Is Yahshua the Son of God or Is He Not?
Part III
We Must Believe Yahshua is God’s Son!
The Apostle John wrote, “Whosoever shall confess that Yahshua is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him” (1Jn 4:15).
1Jn. 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Yahshua is the Son of God? vs. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (see Jn. 5:26). 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. vs. 20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him (Yahweh) that is true, and we are in him (Yahweh) that is true, even in (or by, through) his Son Yahshua Messiah. This is the true God, and eternal life.
We must believe, according to 1Jn. 5:10, that Yahshua is Yahweh’s son or we make Yahweh a liar and deny the truth that Yahweh was good enough to give us His only Son. Yahshua is the only road that leads to Yahweh. For His Son is the means by which Yahweh gives us knowledge of Himself and through His Son, Yahweh imparts to us eternal life.
Man is Dust, Yahshua is Life
Ge 2:7 And Yahweh God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
Ge 3:19 For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
However, Yahshua, the Son of God, is an exception to this. He didn’t come into existence through the means of procreation as given to Adam and Eve. He was conceived in the womb of Mary, a virgin, by the Holy Spirit. Though His flesh body was made of the woman, Mary, the life within Him didn’t come from Adam.
1Co. 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening (zoopoieo) spirit.
#2227 zoopoieo; KJV – quicken 9, give life 2, make alive 1; total 12; Definition: to produce alive, begat or bear living young, to cause to live, make alive, give life.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Souvenir from heaven.
Adam was before Yahshua in time but not in importance, “…Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come” (Ro 5:14).
I repeat, Yahshua represented an entirely new act of Creation. As the first Adam was formed out of the dust, Yahshua was formed out of the flesh of His mother, Mary (Ga.4:4) through the power of Yahweh’s Holy Spirit. Even though Yahshua was made of the same components as Adam, that is dust, he was not to return to dust (Ac 2:31), as will the rest of us.
1Co 15:48 “As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.”
Yahshua was human, even though His origin was not earthly or human. He bore the image of the earthly through Mary until He was resurrected, at that time He was to “bear the image of the heavenly” (Ac. 26:23, 1Co. 15:20, Col. 1:18).
1Co 15:49 “As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”
Yahweh Sent His Son
Jn 8:29 He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone.
Did the Father then come with him? Was Yahshua at Yahweh’s side in heaven when he was sent or does “sent” have a different meaning?
Ps 78:45 He (Yahweh vs.41) sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
Jn 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
We know the flies and John were not at Yahweh’s side, so to use the word “sent” to claim Yahshua existed with Yahweh side-by-side is feeble. Sent from heaven, sent from God or sent from above all mean that the authority for these actions or messengers originated from Yahweh in heaven above, as can be seen in Jn 3:27 and 19:11.
1Jn. 4:9 Yahweh sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Was Yahshua outside of this world in order to be sent into the world? If the answer is yes it must also apply to the apostles, “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world” (Jn.17:18).
1 Ti 1:15 Messiah Yahshua came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Was Yahshua from some other place first and came into our world later?
Jn.1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
1 Ti 6:7; For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. (See also Heb. 1:6)
Sent, sent from, sent into or come into the world all mean the same thing, and that is to be born and start existing on earth.
In Jn.8:23, He says to the Pharisees: “Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.” Tell me, were the Pharisees from another world, the world beneath? What world was Yahshua from then? “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (Jn 15:19). Yahshua chose his disciples out of the world, therefore, they were not of this world. “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (Jn 17:14). To be “of this world” is to be from the world beneath, to be a participant in its rejection of Yahweh and a partaker of its sins. To be “not of this world” is to love Yahweh and His commandments and to separate yourself from its evil. Yahshua was certainly not of this world, which is presently controlled by Satan, neither were the apostles and we should pray we can claim the same.
Yahshua Came Down From Heaven
Jn 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man (“which is in heaven” is not in the ancient Greek manuscripts, see NIV & RSV).
