonship of Jesus Christ:

"Now when the centurion, and they that were with him,
watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that
were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the
Son of God."
(Matthew 27:54, KJV)

"And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw
that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly
this man was the Son of God."
(Mark 15:39, KJV)

Some time later, when Philip met up with the Ethiopian
eunuch in Gaza, after witnessing to him in his chariot from
the book of Isaiah, the enuch also believed in the Lord and
said:

". . . I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
(Acts 8:37b, KJV)

In writing of the conversion of the Apostle Paul, and of how
he immediately began preaching the Gospel within days of his
life-changing experience, Luke tells us:

"And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that
he is the Son of God."
(Acts 9:20, KJV)

Throughout his Epistles, Paul testifies to the fact that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. For example, he opens his
Epistle to the Roman brethren with the following words:

"Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of
the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be
the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:"
(Romans 1:3-4, KJV)

Paul continued to declare this very same message in other
Epistles with such remarks as the following:

"For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among
you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not
yea and nay, but in him was yea."
(2 Corinthians 1:19, KJV)

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in
the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself for me."
(Galatians 2:20, KJV)

"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"
(Ephesians 4:13, KJV)

"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is
passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
fast our profession."
(Hebrews 4:14, KJV)

"If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto
repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God
afresh, and put him to an open shame."
(Hebrews 6:6, KJV)

"Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be
thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God,
and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace?"
(Hebrews 10:29, KJV)

Not only was Jesus recognized as the Son of God by human
beings, but even the very demons He cast out were forced to
acknowledge His Divine Nature:

"And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do
with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to
torment us before the time?"
(Matthew 8:29, KJV)

"And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before
him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God."
(Mark 3:11, KJV)

"And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying,
Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them
suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was
Christ."
(Luke 4:41, KJV)

"When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him,
and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me
not."
(Luke 8:28, KJV)

In his Epistle, James informs us that the demons are so sure
of this truth, that they fear and tremble; probably because
they know that their final judgment draws near:

"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the
devils also believe, and tremble."
(James 2:19, KJV)

For any open-minded jury member, it should now be clear from
the preponderance of firsthand testimonies from witnesses
who actually knew, met and experienced the Presence and
Power of the Christ, that Jesus truly is the Son of God. To
even consider that all of these witnesses are mentally
unstable, deluded, mistaken, or outright liars, is clearly
unthinkable. They saw Him! They heard Him! They experienced
Him! They had absolutely no doubt as to who Jesus Christ is!
Why then do so many people doubt today? Could it be that
there is no longer faith on the Earth exactly as Jesus had
predicted?:

". . . Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he
find faith on the earth?"
(Luke 18:8b, KJV)

If there was anyone who was doubtful regarding Jesus Christ
being the Son of God, it was clearly Satan himself, and his
evil children, the unbelieving Jewish Elders and their blind
followers. In fact, Jesus said that these followers were
twice the children of hell as their spiritual overlords, the
Scribes and the Pharisees:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is
made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than
yourselves."
(Matthew 23:15, KJV)

"And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the
Son of God, command that these stones be made bread . . .
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself
down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge
concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up,
lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."
(Matthew 4:3, 6, KJV)

"And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God,
command this stone that it be made bread . . . And he
brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the
temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast
thyself down from hence:"
(Luke 4:3, 9, KJV)

"But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and
said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou
tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God . . . And
saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in
three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come
down from the cross . . . He trusted in God; let him deliver
him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of
God."
(Matthew 26:63, 27:40, 43, KJV)

"Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he
said unto them, Ye say that I am."
(Luke 22:70, KJV)

"The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he
ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."
(John 19:7, KJV)

Despite the ridiculous and unfounded objections and
accusations made by A.G. Satan and his spiritually-blind
gainsayers and false witnesses, it is plain to see that the
evidence is clearly in favor of the "Accused"; thus, after
carefully considering and weighing all of these overwhelming
testimonies, the jury finds that it can only come to the
irrefutable determination that this Man, Jesus Christ, is
indeed the very Son of God! Therefore, it is my motion that
He is hereby acquitted by this court of all of the false
charges libelously and slanderously brought against Him by
the rebellious and defiant unbelievers. As King David said
in his Psalm, these false witnesses truly are fools in light
of the evidence brought against them. The Defendant is
hereby released into the custody of His Father. Furthermore,
if at any time the Defendant should choose to press charges
against His accusers, I would be more than happy to hear His
case. This court is now adjourned.

