Trinity
Question:
Is Jesus God? ... and the Son of God? ... and a Mediator between God and man?
The Bible says "Jesus is God" and "Jesus is the Son of God". The word, son, implies a begettal, whereas God the Father is "from everlasting to everlasting." Also, why is Jesus called a 'mediator' between God and men in 1 Timothy? How do all these harmonize?
This question was submitted by BG from Ohio. We tried to email an answer but the email kept coming back. So, BG, here is your answer! Hope it helps.
Answer:
Yes, JESUS IS GOD ...and..... JESUS is also the SON of God ......and.... Jesus IS the 'BEGOTTEN' of God....and.... Jesus is the MEDIATOR between two parties (God vs. man). How can that be?.. you ask ...how can He be ALL those things...since a Son is 'begotten'... and how can God be a mediator?.... and etc....... How does all this harmonize? Good Question !
Well, basically this is all 'harmonized' by understanding the fact that these various names and terms are all related to the concept of the TRINITY and what the Trinity is and did for us.
God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit have ALL Three ALWAYS existed, together! (ie. God is Trinity, a Triune God). From "everlasting to everlasting" all Three exist together and are One -- yet separate. (In Genesis 1:1, "God" is the plural form of the Hebrew word ELOHIYM. Also, in Genesis 1:2, The "Spirit" referred to is one part of the Trinity. See also John 1:1 for another illustration of the Oneness and the distinctness of the parts of the Trinity. And, in Heb 1:8, GOD the Father calls Jesus the Son, "GOD". )
A rough analogy of a trinity being made of of separate entities yet functioning as a whole and in unity is the fact that you, for example, have a body, soul, and spirit.... all three are together in you and are you. You can't slice them up and be three separate parts yet there are 3 parts of you and all 3 function together and separately but in harmony and unison. Similarly, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit .... all Three... have always existed and always will, all Three are ONE God. They are NOT THREE GODS... they are ONE God with three aspects but which function together in unity and harmony.
Another analogy which can help us understand the Trinity is LIGHT. Light is actually composed of three parts:
1. The Invisible rays of light (beyond the 'visible' spectrum of the eye... ultraviolet, x-rays, etc.) which could be 'likened' to God the Father since He is often referred to as 'Invisible'.
2. The Visible light which we can 'see' is analogous to Jesus Christ who was made 'visible' to us when he was 'begotten' on earth. And
3. The 'Heat' energy of light (put your hand over a light bulb and you will feel the heat
energy) which can be 'likened' to the Holy Spirit who does the 'work' of the Trinity.
Of course, the Trinity can not really be 'explained' by the analogies of Light and of the body, soul, and spirit concept because God is infinite and unexplainable and is beyond the ability of our finite minds to comprehend, but these are two very simple attempts at understanding an incomprehensible (to man) concept.
But, with these 'analogies' in mind, when the Bible says that Jesus is the SON of God, this is NOT saying that God the Father some time in the long distant past (billions and billions of years ago) 'begat' Jesus as the Son. Rather, when the Bible speaks of Jesus, as part of the Godhead (Trinity), as the SON, it is referring to one of the three aspects of the Trinity.... the aspect that is the provider of salvation, the 'mediator'... and... when the time is 'right', that aspect of God that will be 'begotten' as the Son.....to be the 'mediator' of salvation to sinful man.
Mankind (you, I, everyone) needs a mediator !.....Why? Because SIN has SEPARATED man from God. Why? Because God is a HOLY God . He, therefore, can NOT fellowship with sinful man. It is totally impossible!
So.. The ONLY way that man (you, I, etc.) can be able to fellowship with GOD is for the penalty for sin to be paid! Unfortunately, the penalty for sin is DEATH ! Nothing else ---not works, not good deeds, not some sum of money, no 'annulments', no 'fixing of the judge', no 'money under the table', etc....no, nothing else -- ONLY gasp! DEATH ! will satisfy the requirements of the law which says that the "penalty of sin is death" !!!)
Obviously, We have a problem here..... a BIG problem !!!.... ie. who is going to pay the death penalty for your sins and mine ... ???
Enter the 'Mediator' (Jesus Christ, one 'part' of the Triune God) to restore this relationship between sinful man and God. Unlike the 'mediators' in a lawsuit or in a court case or for labor unions and etc. who try to 'work out a compromise and a deal' ... there is NO compromise available! No 'deal' can be 'worked out' to 'overlook' sin. The penalty MUST BE PAID...and that penalty is DEATH.... the DEATH of a SINLESS person ! Well, that lets you and me and everyone else on earth out. Because everyone is a sinner ! So, what to do???
Jesus, who IS GOD, was 'begotten' (born on EARTH) to BE the 'mediator God-man' to restore the fellowship between God (the Trinity) and sinful man by paying the DEATH penalty HIMSELF for sinful man.