Jn 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
We have shown that the phrase “sent from Yahweh” does not always mean to exist side by side with and then leave Yahweh’s presence. “Came down from” is comparable, in that it also doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing. Here we see Yahshua was stressing His divine and paternal source. Was Yahshua an equal or an assistant working side by side with Yahweh and then was transformed into an embryo that was placed completely formed in Mary’s womb, making her simply a surrogate mother? Or was he in fact inside Yahweh, “in His loins” in other words, and then was sent down to unite with Mary’s egg by the Holy Spirit?
Yahshua explains which one is true.
Jn 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out* from Yahweh. 28 I came forth* from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
Jn. 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out* from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
*#1831 exerchomai; KJV – go out 60, come 34, depart 28, go 25, go forth 25, come out 23, come forth 9, misc 18; total 222; Definition: to go or come forth of, with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the point from which he departs, to come forth from physically, arise from, to be born of.
100 years before he was even born Levi met Melchisedec.
Heb 7:9 As I may so say, (RSV one might even say) Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in (through) Abraham. 10 For he was yet in the loins of his father (Abraham), when Melchisedec met him.
Yahshua was inside of Yahweh as surly as He was also inside the loins of David (Ps. 132:11, Mt. 1:1, Jn. 7:42, Ro. 1:3, Rv. 22:16).
Ac 2:30 Therefore being a prophet (David), and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Messiah to sit on his throne;
This verse, with Jn. 7:42 and Ro. 1:3, completely blow away the embryo surrogate-mother theory.
See how exerchomai (came out) is used in Jn 19:34, “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out (exerchomai) blood and water.”
Yahshua’s words clearly show that He came from within Yahweh, not from His side.
In Jn. 6:48-62 Yahshua gave a sermon that so confounded His listeners that “from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him” (vs. 66). What everyone found hard to understand is still today difficult to accept. He began by comparing Himself to the manna given to the Israelis in the wilderness (as far back as vs. 26). The words that astonished them were these, vs. 54 “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” These words were taken literally by many and it’s possible some thought He had lost His mind, not knowing yet of the Last Supper or the Holy Spirit which was soon to be given. Then out of the blue He says, vs. 62; “What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?” Does this mean He was at one time in heaven? Indeed it does, but in what form? He follows this up with a qualifier, 63 “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
In this chapter He repeats over and over “I am the bread from heaven.” This bread from heaven was not his eternal spirit that people claim pre-existed, but it was his flesh, “The bread that I will give is my flesh” (Jn 6:51). Are we willing to say that Yahshua’s physical body came from heaven and he was never in Mary’s womb? Manna also was from heaven (Ex 16:4), as were stones (Jos 10:11), rain and snow (Is 55:10, Act 14:17) and fire (2Ki 1:10; 2Ch 7:1), but were they from the throne room of Yahweh? We can accept and understand what the scriptures mean when it says that manna, stones or rain came from heaven, but it’s true, Yahshua indeed did come all the way from the throne room, all the way from within Yahweh. How can we deny the truth that Yahweh did indeed father or beget His Son Yahshua, His only begotten child?
Yahshua – 100% Human
I am my father’s son in that his sperm united with my mother’s egg and I became a separate individual person. My thoughts, actions, personality, character, mind, will, spirit and soul are distinctly my own and my father’s are his own. I am a separate individual from him; my father and I make up a total of two persons. Should my father die I would live on, possibly completely unaware of or unaffected in any way by his death.
Can you tell me what you think happened for Mary to have been “found with child of the Holy Spirit?”(Mt 1:18) 1] Did Yahweh’s sperm unite with Mary’s egg or 2] Did Yahweh form his own embryo and place it in Mary’s womb? It has to be #1 because “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1:20).
Lu 1:38 Mary said, Behold the handmaid (doule) of Yahweh; be it unto me according to thy word. [#1399 – doule, a female slave, bondmaid.]
Hagar was Abraham’s handmaid and without volunteering produced Ishmael. Mary gladly offered to be God’s handmaid.
