The Scriptural Basis Of "God The Son"
Lesson - 3D


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The following are questions with answers taken from various Wikipedia articles. This is to highlight some relevant points on the subject—"Scriptural basis of God the Son"—which people should understand before continuing the bible study. The answers are excerpts taken from the full articles written on the subject. You can readily study the full articles by clicking on the source link after each answer.
Note:
The answers to the following religious questions are taken from various Wikipedia articles due to their neutral point of view principle.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view  However, we still highly recommend that you search the internet for more information on the subject.

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Trinitarians explain that Jesus is "God the Son" through the "Doctrine of the incarnation". The incarnation represents the belief that Jesus, who is the non-created second person of the triune God, took on a human body and nature and became both man and God. The development of the "Doctrine of Incarnation" came early in the Christian era, that is after the death of Apostle John, the last of the apostles in about 100 AD. The final edition of the Gospel of John was written sometime in the late first century. This explains why the phrase or title "God the Son" cannot be read in the Bible.

 The most widely-accepted definitions of the Incarnation and the nature of Jesus were made by the early Church at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, the Council of Ephesus in 431, and the Council of Chalcedon in 451. These councils declared that Jesus was both fully God: begotten from, but not created by the Father; and fully man: taking His flesh and human nature from the Virgin Mary (Lesson-3C.2). In the Incarnation, the union in the humanity and divinity of Jesus is referred to as the "Hypostatic Union" or "Two Nature Doctrine". This doctrine also known as the Chalcedonian creed was written amid controversy between the western and eastern churches, over the meaning of incarnation, in 451 AD (Lesson-3C.3). But, the precise nature of the "Hypostatic Union" was not made clear as it is held to defy finite human comprehension, the hypostatic union is also referred to by the alternative term "Mystical Union" (Lesson-3C.4). 

Let us study/verify the scriptural basis of the "Doctrine of Incarnation", the phrase or title "God the Son" and the technical term "Hypostatic Union" or "Mystical Union" so we may come to know if it is the truth written in the Bible.


Old Testament Verses supporting "God the Son"

3D.1   What are the Old Testament verses that are used by Trinitarians as references supporting "God the Son", the second person in the Trinity?

From the Wikipedia articles on "God the Son", these are written:

Old Testament:
The expression "God the Son" is not used in the Old Testament. However it has the following references to "sons" of God:

  • Genesis 6:2ff: The sons of God who have children by the "daughters of men".
  • Hosea 1:10. Israel, rejected now, will later be sons of the living God. [Cited by Paul in Romans 9:26.]
  • Psalm 82:6. All are gods, and sons of the Most High. [Ascribed to Jesus in the John 10:34.]
  • Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. The sons of God report to Yahweh, Satan among them (in 1:6; 2:1).

These expressions referred to the ancient concept of a god (in this case Yahweh, the god of Israel) in a "council" of his "sons", the lesser gods. The New Testament authors, writing in a time when monotheism had become the normative Jewish belief, considered these passages to be prophetic of God the Son becoming the Son of God, e.g., the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle to the Hebrews both quote psalm 2:7: You are my Son; today I have become your Father.
Source:  Wikipedia, God the Son, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_the_Son (as of Apr. 20, 2010, 04:56 GMT).

The following Old Testament verses, taken from the above article, do not contain the expression "God the Son", however Trinitarian's claim them to have references to "sons of God. Please study the following verses if said verses really refer to and/or imply support to "God the Son".

  • Genesis 6:2 -  that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. (NKJV)
  • Hosea 1:10 - "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, `You are not My people,' there it shall be said to them, `You are the sons of the living God.' (NKJV)
  • Psalms 82:6 - I said, "You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. (NKJV)
  • Job 1:6 - Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. (NKJV)
  • Job 2:1 - Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. (NKJV)
  • Job 38:7 -  when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (NKJV)

Study suggestions: Use other versions of the Bible in your study. Search the internet for more information on the subject and/or the explanation of the above verses. Search and study other supporting verses that may not be included in the above list.
 

New Testament verses supporting "God the Son"

3D.2   What are the New Testament verses that are used by Trinitarians as references supporting "God the Son", the second person in the Trinity?

From the Wikipedia articles on God the Son, these are written:

New Testament
The exact phrase "God the Son" is not in the New Testament. Later theological use of this expression reflects what came to be standard interpretation of New Testament references, understood to imply Jesus' divinity, but the distinction of his person from that of the one God he called his Father. As such, the title is associated more with the development of the doctrine of the Trinity than with the Christological debates. There are over 40 places in the New Testament where Jesus is given the title "the Son of God", but scholars don't consider this to be an equivalent expression. "God the Son" is rejected by antitrinitarians, who view this reversal of the most common term for Christ as a doctrinal perversion and as tending towards tritheism.

Matthew cites Jesus as saying, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (5:9)." The gospels go on to document a great deal of controversy over Jesus being the Son of God, in a unique way. The book of the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of the New Testament, however, record the early teaching of the first Christians — those who believed Jesus to be both the Son of God, the Messiah, a man appointed by God, as well as God himself. This is evident in many places, however, the early part of the book of Hebrews addresses the issue in a deliberate, sustained argument, citing the scriptures of the Hebrew Bible as authorities. For example, the author quotes Psalm 45:6 as addressed by Yahweh to Jesus.

  • Hebrews 1:8. About the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever."

The author of Hebrews' description of Jesus as the exact representation of the divine Father has parallels in a passage in Colossians.

  • Colossians 2:9-10. "in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form"

John's gospel quotes Jesus at length regarding his relationship with his heavenly Father. It also contains two famous attributions of divinity to Jesus.

  • John 1:1. "the Word was God" [in context, the Word is Jesus, see Christ the Logos]
  • John 20:28. "Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God!'"

The most direct references to Jesus as God are found in various letters.

  • Romans 9:5. "Christ, who is God over all"
  • Titus 2:13. "our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ"
  • 2 Peter 1:1. "our God and Savior Jesus Christ"
The biblical basis for later trinitarian statements in creeds is the early baptism formula found in Matthew 28.
  • Matthew 28:19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name [note the singular] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. See also Great Commission.

Source:  Wikipedia, God the Son, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_the_Son (as of Apr. 2.0, 2010, 04:56 GMT).

The following New Testament verses, taken above reference material, do not contain the expression "God the Son", however Trinitarians claim that these verses are understood to imply Jesus' divinity. Please study if the following verses really imply and/or support the belief that Jesus is "God the Son".
For more information: Click any of the following verses with link to the Comparative Verse Studies.

  • Hebrews 1:8 - But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. (NKJV)

  • Colosians 8:9-10 - For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority. (ASV

  • John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NKJV)

  • John 20:28 - Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" (NKJV)

  • Romans 9:5 - Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. (KJV)

  • Titus 2:13 - looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (NKJV)

  • 2 Peter 1:1 - Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: (KJV)

  • Matthew 28:19"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (NKJV)

Study suggestions: Use other versions of the Bible in your study. Search the internet for more information on the subject and/or the explanation of the above verses. Search and study other relevant supporting verses that may not be included in the above list.

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