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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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