Lu 1: 46-49 Mary said, My soul doth magnify Yahweh, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
For Yahshua to be Yahweh’s son, as both of them claim, he would have had to receive from his Father 23 chromosomes containing Yahweh’s DNA, which would have included Yahweh’s genes. Yahweh is spirit (Jn 4:24), He is invisible (Col 1:15). Before Yahshua was conceived, in order for him to be a physical, flesh and blood, visible human being, Yahweh would have had to transform all His chromosomes containing His genetic makeup from invisible spirit to physical seed. The scriptures indicate this to be true because they describe Yahshua as 100% human (Jn 1:14, Ro 8:3, Ga 4:4, Heb 10:5 & 10, 1Pe 2:24 & 3:18). The Bible never even hints that Yahshua is spirit from his Father’s side and only physical on his mother’s. Yahshua the Messiah was a human being, totally and completely 100% flesh and blood just like you and me, in which the spirit of Almighty Yahweh dwelt. The “Spirit of Messiah” Paul talks about in Ro 8:9 and Ph 1:19 is the Holy Spirit given to Yahshua by Yahweh (Jn 3:34, 15:26). Peter confirms this in 1Pe 1:11 when he refers to the Holy Spirit’s work in the OT as “the Spirit of Messiah.”
He Was Before Me
Jn 1:15 He that cometh after me is preferred (RSV ranks, NIV surpassed) before* me: for he was before** me.
*#1715 emprosthen; KJV – before 41, in (one’s) sight 2, of 1, against 1, in the sight of 1, in the presence of 1, at 1, total 48; Definition: in front, before, in front of a person or thing; before, in the sight of; before, denoting rank
**#4413 protos; KJV – first 84, chief 9, first day 2, former 2, before 2, best 1, chiefest 1, misc 3; total 104; Definition: first in time or place, in any succession of things or persons; first in rank, influence, honour; chief or principal.
NIV He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.
RSV He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.
We can take the 2nd “before” (protos) to mean A] first in time or place, or B] first in rank. I believe the context points to B, otherwise John is saying everyone before me ranks higher than me just because they got here first. If you see it from the point of B, John is saying he ranks higher than me for he is superior to me. This also is shown to be the meaning in Jn 1:27, “He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.” John came “For a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe” (Jn 1:7). John was just the messenger and Yahshua was greater than him even though he was six months younger. Jn 1:15 can be understood to read, “He that comes after me is higher in rank than me because he is superior or greater than me.”
Glory Before the World Was
Jn 17:5 O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory (doxa) which I had with thee before the world was.
The KJV makes John 17:5 sound like Yahshua is asking for his glory back, the glory he shared with Yahweh “before the world was.” I address those of you who believe Yahshua existed before Bethlehem, is this what he is asking? Did he lose his glory or was it taken away and now he is asking for the same glory back?
We must appreciate that there are many types and levels of glory (or honour: see #1391 doxa) but what glory is Yahshua speaking of? What has he done or is going to do that would merit more glory? The answer is in the opening words of his prayer to Yahweh (this prayer takes up the whole of this 17th chapter of John).
Joh 17:1 These words spake Yahshua, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.
His death is what this glory he speaks of in verse 5 is to be given for.
Joh 12:23 And Yahshua answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Heb 2:9 But we see Yahshua, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
This glory he is asking for in verse 5 is not for healing or for speaking Yahweh’s word or for teaching his disciples but for dying! Are we to believe that Yahshua existed with Yahweh before the world was created and shared the glory of his death even before he had a body to die with? Can we understand him to be asking for the glory for his death and this glory had already been given to him once before, thousands of years before he actually died, and then taken away?
1Pe 1:20 Who (Messiah vs 19) verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
It’s clear Yahshua was not saying his glory for dying was taken away before he even died anymore then he was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8) before he actually became that lamb. He was foreordained to be slain before the world was, we were foreordained to be chosen in him before the world was, the hope of eternal life was foreordained before the world was and of course his glory for dying for sin was foreordained before the world was but his manifestation had to wait until he was begotten in Bethlehem.