The 'begotten' part, then, has to do with Jesus being begotten as a man on earth to be the 'mediator' between God ( which He is also) and man (us, you, me, all mankind. And, of course, being born as a man, Jesus identifies also with 'man'.). So, even though Jesus ALWAYS existed as the 'SON' of God (as one part of the Trinity), he was 'begotten' of the Father about 2000 years ago when He came in the form of a man (a human) to planet earth .... to pay the Death Penalty for SIN!....
So....
Jesus IS GOD and always has been....and always will be (as part of the Trinity).
Jesus IS the SON of God (in the Trinity)...because of His role as Mediator and Savior of man.
Jesus IS the BEGOTTEN of God the Father....because... when Jesus was 'birthed' on planet earth 2000 years ago, God the Father (of the Trinity) actually 'begot' Him (through the action of the Holy Spirit, Who is the part of the Godhead of the Trinity that actually 'did' the 'begetting)...
Jesus is the MEDIATOR between God (the Trinity) and sinful mankind because He, Jesus, came and lived and DIED to pay the required death penalty needed to redeem sinful man from the penalty of sin. Since He was both God and man, He was able to 'mediate' between the two parties.
and... in addition
Jesus arose from death (was resurrected to Life) and now is LORD and SAVIOR of any and all who will accept His offer of restoration to fellowship with God.
His death sacrifice is available to anyone who accepts it as Jesus' 'GIFT' of salvation (from sin's death penalty) and, therefore, restoration of fellowship with God.
BUT... this 'gift' must be accepted! Everyone is not 'automatically' saved (restored).
Each person must individually believe
..............that Jesus IS GOD and
..............that Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin and
..............must accept Jesus's offer to save him (you, me, etc.)
..............AND must make Jesus the Lord and Ruler of his (your, mine, etc) life.
This is what 'turning from sin' and turning to Jesus (God) means.
It means giving Jesus the control of your life! Forever! Anyone who does NOT do this, who does not accept Jesus' offer of salvation WILL suffer eternal destiny in hell.
Jesus never claimed to be God the Father. But Jesus did say that He was the Son of God the Father and that the Father was greater than Himself. However, when He made those statements, He was on EARTH (not in Heaven) as the God-man Mediator. And, in that role on earth, as God-man Mediator, these things were true because He had deliberately, for the time He was on earth, laid aside the powers and authority available to Him as GOD (Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 2:9-18) and submitted Himself unquestioningly and unequivocally to God the Father in order to fulfill the requirements of the law and to enable Him to be an acceptable substitutionary sacrifice which would allow His death to pay the atoning price for sin.
Had He not laid aside His 'rights' and come to earth as a human and had he not submitted Himself to God the Father, we would not have been able to obtain salvation. We (you and I and all mankind) would still be without hope and without any way to escape from the death penalty of sin.
But, Jesus temporarily set aside his 'rights' as GOD and became the 'begotten' Son of God the Father, and, as such, became the Mediator between God and man and DIED and paid the penalty for SIN. Since Jesus was sinless (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb 4:15; 7:26; I John 3:5), He was able to pay the penalty for sin (which requires the death of a perfect, sinless sacrifice). In so doing, He carried out God's (the Trinity, of which He IS a part) will.
And, God's will is that fellowship between God (the Trinity) and mankind (you, me, etc) be restored.
Anyone, then, who believes that Jesus is GOD and the Son of God and the Mediator and the Savior and accepts the gift of salvation (provided by His death) WILL be saved and will fellowship with Him (and the Trinity) FOREVER in HEAVEN.
BUT, anyone who does NOT believe Jesus is God and does not accept His gift of salvation (paid for by His death) will be eternally destined to hell BECAUSE they have not accepted His substitutionary gift of His death and, therefore, still must endure the penalty of sin, which is death. (Death is eternal separation from God. And this eternal separation is spent in HELL, not in Heaven.)
God (Trinity -- Father, Son, Holy Spirit) knew before even creating man, that man would sin and that the death sacrifice would have to be paid in order to enable man to be reconciled to God and live eternally with God in heaven. Otherwise, man would be destined for eternity in Hell.
Since God does not desire that any man go to hell, the Trinity (God, Godhead) devised this awesome and astounding and incomprehensible plan.... that Jesus would be 'begotten' as the 'Son of God' to be a man on earth for the purpose of providing Himself as the substitutionary sacrifice for sin. Imagine that! God loves us so much that He Died in our place ... yours and mine !!!!
He is God ! He did not have to do that! But He did!
Now, all that He asks is that man (individually...you, me, anyone) accept this Free Gift of salvation (which He has already paid for with His life !) We can't buy this gift. We can't 'earn' it. But, we can accept it as a gift.
Therefore,
.....Jesus IS God ! (part of the Trinity)
.....Jesus IS the Son of God the Father (another part of the Trinity) and is called the Son because He, as Son of God, would and did become the Savior of mankind by, 'in the fullness of time', becoming a man and paying the death penalty for sin.
.....Jesus was Begotten by God the Father to enable Him to be born on planet earth...
.....Jesus IS the Mediator because His Death did pay the penalty for sin and thus enabled Him to 'mediate' and rectify the separation caused by sin and enable God and man to be reconciled and to be able to live and fellowship together forever !
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