What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” These were the questions our Lord posed to the Pharisees during one of His encounters with them. The correct answers must be revealed to our hearts in order for us to have eternal life; for “this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
This article will explore what it means to know Jesus as the Son of God and its implications for our lives.
Jesus, In the Begining
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was at the beginning with God. He made all things; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (Joh 1:1-5).
This Scripture teaches us that our Lord, in the beginning, existed as the Logos of God, possessing unspeakable glory and the form of God.
The Prophecy Regarding His Birth
The prophecy concerning Jesus is from the sixth verse of the ninth chapter of the Book of Isaiah: “For 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” (Isa 9:6).
This prophecy unequivocally tells us that the Child to be born is the Mighty God. This means that the Son of God is given to us in the person of this Child to be born to humanity. A Child is born (humanity), a Son is given (divinity), and this Son is the Mighty God and is also the King of Peace.
He Shall Be Called “The Son Of God”
But when the fullness of time came, the Word of God came down, took on flesh, and dwelt among us. The pre-birth announcement sent by the hand of Angel Gabriel to Mary was: “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore that Holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
This message to Mary clearly shows us why He was called the Son of God at birth. You and I were brought forth by means of natural birth through the union of flesh and blood. Christ was brought forth not of flesh and blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but by the power of the Highest.
Express Image of God
Jesus, the blessed Son of God, is the perfect image of the Father. The phrase used in the King James Version is “express image.” This is the original Greek word used, means the impressed character, like one from a steel engraving. He’s the perfect imprint, the exact copy through and through, the image of God.
We can say without any fear of contradiction that the Lord Jesus Christ is the revelation of God to us because He is the perfect image of God’s person. He is the expression of God’s mind to us. If you want to know the mind of God or what He’s saying or doing today, just listen to Jesus. He is the Word of God.
Jesus is the Brightness of God’s Glory
The phrase “the brightness of God’s glory” used to describe Jesus in the King James Version means the outshining or the effulgence of His glory. He is God shining out brilliantly toward us. The sun, out in space, is a good analogy for this. We can never know the sun’s glory by looking directly at it—it’s too bright—but its rays or effulgence give us light and heat. Thus, through the out-raying of the nuclear ball in the center of our solar system, we are able to learn about the sun.
Similarly, we know little or nothing about God apart from the revelation that God has given to us in His Son. He is the out- raying of the Divine that has been manifested to us, and only through Him can we know the Father. The Lord Jesus Christ is the sole expression of God’s glory and the perfect imprint or the express image of God’s person. No one has seen God, but anyone and everyone can know Him through Christ Jesus. Just as the rays from the sun reveal the physical sun, so also the Lord Jesus reveals God to us.
Perfect Son, Pattern Son
Of a truth, this is the Son of God indeed, for He did what the Father told Him to do and gave glory to God for every wonder He performed. He reserved no credit for himself and took none. After curing the demoniac, he said to him, “Return to thine own house and show how great things God has done unto thee.”After healing the sick and performing great wonders, He would hide from view and send the healed to the priest to offer thanksgiving to God. Sometimes the ones that received the miracles did not even know who it was that healed them, for He just gave them instructions which they obeyed, and they were healed and went to the priest, giving glory to God. This is the pattern Son of God, our forerunner, the author and finisher of our faith, who did everything to the glory of God.
Any Who Has Seen Jesus, Has Seen God
He is the visible manifestation of God and the only whole human being. We find in Him a man who satisfies every attribute which God demands. He is the man that perfectly fits God’s design without any lack or deficiency.
No wonder the Lord Jesus boldly said: “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself. but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me” (Jn. 14:9-11).
God’s Testimony Concerning Jesus
The 1st Chapter of Hebrews tells us that God Almighty has appointed Jesus heir of all things. He is the rightful owner of all things. All that was, all that is, and all that will be, belong to Him and will come to Him. The predestined end of this world and of all the reaches of space is to come under the reign of Jesus Christ.
He will rule over all forever and ever. God Almighty made this decree. God said to Jesus:
“Thine throne, O God is forever and ever, a Scepter of righteousness is the scepter 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.” (Heb 1: 8-10).
This same Jesus whom the Father called God, is the eternal King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the creator of the universe. He created and upholds all things. And He has a purpose for them all.
Believe that Jesus is the Son of God to Have Eternal Life
God has ordained that every human must believe that Jesus is the Son of God to inherit eternal life. And the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God is necessary for a believer to know God. The Apostle John told us that this is the purpose for his gospel: “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” (Joh 20:31).
The Gospel Rests on the Revelation that Jesus is the Son of God
The entire Gospel, our faith, and our hope of becoming sons of God are based on this rock or foundation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Mat 16:16). No wonder God Almighty spoke from Heaven during Jesus’ baptism at River Jordan testifying that Jesus Christ is His beloved Son.
This voice from heaven was one of God’s many testimonies that Jesus Christ is His beloved Son.
To Overcome, We Must Believe that Jesus is the Son of God
And the Epistle of John tells us that to become overcomers, we must know Jesus as the Son of God, for “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 Joh 5:5). And to have eternal life, we must know Him personally as the Son of God and be translated into the kingdom of the Son of God.
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, to know him who is true; and we are in him who is true; in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (I Joh 5:20).
Conclusion
During His earthly ministry, we see Jesus walk as God would. He was indeed God with us, the Divine One and the Holy One of Israel. The angels testified as to His Divinity and Royalty at his cradle. The Father God in heaven declared His Sonship at River Jordan. He confirmed that He is indeed the Christ, the Son of the Living God to one of His disciples through the revelation of the Holy Ghost. And even one of His enemies, a Centurion on Calvary hill, concluded that, indeed, this must be the Son of God (Mark 15:39).
As we meditate upon these, we cannot but say with the Roman centurion watching Him on Calvary’s hill that “truly this Man is the Son of God.”
For Additional Reading:
- How to Receive Divine Healing from God
- What Does It Mean to Know JESUS
- Believing Is Seeing
- Not One Feeble Person Among their Tribe
- How to Fight the Good Fight of Faith
- The People that Know Their God.
- More Than a Conqueror
- Power and Authority
- Let Them Have Dominion
- Exercising Dominion
- I Know His Name
- You Can Be Led By the Holy Spirit
- Overcome By the Blood of Jesus
- Under Our Feet
- We Walk By Faith | JESUS Is LORD (lift him up. site)
- Faith Comes By Hearing | JESUS Is LORD (lift him up. site)
- Name Above All Names | JESUS Is LORD (lift him up. site)
- Both Lord And Christ | JESUS Is LORD (lift him up. site)
- The King Is Coming | JESUS Is LORD (lift him up. site)
- LORD of Lords | JESUS Is LORD (lift him up. site)