Ga 4:4 When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Remember the Messiah was manifesting his glory all during his 3 year ministry (see Lu 2:32, 9:32; Jn.1:14, 2:11, 11:4, 13:31; Heb.2:9; 2Pe 1:17). So, Yahshua had glory, was continuing to receive glory and would in future be given even more glory still. His death would glorify both the Father and the Son.
Before the Foundation of the World
Jn 17:24 That they (disciples) may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
In order for Yahweh to love His Son before the foundation of the world would Yahshua have had to pre-exist? Just as the kingdom was prepared for us before the foundation of the world (Mt 25:34), the blood of all the prophets was shed before the foundation of the world (Lu 11:50), we were chosen before the foundation of the world (Ep 1:4), grace was given to us before the foundation of the world (2Ti 1:9), the Lamb was ordained before the foundation of the world (1Pe 1:20), and was slain before the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8). The prophets didn’t pre-exist, yet their blood was shed before the foundation of the world, we didn’t pre-exist still grace was given to us before the foundation of the world. Yahweh said, “I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world” (Mt 13:35). His pre-ordained plan was put together long before the world was created and since no power is greater than Him nothing can prevent His plans from being accomplished. “God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Ro 4:17). Yes indeed, Yahweh loved, ordained and allowed His Son to be slain before the foundation of the earth.
Peter tells us Yahshua “was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times” (1Pe 1:20). The Messiah was foreordained, proginosko- known before hand, BUT was not manifested until “The fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman” (Ga 4:4).
Seen the Father
Jn.6:46 Not that any man hath seen (horao) the Father, save he which is of Yahweh, he hath seen (horao) the Father.
What is John telling us, that Yahshua literally saw Yahweh with his human eyes? Yahweh has said, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live” (Ex 33:20). Yahshua was a man and subject to death so how could he see Yahweh and live?
Jn 15:21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know (oida or eido) not him that sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. 23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen (horao) and hated both me and my Father.
Yet here Yahshua appears to contradict himself, for he tells us not only he himself has seen (horao) the Father but the world also has “both seen (horao) and hated” Him. To correctly see (understand) what is what, we must check out the Greek words.
#3708 horao; KJV – see 51, take heed 5, behold 1, perceive 1, not tr 1; total 59; Definition: to see with the eyes, see with the mind, to perceive, know, to experience, to take heed, beware, to care for.
#1097 ginosko; KJV – know 196, perceive 9, understand 8, misc 10; total 223; Definition: perceive, understand, learn to know, get knowledge of, perceive, feel, become acquainted with.
#1492 oida or eido; KJV – know 281, cannot tell + 3756 8, know how 7, wist 6, misc 19, see 314, behold 17, look 6, perceive 5, vr see 3, vr know 1; total 667; Definition: to see or perceive with the eyes or any of the senses, notice, discern, discover, to pay attention, observe, to inspect, examine, to look at, behold, to visit, to know, i.e. get knowledge of, understand.
W. E. Vine: “The differences between ginosko (1097) and oida (1492) demand consideration: (a) ginosko, frequently suggests inception or progress in knowledge, while oida suggests fulness of knowledge.” Example: “Ye (Jews) have not known (ginosko) him; but I know (oida) him”, i.e.. ‘know him perfectly; (Jn 8:55).” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary)
The Jews didn’t attempt to know Yahweh but Yahshua knew Him perfectly.
So in Jn 15:21-24 above, Yahshua is saying that the Jews didn’t perfectly know (oida) the Father but because of the extraordinary works that he displayed they couldn’t help but be aware he was of God and so ignorance will not excuse them from this sin of rejecting both the Father and His Son.
