1

"I am (God)"

pavel hanes

"I Am the Son of God"

Jesus' "I AM" (2)

Banská Bystrica, 27th October 2013

John 10:27-39 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and my Father are one. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shown you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36 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? 37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. 39 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped from their hand,

outline

0. WHY "THE SON OF GOD"?

0.1. THE PROBLEM IN THE CHURCH HISTORY

0.2. THE HEBREW EXPRESSION EXPLAINS IT

0.3. THE ECONOMY OF SALVATION REQUIRES IT

1. JESUS - LOVED BY THE FATHER

1.1. THE FATHER-AND-THE-SON RELATIONSNIP

1.2. OUR RESPONSE TO THE ATTITUDE OF THE FATHER

2. JESUS - PERFECT SACRIFICE TO GOD

2.1. ABRAHAM AND ISAAC

2.2. THE LOVE OF GOD AND OUR SINS

3. JESUS - EXALTED BY THE FATHER

3.1. JESUS - THE COMING KING

3.2. THE CONSUMMATION OF THE ECONOMY OF SALVATION

4. CONCLUSION

0.why "the son of God"?

As long time Christians, we are not surprised by this name of Jesus any more, but in the church history it caused a few errors:

0.1.the problem in the CHurch History

  • Origenism  Subordinatianism[1] (condemned)

= Jesus as Logos “eternally subordinated to the Father” (eternal generation)

  • Arianism –the Son has been created
  • Unitarianism –Jesus is only a human being

Why does the Bible talk about the Son of God? Why not use only the word “God” for Jesus – they’re synonyms anyway!? (v. 36)

0.2.the Hebrew expression explains it

  • John 10:33 … being a man, makest thyself God ("son of…" = "having the nature of…")
  • Numbers 23:19 God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind.
  • "son of a prophet" (Amos 7:14 Amos answered Amaziah, "I was not a prophet or the son of a prophet;)
  • "son of man" (Eze 33x) Ezekiel 2:1 Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak with you."
  • "the Son of man" (NT 83x + once quote from Ps 8:4 …what is man that You remember him, the son of man that You look after him?)

= Biblical/Hebrew thinking: “son of…” doesn’t stress the origin from… BUT the same nature of…

0.3.the Economy of Salvation requires it

  • Phil 2:5-11 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death-- even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow-- of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth-- 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
  • 1Cor 15:28 And when everything is subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who subjected everything to Him, so that God may be all in all.

= The economy in Greek: administration, management, arranging = the economy of salvation: how God manages the whole world and has provided a way for humanity to come back to Him and become His sons and daughters. We have His nature through being born again: 2Pt 1,4

= the Son was obedient to the Father who sent Him to arrange our salvation – He humbled Himself, made Himself nothing (Phil 2); He is equal with the Father, and in the economy of salvation, He lowered Himself in order to be exalted again: 1Cor 15:28

= we need to learn to lower ourselves

1.Jesus - Loved by the Father

  • obeying commandments minding attitudes (relationships)

1.1.The Father-and-the-son Relationsnip

1.1.1.Jesus obedient to the Father

  • John 5:18-23 This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill Him: not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. 19 zThen Jesus replied, "I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing, and He will show Him greater works than these so that you will be amazed. 21 And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to anyone He wants to. 22 The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
  • John 7:18 The one who speaks for himself seeks his own glory. But He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

= Jesus was obedient to the Father in a perfect unselfishness = a perfect righteousness

= He always observes the Father’s will – I, as a human, can’t even imagine such a perfect obedience

= He always seeks the Father’s glory = the perfect motives

= this leads us to admiration and worship ot the Son of God

1.1.2.The mount of Transfiguration

  • Mt 3:17 This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!
  • Mt 17:5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him. Listen to Him!
  • Mk 9:7 A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: This is My beloved Son; listen to Him!
  • 2Pt 1:17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, a voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!

= a voice from the heaven – to respond to Peter’s wish for three tents = Jesus is His ONLY SON, He is unique = God is a jealous God (Ex 20,5) and He loves His Son

= Is Jesus the most precious being to me? Do I love Him?

1.2.Our response to THe attitude of the Father

1.2.1.minding The Jealousy of God

  • Dt 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

1.2.2.Honouring the Son

  • Psalm 2:12 Pay homage to the Son, or He will be angry

2.Jesus - perfect sacrifice to God

  • perfection: Lev 3:1, 6; 22:21; Ezek 43:22
  • John 3:13-17 No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven-- the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. 16 "For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

2.1.Abraham and Isaac

  • the pain of giving up and the faith for receiving back e.g. in the story of Abraham:
  • Genesis 22:12 Then He said, "Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me."
  • Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; he who had received the promises was offering up his unique son, 18 about whom it had been said, In Isaac your seed will be called. 19He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead, from which he also got him back as an illustration.

= sometimes it can be harder to obey a cancelation of obedience than to obey (Abraham)

= God prepared a sacrifice and did not cancel it

John 3,13-17: His sacrifice leads us to a.) obedience to Him b.) we need to receive His sacrifice in realization that my sin is my biggest problem; we need to receive the most precious thing that God could have ever given us

= Is Jesus really precious to me? What do I think about Him?

2.2.The Love of God and our sins

  • 1 John 4:10 Love consists (evn tou,tw| evsti.n h` avga,ph) in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (i`lasmo.n peri. tw/n a`martiw/n h`mw/nÅ).

3.Jesus - exalted by the Father

  • Psalm 2:3-12 "Let us tear off their chains and free ourselves from their restraints." 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them. 5 Then He speaks to them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath: 6 "I have consecrated My King on Zion, My holy mountain." 7 I will declare the LORD's decree: He said to Me, "You are My Son; today I have become Your Father. 8 Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance and the ends of the earth Your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron; You will shatter them like pottery." 10 So now, kings, be wise; receive instruction, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with reverential awe, and rejoice with trembling. 12Pay homage to the Son, or He will be angry, and you will perish in your rebellion, for His anger may ignite at any moment. All those who take refuge in Him are happy.

= God’s calling us to join his side, to be a part of His nation

3.1.Jesus - the coming King

  • Psalm 110:1 The LORD declared to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool."

3.2.the consummation of the economy of salvation

  • 1 Thes 1:9-10 you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead-- Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

= the meaning of my life as a Christian: to be waiting – not to be like the sleeping virgin

-Yes, it’s hard to live in this world, but we can encourage each other

-God’s been giving more mercy to the world by not coming yet to end the world

4.conclusion

  • Love Jesus, the Son of God, as the Father loves Him! (through the Holy Spirit: Rom 5:5)
  • Receive Jesus, the Son of God, as the perfect sacrifice to God for your sins! (Jn 3:16)
  • Wait for Jesus, the Son of God, as the coming King! (1Thes 1:10)

tlaè: 22-09-13 09:16

[1] The defense of the unity of God against the Gnostics led Origen to maintain the subordination of the Logos to God, and the doctrine of the eternal generation is later. (Wiki)