While we have firmly established that Jesus Christ is indeed
the very Son of God, there is still very much which remains
untold. In His Epistle to the Hebrews, the Apostle Paul
delves even deeper into the Origin, Nature, Status and
Inheritance of Jesus Christ in the Heavenly Realm. Some of
these things are very difficult to understand. As I have
stated in other articles such as "Biblical Cafeteria, Or The
Whole Course?: Part One", unlike some of the Early Disciples
who learned the Christian doctrine at the feet of the Lord's
Apostles, it appears that the Lord revealed a number of deep
truths to Paul through direct revelation. This is confirmed
by Paul himself when he says in his Epistle to the Church at
Galatia:

"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was
preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it
of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of
Jesus Christ."
(Galatians 1:11-12, KJV)

Because of the profoundness of some of these topics, and due
to the possibility of their being misunderstood by those who
are young in the Faith, that is, the spiritual babes, Paul
only mentioned some of these things lightly in his letters;
for as he also said:

"But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,
even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised
to discern both good and evil."
(Hebrews 5:14, KJV)

In the very first chapter of this same Epistle, Paul clearly
tells us that Jesus Christ is unique and set above all of
the rest of the Spiritual Creation, save for God the Father.
While it is a bit lengthy, please read the following
fourteen verses so that you can see that this is indeed
true:

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who
being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of
his person, and upholding all things by the word of his
power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much
better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a
more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels
said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I
begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he
shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the
firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the
angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who
maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of
fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for
ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of
thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated
iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee
with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord,
in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and
the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish;
but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a
garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they
shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall
not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time,
Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth
to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"
(Hebrews 1:1-14, KJV)

Notice the key points that Paul emphasizes in the previous
disseration. These primary elements establish the foundation
for the wonderful truths which Paul reveals in the rest of
this amazing letter to the Hebrews:

1. Jesus is the sole heir of the Kingdom of God
2. Jesus created all things
3. Jesus is the express image of God
4. Jesus purged sin from the world by His Sacrifice
5. Jesus sits on the Right Hand of God
6. Jesus is much higher than the angels who minister to Him
7. Jesus is the Son of God

In the following chapters, Paul describes how Jesus Christ
willingly left His Heavenly Estate and became lower than the
angels so that He might take the sins of the world upon
Himself and become the Captain of our Salvation. Consider
what he wrote in the second chapter to confirm these very
things:

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the
angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and
honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for
every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and
by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to
make the captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are
sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed
to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto
my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise
unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again,
Behold I and the children which God hath given me. Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he
also himself likewise took part of the same; that through
death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he
took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the
seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to
be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful
and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to
make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that
he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to
succour them that are tempted."
(Hebrews 2:9-18, KJV)

Jesus spoke of this very same thing in one of His parables
found in the Gospel of Luke. In this particular story, He
compared Himself to the beloved Son who was sent by the
Owner of the vineyard to gather the fruits of the Harvest.
As you will see later in this series, these fruits are known
as the firstfruits, from the Greek word "aparche", which is
pronouced ap-ar-khay'. Jesus then explained how the Kingdom
would be taken from the unbelieving Jews who had killed the
Son, and be given to others who were more worthy than
themselves:

"Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A
certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to
husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And
at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they
should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the
husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he
sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated
him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a
third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then
said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send
my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they
see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned
among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us
kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him
out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall
the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and
destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to
others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. And
he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written,
The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become
the head of the corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone
shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will
grind him to powder."
(Luke 20:9-18, KJV)

These very same thoughts are revealed in the Gospel of
Matthew where we are also told that the Kingdom of Heaven
will be taken from those false Jews who erroneously claim to
be the true Children of the Kingdom:

"And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and
west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,
in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom
shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth."
(Matthew 8:11-12, KJV)

We will take another look at these prophecies later on in
this series. You might also want to read such articles as
"Is God A Racist?" where I provide a preponderance of
Scriptural evidence to further confirm this truth. Returning
to the book of Hebrews, it is in the third chapter that Paul
introduces us to Jesus as the eternal High Priest of God
after the order of Melchizedek, not by His own doing, but
rather by His Father's command:

"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession,
Christ Jesus; . . . Seeing then that we have a great high
priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of
God, let us hold fast our profession . . . So also Christ
glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that
said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchisedec . . . And being made perfect,
he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that
obey him; Called of God an high priest after the order of
Melchisedec . . . Whither the forerunner is for us entered,
even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of
Melchisedec . . ."
(Hebrews 3:1, 4:14, 5:5-6, 9-10, 6:20, KJV)

What is particularly interesting about this topic is that
over a thousand years before the Apostle Paul wrote the
above words, King David wrote another Psalm, similar to
Psalm Two, in which he not only described the coming Battle
of Armageddon, and the Millennium in which Jesus would rule
with a rod of iron, but he also described the Lord as a High
Priest after the order of Melchizedek:

"[A Psalm of David.] The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou
at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion:
rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness
from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy
youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a
priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at
thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his
wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the
places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over
many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way:
therefore shall he lift up the head."
(Psalms 110:1-7, KJV)

Please go to part three for the continuation of this series.

Go To Part Three . . .