Son of God, Son of Man

by

Chris Hampton

“The Incarnation of the second person of the trinity, God in the form of Man”

Is Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God, the begotten Son of God, the Second person of the Trinity or just a man filled with the spirit of truth? As an Evangelical Christian and a Christian Apologist surprisingly I have not had to defend the deity of Christ to a great level of detail until recently. I have been challenged by a belief which originates within the Unitarian movement and is also seen in similar forms within Mormonism and the Jehovah Witnesses, that belief is that Jesus Christ is not equal with God, he was created or manifested by the Father at some point in eternity past and is therefore at best a lower “g” god and at worst he is just a good teacher.

This challenge goes to the very heart of our Christian belief in the deity of Christ and our understanding of the eternality of the Trinity. I wanted to throw my proverbial “two cents” worth into this argument and layout what I believe is a three fold biblical proof “ That before creation The Son of God existed. Then in the Incarnation he put off the form of God and humbled himself to put on the form of Man and became obedient to the Father even to the point of Death. Finally in his resurrection he returned to his glorified state (form of God) as the Eternal Second person of the Trinity.

The first of my three-fold argument begins with the “beginning of our world”. Jesus Christ is attributed with the creation of the heavens and the earth and all that are in them many times throughout the New Testament.

Creation: (MKJV)

Joh 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.

Joh 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.

Eph 3:9 and to bring to light what is the fellowship of the mystery which from eternity has been hidden in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ;

Col 1:16 For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him.

Col 1:17 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

Rev 4:11 O Lord, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You created all things, and for Your will they are and were created.

Rev 10:6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created the heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there should no longer be time.

In the Old Testament we know that God was attributed with the creation of the heavens and the earth.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Gen 1:21 And God created great sea-animals, and every living soul that creeps with which the waters swarmed after their kind; and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Gen 1:27 And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female.

Isa 45:12 I have made the earth, and created man on it; I with My hands have stretched out the heavens; and all their host have I commanded.

Amo 5:8 seek Him who created the Pleiades and Orion, and who turned the deep darkness into the morning and He darkened the day into night. Seek Him who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the face of the earth; Jehovah is His name;

Mal 2:10 Is there not one Father to us all? Has not one God created us? Why do we act deceitfully, each man with his brother, to profane the covenant of our fathers.

We also see the Trinity involved with creation in the following verse.

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth.

In the Old Testament we see God (Jehovah) attributed with creation, we also see the Trinity attributed with creation and then in the New Testament we see Jesus Christ attributed with creation. This is reason number one for why I believe that Jesus is God and he is the Eternal Second person of the Trinity.

My second reason has to do with the power to forgive the sins of Man towards God. The Old Testament clearly defines who has the power and authority to forgive these sins, it is God alone.

Forgiveness of Sins:

Psa 103:2 Bless Jehovah, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits;

Psa 103:3 who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases;

Isa 43:25 I, I am He who blots out your sins for My own sake, and will not remember your sins.

Psa 25:11 For Your name's sake, O Jehovah, pardon my iniquity; for it is great.

Psa 25:18 Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins.

1Sa 2:25 If one man sins against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sins against Jehovah, who shall plead for him? But they did not listen to the voice of their father, because Jehovah desired to kill them.

Psa 79:9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; and deliver us, and atone for our sins, for Your name's sake.

In the New Testament Jesus Christ displays his power and authority to forgive the sins of Man towards God.

Mat 9:2 And behold, they brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, Child, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven you.

Mat 9:6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, then He said to the paralytic, Arise, take up your bed and go to your house.

Mar 2:5 And seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, Child, your sins are forgiven to you.

The Pharisees knew from the Law that only God could forgive sins, they also knew the penalty for this form of blasphemy.

Mar 2:7 Why does this one speak such blasphemies? Who can forgive sins except God only?

Luk 5:21 And the scribes and Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, except God alone?

Lev 24:16 And he that blasphemes the Name of Jehovah shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall surely stone him. And the stranger as well, even as he that is born in the land; when he blasphemes the Name, he shall be put to death.

In the Old Testament we see that God (Jehovah) alone has the power and authority to forgive sins and then in the New Testament we see that Jesus Christ has this same power and authority thereby making him equal with God. Even the Pharisees (keepers of the Law) understood the magnitude of Christ’s claims of authority to forgive sins. This is reason number two for why I believe that Jesus is God and he is the Eternal Second person of the Trinity.

My third reason is the acceptance of Worship. We know from the Old Testament and clearly within the Ten Commandments that we are to worship no other gods but Jehovah.

Acceptance of Worship:

Exo 34:14 For you shall worship no other god. For Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God;

Psa 29:2 Give to Jehovah the glory due to His name; worship Jehovah in the beauty of holiness.

Psa 45:11 And cause the King greatly to desire your beauty, for He is your Lord, and you shall worship Him.

Psa 66:3 Say to God, How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power, Your enemies pretend obedience to You.

Psa 66:4 All the earth shall worship You, and shall sing to You; they praise Your name. Selah.

In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the object of Worship and he willing accepts Worship of himself on many occasions. This is a great blasphemy and would demand that he be stoned.

Mat 2:2 saying, Where is He who is born king of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.

Mat 2:11 And coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother. And they fell down and worshiped Him. And opening their treasures, they presented gifts to Him, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Mat 14:33 And those in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God.

Mat 18:26 Then the servant fell down and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay you all.

Joh 11:32 Then when Mary had come where Jesus was, seeing Him, Mary fell down at His feet, saying to Him, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

Joh 20:28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!

Neither the Apostles, Pharisees nor Angels would accept worship, this has always been and forever will be for God alone.

In the Old Testament we see that God (Jehovah) alone was the object of worship and then in the New Testament we see Jesus Christ accepting worship on many occasions again making himself equal with God. This is reason number three for why I believe that Jesus is God and he is the Eternal Second person of the Trinity.

This three-fold argument is presented with the desire to show biblically that Jesus Christ was and fully is God, and that he was and is the Eternal Second person of the Trinity. I would like to end this argument with two portions of scripture that I believe summarize what the Son of God did through the Incarnation and how he took on the form of man becoming obedient to the Father even unto death.

Phi 2:6 who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,

Phi 2:7 but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

Phi 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Before the Incarnation the Son of God (the Second person of the Trinity) was equal with God and had the form of God and all the fullness of the deity of the Godhead was in him. At the Incarnation the Son of God became the Son of Man (The Word became flesh). He humbled himself, veiled his deity and took on the form of Man and made himself obedient to the Father.

Joh 17:4 I have glorified You upon the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.

Joh 17:5 And now Father, glorify Me with Yourself with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Shortly before his death on the cross Jesus is seen asking his Father to return him to the glory that he had with the Father before the world was. Jesus desired to return to his Godly form and his unveiled deity.