18 God Has Many Sons Who Are Not Divine Why Then Would Jesus Be

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Muslims Asking Christians: Questions & Answer

http://answering-islam.org
Sam Shamoun
Question:
God has sons by the tons. For example, the Bible says that angels are God’s sons
(Genesis 6:2, 4), the nation of Israel is God’s son (Exodus 4:22; Jeremiah 31:9), the
kings of Israel like David are God’s sons (Psalm 2:7), Adam is God’s son (Luke
3:38), and even peacemakers are God’s sons (Matthew 5:9). Paul himself says that
all true believers are God’s children (Romans 8:14). So why do Christians
mistakenly assume that Jesus is God because he is said to be God’s Son? And
wouldn’t this also prove that the term son of God simply refers to someone who is a
righteous servant of God?
Answer:
It is true that the Bible teaches that God has many sons but it is not correct to assume that
this somehow means that Jesus is God’s Son in the same sense as the rest.
In the first place, angels are God’s sons in the sense that they are spiritual creatures that
dwell in heaven, God’s abode, unlike man who is created from the dust of the ground to
dwell on earth (cf. Genesis 2:4-7, 3:19; Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:4-7).
In other words, angels are called sons because their nature is similar to God in that they
are spirit beings like God:
"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is
spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24
"And of the angels He says: ‘Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of
fire.’" Hebrews 1:7 NKJV
But even here we need to be careful since God is an omnipresent and timeless Spirit
Being whereas angels are not. Thus, even though angels are similar to God this doesn’t
mean that they are identical to him since God is infinitely more complex and greater than
them:
"And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the
assembly of the saints. For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who
among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD? God is greatly to be feared
in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him. O
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LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O LORD? Your faithfulness also
surrounds You." Psalm 89:5-8 NKJV
Secondly, the nation of Israel is God’s son because he chose them to be his people who
would reflect his glory to the nations:
"‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings
and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of
all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you
will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to
speak to the Israelites." Exodus 19:4-6
"I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do
not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. I am the
LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I
am holy." Leviticus 11:44-45
And as Israel’s Father God would save and protect them, as well as provide for their
every need, much like an earthly father does for his children:
"Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and
increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your
forefathers. Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these
forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart,
whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger
and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to
teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the
mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during
these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the
LORD your God disciplines you." Deuteronomy 8:1-5
"But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us;
you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name." Isaiah 63:16
Thirdly, David and the rest of Israel’s kings were God’s sons because they were chosen
to sit on God’s throne to rule over his people. As such, God served as guardian of the
throne who made sure that their enemies were brought under complete subjection:
"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take
their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed
One. ‘Let us break THEIR chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off THEIR fetters.’ The One
enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, ‘I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.’
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have
become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends
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of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash
them to pieces like pottery.’ Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the
earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be
angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed
are all who take refuge in him." Psalm 2:1-12
"David said to Solomon: ‘My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of
the LORD my God. But this word of the LORD came to me: "You have shed much blood
and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you
have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a
man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His
name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the
one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father.
And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever."’" 1 Chronicles 22:7-
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"Then David said to the whole assembly, ‘Praise the LORD your God.’ So they all
praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the
