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đź“– The Son of God: The Same Substance
How God and man come together in Jesus.
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The Son of God: The Same Substance
Why would God become human?
The answer rests in another title used to describe Jesus…
The Son of God.
Who is the Son of God?
Like the “Son of Man,” being a “son of God” is a notion present before Jesus and is an important part of the Old Testament.
Adam, Israel, and King David, are all given this title as “sons” of God.
King David was referred to as a “son of God” (Psalm 89v27) but ultimately failed in this calling (2 Samuel 11-12).
What does this mean?
To be a son of God means God has called you to represent Him. To embody Him in your humanity so as to spread His goodness in the world.
Yet, all the sons of God in the Old Testament fail to live up to this.
Then Jesus enters the scene.
Jesus, THE Son of God
Matthew 3v14-17 tells of the baptism of Jesus.
Check out what happens in verse 16 and 17…
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I Love; with him I am well pleased.” (Emphasis added)
As Jesus rises from the water, God declares Him as His Son.
And, directly after, that title is put to the test.
Jesus goes out into the wilderness where He’s continuously tempted by the devil. As the devil tempts Jesus, he taunts him with this Son of God title. In doing so, he attempts to get Jesus to make the same mistakes as the sons of God before Him.
But Jesus doesn’t budge.
He is a Son of God unlike any who came before.
Read what the writer of Hebrews has to say about that:
The Son [of God] is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. (Hebrews 1v3)
“The exact representation of His being.”
Jesus is unlike those who came before. The reason He can resist the devil is because he’s more than just a human. It’s because He’s both God AND human.
Jesus perfectly fulfills the calling of a Son of God, He is the perfect meeting point of Heaven and Earth, of God and man existing in equal harmony.
God saw our situation, He saw our limitations, and, in response, stepped into the fray Himself.
And that’s what it all comes down to.
We’ll explore what I mean by that tomorrow.
For now, be blessed.
Jon,
Theophilus Newsletter
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