He That Has Seen Me Has Seen the Father
Jn 14:7 If ye had known (ginosko) me, ye should have known (ginosko) my Father also: and from henceforth ye know (ginosko) him, and have seen (horao) him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Master, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Yahshua saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known (ginosko) me, Philip? he that hath seen (horao) me hath seen (horao) the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
It was not an actual bodily sighting of the Father (see definitions above), but a mental awareness of the Father’s characterizes that they were observing (See Ac 8:23 where horao is used). How can we be sure Yahshua is speaking of a mental not a visual picture? Look at this verse, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (Jn 1:18). In order for us to see the Father, Yahshua has had to declare Him, he didn’t draw a picture or say that he himself was the Father but declared Him in words and deeds. That is why he was able to say “and from henceforth ye have seen him.” Consider it said that the disciples saw Yahweh. To further confirm this, when Yahshua spoke to Philip he used the word know (ginosko) four times, he expected they would by now be acquainted and identify with him and his Father, that they would understand the Father and Son. Our English word “see” can also be used to stand in for words such as, distinguish, perceive, understand, observe, grasp, comprehend, refer to, consider, investigate, realize, and get the message (no pun intended).
So in Jn 14:8-10 he isn’t saying what you are looking at is the Father, because even Oneness say that His body was the Son not the Father and Oneness believe the Father is spirit and the Son is the human man. Yahshua doesn’t say He is the Father but ends the passage by saying, “the Father that dwelleth in me” (vs. 10).
Why do some insist this passage says the Son is the Father, one person? We could assume this to be one of the meanings you could draw from it even thought it doesn’t say that. In a large percentage of the uses of horao it is translated, “See thou tell no man” or “see that ye be not troubled,” not in the sense of seeing with the eyes but seeing with the mind. Read this next verse.
Jn 16:25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew (anaggello) you plainly of the Father.
#312 anaggello; KJV – tell 6, show 6, declare 3, rehearse 1, speak 1, report 1; total 18; Definition: to announce, make known, to report, bring back tidings, rehearse.
Wow, now he says, since they’re slow to grasp his meanings, I’m going to describe the Father plainly, nice and slow and clear. His choice of words is anaggello, a word taken directly from the Greek word for angel or messenger, aggelos. After all he is Yahweh’s messenger, his mission is to manifest the Father. Apparently the disciples had not seen, or should we say understood, of the Father completely but were soon to be shown more of the Father. In Jn 15:24 Yahshua says the world has seen the Father through his words and deeds and we also can say we have seen the Father by listening to the words of His Son.
Yahshua also says, “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?” Many think for him to be in the Father must make him the Father. Read the next verses.
Jn 14:20 I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
Jn 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.
Joh 17:22 The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Jn 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.
We are in the Father, the Father is in us, the Son is in the Father, we are in the Son and so forth, but are we all one? Does this make us all one person? Everybody says of course not! Does it make the Father and Son one person? Oneness, without thinking, automatically says, yes of course!
1Co 6:17 He that is joined unto the Master is one spirit.
Remember there is only one spirit, the Father. If we are in the one spirit and the one spirit is in us we are one, but not one person. The same applies to the Saviour. Go back to “Incarnate or Manifest?” and “The Son reveals the Father,” there you will find more evidence that Yahshua’s goal or mission was to be able to say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father,” and to be understood.
Finally we turn to 3Jo 1:11, “He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” John used the word horao here just as he did to describe the exchange between Yahshua and Philip, those that do good understand and know God even though we have yet to see Him with our physical eyes. But John says those that do evil (that is the world) “Hath not seen God,” however at the top of this subject in Jn 15:24 he wrote that Yahshua said the world has “Both seen (horao) and hated both me and my Father.” How can the world see and yet not see? The answer is in the wide range the English word “see” and the Greek word “horao” both encompass. Yahshua could say the world couldn’t help but see the physical works he performed had to be divine, despite the fact they were in denial and deceived by their own lust and power by the flesh. Whereas John points out that to see God, not physical acts performed by His servants, but to perceive Him with your heart and spirit leads one to do good not evil deeds.