LORD and the king… Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second
time, anointing him before the LORD to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. So Solomon sat
on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all
Israel obeyed him. All the officers and mighty men, as well as all of King David's sons,
pledged their submission to King Solomon. The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the
sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever
had before." 1 Chronicles 29:20, 22b-25
Fourth, Adam is God’s son by virtue of the fact that God created him, being his life-giver
and Sustainer. In this sense everyone is a child of God since God gives life to and
provides for everyone:
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and
does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he
needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth;
and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him,
though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our
being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Acts 17:24-28
Fifth, the reason why peace-makers are called God’s children is because they reflect and
share God’s attribute of peace. In other words, the term son is being used here in the
sense of one who has a specific characteristic of God (albeit to a limited extent).
Jesus, on the other hand, is the unique Son of God:
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"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (ton huion ton
monogenee), that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life…
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands
condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son
(tou monogenous huiou tou theou)." John 3:16, 18
The term monogenes literally means of sole descent, only one of its kind, unique (*).
Thus, Jesus is the only Son of his kind, God’s Son in a unique manner, Son in a sense that
no one else is.(1)
Christ’s uniqueness consists of his having the following qualities and characteristics:
1.He bears the very nature of God:
"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach
ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For
God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give
us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Corinthians
4:4-6
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature
God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped," Philippians 2:5-6
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation… For God was
pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him," Colossians 1:15, 19
"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being,
sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he
sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." Hebrews 1:3
Christ bearing the nature or form of God and being the very exact representation of God’s
being means that he is fully God in essence, that he has every essential attribute of God.
This is precisely the point made by both John and Paul in their inspired writings:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God
(kai theos een ho logos)." John 1:1
John places the word "God" (theos) before the verb "was" (een) in order to stress and
emphasize the qualities or nature of the Word. John is basically saying that the Word has
all the essential qualities of Deity, possessing the very nature of God. Paul says the same
thing when he writes that:
"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form," Colossians 2:9
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In light of this does it come as a surprise that Jesus is addressed as God or Theos in the
NT?
"Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’" John 20:28
"Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is
God over all, forever praised! Amen." Romans 9:5
"while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ," Titus 2:13
"Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the
righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as
ours:" 2 Peter 1:1
Or that OT prophecy identifies him as the Mighty God?
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his
shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6-7
2. He Fully Comprehends and Reveals the Nature of God to man.
"At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you
have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by
my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father
except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’" Matthew 11:25-27
"It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to
the Father and learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one
who is from God; only he has seen the Father." John 6:45-46
"Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, ‘Yes, you know me, and you
know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not
know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.’" John 7:28-29
"Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the
sheep." John 10:15
"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that
you have sent me." John 17:25
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The point that the above references are all making is that since Jesus alone has seen and
knows God, due to his intimate relationship as the Son, he alone is qualified and capable
of perfectly revealing God to man. In the words of the inspired Evangelist:
"No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only (monogenes theos), who is at/in
the Father's side/bosom, has made him known (exeegeesato). John 1:18
The word exeegeesato, which comes from exeegeomai, means:
1) to lead out, be leader, go before

