Faith In God's Only Begotten Son
Minister: | Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: | 11/24/2013 AM |
Text: | John 3; Lord's Day 13 |
Psalters: | 376, 324, 3, 125 |
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper |
- The evidence.
- When Jesus' human nature was in earthly humility, then it hard to see that He was the Son of God.
- But it was and is necessary that He be known for who he really was and is (the Son of God)!
- John the Baptist did (John 1:34), as did Nathaniel (John 1:49), Peter (Matt. 16:16), and Thomas (John 20:28).
- John begins his narrative testifying of Jesus' deity (John 1:1-3,14,18; 3:16); as does his epistle (I John 5:5,20).
- Paul declared Jesus to be divine in Romans 9:5 and I Timothy 3:16.
- Jesus had divine attributes of eternity (Micah 5:2), omnipotence (Rev. 1:8), and omniscience (John 1:48-50; 21:17).
- And He did divine works: creating (John 1:3; Col. 1:16,17), forgiving (Luke 5:24), raising the dead (John 5:21); and He declaring Himself and the Father to be one (John 10:30).
- That Jesus is the Son of God is so important that we must insist on the language, "the only begotten Son of God."
- If Jesus is only a man, then the church's faith in Him is only hero worship, faith in a man.
- Christ’s sonship is unique especially because He is "begotten".”
- His Sonship is "only."
- First, He is only because He alone is the Person of God the Son (our persons are human, not divine).
- Second, He is only because He has the Divine nature and we are always human.
- Its great significance: only in and through Christ can we confess that we too are God's children.
- God graciously adopted us and gave us the glorious privilege of being called His children (Gal. 4:4,5).
- Our adoption into God's family is only and always by grace.
- We are legally adopted.
- We are spiritually adopted, i.e., made God's children in reality (not step-children).
- Abide in the happy and peace-giving confidence that we are in His family and that He will take us into His home.