All four Gospels record Jesus as saying, \u201cBlessed are the peace-makers; they will be called sons of God<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word \u2018son\u2019 cannot be accepted literally because in the Bible, God apparently addresses many of his chosen servants as \u2018son\u2019 and \u2018sons.\u2019 The Hebrews believed God is One, and had neither wife nor children in any literal sense.\u00a0 Therefore, it is obvious the expression \u2018son of God\u2019 merely meant \u2018Servant of God\u2019; one who, because of faithful service, was close and dear to God as a son is to his father.<\/p>\n
Christians who came from a Greek or Roman background, later misused this term.\u00a0 In their heritage, \u2018son of God\u2019 signified an incarnation of a god or someone born of a physical union between male and female gods.\u00a0 This can be seen in Acts 14: 11-13<\/b>, where we read that when Paul and Barnabas preached in a city of Turkey, pagans claimed they were gods incarnate.\u00a0 They called Barnabas the Roman god Zeus, and Paul the Roman god Hermes.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the New Testament Greek word translated as \u2018son\u2019 are \u2018pias\u2019 and \u2018paida\u2019 which mean \u2018servant,\u2019 or \u2018son in the sense of servant.\u2019 These are translated to \u2018son\u2019 in reference to Jesus and \u2018servant\u2019 in reference to all others in some translations of the Bible.\u00a0 So, consistent with other verses, Jesus was merely saying that he is God\u2019s servant.<\/p>\n
To a Christian, God had to take human form to understand temptation and human suffering, but the concept is not based on any clear words of Jesus.\u00a0 In contrast, God does not need to be tempted and suffer in order to be able to understand and forgive man\u2019s sins, for He is the all knowing Creator of man.\u00a0 This is expressed in the verse:<\/p>\n
\u2018And the Lord said: \u2018I have surely seen the affliction of My people that are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; for I know their pains.\u2019 (Exodus 3:7<\/b>)<\/p>\n
God forgave sin before Jesus\u2019 appearance, and He continues to forgive without any assistance.\u00a0 When a believer sins, he is to repent sincerely in order to receive forgiveness.\u00a0 Indeed, the offer to humble oneself before God and be saved is made to all humankind.<\/p>\n
\u2018And there is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside Me.\u00a0 Look to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.\u2019 (Isaiah 45:21-22, Jonah 3:5-10<\/b>)<\/p>\n
Biblically, people can receive forgiveness of sins through sincere repentance sought directly from God.\u00a0 This is true at all times and in all places.\u00a0 There has never been a need for the so-called inter cessionary role Jesus plays in attaining atonement.\u00a0 The facts speak for themselves.\u00a0 There is no truth to the Christian belief that Jesus died for our sins and salvation is only through Jesus. What about the salvation of people before Jesus? Jesus\u2019 death brings neither atonement from sin, nor is it in any way a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.<\/p>\n
Christians claim that in the birth of Jesus, there occurred the miracle of the incarnation of God in the form of a human being.\u00a0 To say that God became truly a human being invites a number of questions.\u00a0 Let us ask the following about the man-God Jesus:<\/p>\n
*What happened to his foreskin after his circumcision (Luke 2:21<\/b>)?\u00a0 Did it ascend to heaven, or did it decompose as with any human piece of flesh?<\/p>\n
*During his lifetime what happened to his hair, nails, and blood that was shed from his wounds?\u00a0 Did the cells of his body die as ordinary human beings?\u00a0 If his body did not function in a truly human way, he could not be truly human as well as truly God.\u00a0 Yet, if his body functioned exactly in a human way, this would nullify any claim to divinity.\u00a0 It would be impossible for any part of God, even if incarnate, to decompose in any way and still be considered God.\u00a0 The everlasting, one God, in whole or in part, does not die, disintegrate, or decompose: \u2018For I the Lord do not change.\u2019 (Malachi 3:6<\/b>)<\/p>\nDid Jesus\u2019 flesh dwell in safety after his death?<\/h3>\n
Unless Jesus\u2019 body never underwent \u2018decay\u2019 during his lifetime he could not be God, but if it did not undergo \u2018decay\u2019 then he was not truly human.<\/p>\n
\u2018God is not a man\u2019 (Numbers 23:19<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u2018For I am God, and not man\u2019 (Hosea 11:9<\/b>)<\/p>\nJesus is called a man many times in the Bible<\/h3>\n
\u2018a man who has told you the truth\u2019 (John 8:40<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u2018Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know.\u2019 (Acts 2:22<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u2018He will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom He has appointed\u2019 (Acts 17:31<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u2018the man Christ Jesus\u2019 (Tim. 2:5<\/b>)<\/p>\nThe Bible says that God is not a son of man<\/h3>\n
\u2018God is not a man nor a son of man\u2019 (Numbers 23:19<\/b>)<\/p>\n
The Bible often calls Jesus \u2018a son of man\u2019 or \u2018the son of man.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018so will the son of man be\u2019 (Matthew 12:40<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u2018For the son of man is going to come\u2019 (Matthew 16:27<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u2018until they see the son of man coming in His kingdom.\u2019 (Matthew 28<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u2018But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority\u2019 (Mark 2:10<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u2018because he is the son of man\u2019 (John 5:27<\/b>)<\/p>\n
In the Hebrew scriptures, the \u2018son of man\u2019 is also used many times speaking of people (Job 25:6; Psalm 80:17; 144:3; Ezekiel 2:1; 2:3; 2:6-8; 3:1-3<\/b>).<\/p>\n
Since God would not contradict Himself by first saying He is not the son of a man, then becoming a human being who was called \u2018the son of man\u2019, he would not have done so.\u00a0 Remember God is not the author of confusion. Also, human beings, including Jesus, are called \u2018son of man\u2019 specifically to distinguish them from God, who is not a \u2018son of man\u2019 according to the Bible.<\/p>\n
Jesus spoke to a man who had called him \u2018good,\u2019 asking him, \u2018Why do you call me good?\u00a0 No one is good except God alone.\u2019 (Luke 18:19<\/b>)<\/p>\n
And he said to him, \u2018Why are you asking me about what is good?\u00a0 There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.\u2019 (Matthew 19:17<\/b>)<\/p>\nJesus did not teach people that he was God<\/h3>\n
\u00a0If Jesus had been telling people that he was God, he would have complimented the man.\u00a0 Instead, Jesus rebuked him, denying he was good, that is, Jesus denied he was God.<\/p>\n
\u2018My Father is greater than I\u2019 (John 14:28<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u2018My father is greater than all.\u2019 (John 10:29<\/b>)<\/p>\n
Jesus cannot be God if God is greater than him.\u00a0 The Christian belief that the Father and son are equal is in direct contrast to the clear words from Jesus.<\/p>\n
\u2018When you pray, say Our Father which art in heaven.\u2019 (Luke 11:2<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u2018In that day, you shall ask me nothing.\u00a0 Whatsoever you ask of the Father in my name.\u2019 (John 16:23<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u2018The hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him.\u2019 (John 4:23<\/b>)<\/p>\nIf Jesus was God, he would have sought worship for himself<\/h3>\n
Since he didn\u2019t, instead he sought worship for God in the heavens, therefore, he was not God.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n