2) metaph., to draw out in narrative, unfold a teaching
a) to recount, rehearse
b) to unfold, declare
1) the things relating to God
2) used in Greek writing of the interpretation of things sacred and
divine, oracles, dreams, etc. (Source)
John is essentially saying that Jesus is the One who explains or interprets God for man,
that he is the perfect commentary on God’s nature, which is precisely what he claims in
his first epistle:
"We know also that the Son of God HAS COME and has given us understanding, so
that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son
Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life." 1 John 5:20
This explains why Jesus could say that to see him is to see the Father:
"Then Jesus cried out, ‘When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but
in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.’" John
12:44-45
"‘If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do
know him and have seen him.’ Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be
enough for us.’ Jesus answered: ‘Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been
among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can
you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the
Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father,
living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and
the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.’" John
14:7-11
Noted NT and evangelical scholar Murray J. Harris sums it up best:
"Central to the Christian tradition is the belief that God as he is in himself cannot be seen
by the physical eye; he is invisible (1 Tim. 1:17; 1 John 4:12). No one has seen him or
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can see him (1 Tim. 6:16). But equally central is the conviction that, in Christ, God the
Father has revealed himself perfectly. Jesus Christ has accurately and comprehensively
made visible the invisible nature of God:
No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is God and who resides in the Father’s
heart– he has revealed him. (John 1:18, my translation)
Only the Son who shares the divine nature (cf. John 1:1) is qualified to reveal the Father
personally and completely. John’s compound verb (exegesato, ‘he has revealed’) implies
the perfection of God’s self-revelation in Christ. In response to Philip’s request. ‘Lord,
show us the Father and that will be enough for us’ (John 14:8), Jesus remarked, ‘Anyone
who has seen me has seen the Father’ (John 14:9).
It is not only the apostle John who expresses this view of the role of Jesus. Paul depicts
Jesus as ‘the image of the invisible God’ (Col. 1:15). That is, he is the exact and visible
expression of a God who has not been seen and cannot be seen. Then there is the author
of Hebrews, who declares that ‘the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact
representation of his being’ (Heb. 1:3). The two Greek terms in this verse are colorful.
Apaugasma (‘radiance’) pictures Christ as the ‘outshining’ or ‘effulgence’ or ‘irradiated
brightness’ of God the Father’s inherent glory. Charakter (‘exact representation’) points
to Christ as the flawless expression of God’s nature, one who is indelibly stamped with
God’s character." (Harris, Three Crucial Questions about Jesus [Baker Books, Grand
Rapids MI, 1994], pp. 70-71)
And:
"… John’s point in the verse [John 1:18] is that, although no person on earth can claim to
have gained knowledge of God as he is in himself, Jesus Christ, the only Son, has
accurately and fully revealed God to humankind, since he himself is God by nature and
intimately acquainted with the Father by experience." (Ibid, p. 94; comments within
brackets ours)
3. He existed with God before creation and was sent to redeem it:
"He was with God in the beginning… He was in the world, and though the world was
made through him, the world did not recognize him… The Word became flesh and made
his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only (hos
monogenous), who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:2, 10-11, 14
"No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of
Man.… For God did not SEND his Son INTO the world to condemn the world, but to
save the world through him." John 3:13, 17
"Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from
heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of
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God is HE who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’… Then Jesus
declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who
believes in me will never be thirsty… All that the Father gives me will come to me, and
whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not
to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent
me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For
my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have
eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.’ At this the Jews began to grumble
about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Is
this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now
say, "I came down from heaven"?’… ‘I tell you the truth, he who believes has
everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet
they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat
and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this
bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the
world… Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one
who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from
heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live
forever… What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!’" John 6:32-
33, 35, 37-42, 47-51, 57-58, 62
"But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father,
who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am
one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me." John 8:16-18
"Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God
and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me." John 8:42
"‘Yes, Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to
come INTO the world.’" John 11:25-27
"No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I
came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the
world and going back to the Father." John 16:27-28
"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the
world began." John 17:5
"For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God
did by SENDING his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so
he condemned sin in sinful man," Romans 8:3
"But when the time had fully come, God SENT his Son, born of a woman, born under
law," Galatians 4:4
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"This is how God showed his love among us: He SENT his one and only Son (ton huion
autou ton monogenee) INTO the world that we might live through him. This is love:
not that we loved God, but that he loved us and SENT his Son as an atoning sacrifice
for our sins… And we have seen and testify that the Father has SENT his Son to be the
Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in
him and he in God." 1 John 4:9-10, 14-15
4. He is the Agent and Heir of all creation:
"He had one left TO SEND, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They
will respect my son.’ But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let's
kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw
him out of the vineyard." Mark 12:6-8
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is
except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom
the Son chooses to reveal him." Luke 10:22
"Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been
made… He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him." John 1:3,
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"The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands." John 3:35
"Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come
from God and was returning to God;" John 13:3
"All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what
is mine and make it known to you." John 16:15
"All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them."
John 17:10
"in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins… For by HIM all things were
created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or
rulers or authorities; all things were created by HIM and for HIM. HE is before all
things, and in HIM all things hold together. And HE is the head of the body, the
church; HE is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything
HE might have the supremacy… And through HIM to reconcile to himself all things,
whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on
the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of
your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through
death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation."
Colossians 1:14, 16-18, 20-22
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"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in
various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed
heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe." Hebrews 1:1-2
"But about the Son he says… ‘In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the
earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they
will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they
will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.’" Hebrews
1:8a, 10-12
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with
our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim
concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we
proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We
proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with
us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ." 1 John 1:1-3
5. He holds universal sovereignty and rules forever.
"Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on
David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and
righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will
accomplish this." Isaiah 9:7
"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming
with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his
presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and
men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that
will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." Daniel 7:13-14
"Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given
to me.’" Matthew 28:18
"But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, Are you
the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of
Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’"
Mark 14:61-62
"You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him
the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his
kingdom will never end." Luke 1:31-33
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"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and
Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the
Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’" Acts 7:55-56
"and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of
his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and
seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority,
power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but
also in the one to come." Ephesians 1:19-21
"For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an
idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." Ephesians 5:5
"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom
of the Son he loves," Colossians 1:13
"But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and
righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and
hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by
anointing you with the oil of joy.’" Hebrews 1:8-9
"and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:11
The foregoing makes it abundantly clear that the NT doesn’t place Jesus in the same
category as the other children of God, which leads us to our next point.
Believers are not children of God by nature but through adoption, which occurs as a
result of trusting in God’s unique Son:
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or
a husband’s will, but born of God." John 1:12-13
"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of
God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong
to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive
because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is
living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through his Spirit, who lives in you… because those who are led by the Spirit of God are
sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you
received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself
testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are
heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in
order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:9-11, 14-17
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"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave
nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ,
then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:26-29
"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves
the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God:
by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his
commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes
the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that
overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:1-5
Thus, whereas Jesus’ filial relationship with God is essential, since he is a Son by nature,
believers become God’s children the moment they receive Christ as Lord by faith.
Finally, contrary to the assertion of the questioner the term son of God does not simply
mean someone who is a righteous servant since sons are much greater than slaves:
"After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma
tax came to Peter and asked, ‘Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?’ ‘Yes, he does,’
he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. ‘What do you
think, Simon?’ he asked. ‘From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—
from their own sons or from others?’ ‘From others,’ Peter answered. ‘Then the sons are
exempt,’ Jesus said to him. ‘But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw
out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-
drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.’" Matthew 17:24-27
"Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has
no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you
free, you will be free indeed.’" John 8:34-36
And every child of God receives the following blessings and privileges:
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through
their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in
you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have
given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them
and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you
sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have
given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me
because you loved me before the creation of the world." John 17:20-24
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be
revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be
revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the
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will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its
bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We
know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to
the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our
bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes
for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it
patiently." Romans 8:18-25
"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is
raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it
is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a
natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became
a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the
natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second
man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is
the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne
the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. I
declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does
the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep,
but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For
the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with
immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal
with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been
swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your
sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God!
He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers,
stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,
because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."1 Corinthians 15:42-58
"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls
out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son,
God has made you also an heir." Galatians 4:6-7
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control,
will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." Philippians
3:20-21
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of
God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not
know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet
been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall
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see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."
1 John 3:1-3
Hence, a child of God is one who is perfected forever and receives a glorified physical
body, which is free from sin and decay, so that s/he can live in God’s eternal presence
and reign with Christ forever!
All scriptural quotations taken from the New International Version (NIV) of the Holy
Bible, unless noted otherwise.
Recommended Reading
http://answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/Vol2/8b.html
http://answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/Challenge/chap3.html
http://answering-islam.org/Silas/sonofgod.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Silas/son2.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/sonship.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/eternal_generation.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/christ_heir.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_son_of_most_high.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_sabbath_lord2a.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_sabbath_lord2b.htm
Endnotes
(1) Muslims erroneously assume that modern Bibles like the RSV and NIV have removed
the word begotten from John 3:16 because it was discovered that this phrase wasn’t found
in the original manuscripts (MSS). Nothing could be further from the truth since the
Greek word which the KJV translated as only-begotten, monogenes, is still found there in
the Greek MSS. What modern translations have done is to provide a more accurate
rendering of the Greek term.
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18 God Has Many Sons Who Are Not Divine Why Then Would Jesus Be

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18 God Has Many Sons Who Are Not Divine Why Then Would Jesus Be

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Muslims Asking Christians: Questions & Answer

Jesus, on the other hand, is the unique Son of God:

1.He bears the very nature of God:

"Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’" John 20:28

Or that OT prophecy identifies him as the Mighty God?

2. He Fully Comprehends and Reveals the Nature of God to man.

The word exeegeesato, which comes from exeegeomai, means:

1) to lead out, be leader, go before

Noted NT and evangelical scholar Murray J. Harris sums it up best:

4. He is the Agent and Heir of all creation:

5. He holds universal sovereignty and rules forever.

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