God's Fullness
INTRODUCTION
Part III – The Son As God
As we study together, we will see that Jesus of Nazareth is both the Son of God and God the Son. This may seem like a foregone conclusion, but it is astonishing that out of the billions of people on Earth, many have not accepted the Christian belief that Jesus is deity. Notice the following religious statistics:
These statistics bring the deity of Jesus into sharp focus. They also raise some pertinent questions: Why do billions of people not know the story of Jesus? Why have they not heard about Him? Of course, the major answer to each of these questions lies in the lack of mass global evangelism and missionary work.
The next two questions provide the challenge with which we will struggle in this study:
1. Why do many who have heard of Jesus not believe in Him?
2. Why do many who do accept Him as God's Son not accept Him as God the Son?
The answers to these questions will vary from person to person. Some will be superficial, but others will go beyond that, revealing an agony brought about by confusion. This confusion concerning Jesus may result from a faulty or untimely teaching process. The tragedies of cults like that of Jim Jones2 years ago naturally raise skepticism regarding the truth about Christ among many people who might otherwise be receptive to a clear, reasoned presentation of Who Jesus is and what His teachings involve.
Another reason many do not believe in or accept Jesus may be the difficulty we have in explaining His uniqueness. We may have faith in Jesus. We may be sincere in our attempts to convince someone else about Him. However, our concept of Jesus may be hazy or shallow We may have trouble with difficult questions about Him. Our faith in Jesus, especially if it is "secondhand," may simply not be deep enough to answer the probing questions of skepticism. This is not to say that we would deny our faith. It simply means that we may not have the resources or the maturity of faith that would enable us to fill the void in the life of one who is searching for answers about Jesus.
Consider this: You have conjured up the courage to ask a friend to attend worship service with you next Sunday Suppose your friend says, "Lately I have thought a lot about turning to God and worshiping Him. However, you Christians have three gods. If I am anything religiously, I am a monotheist. I believe in one god. I can't accept your belief in three gods." What is your reaction? How do you reply? How do You verify what you say?
You are not. alone if this presents a problem for you. In fact, the church during the second and third centuries struggled to explain to Jews and pagan idol worshipers how Christianity stood for a monotheism that could speak of God the Father and God the Son.
Since our concept of God ultimately determines our religion, we sincerely invite you to join in our present examination of God the Son. The early church realized that they had to convince the people of their day that Christianity had a monotheistic view of God that included God the Father and God the Son. If they did not, Christianity would lose its truth, power, uniqueness, and relevance.Footnotes:
1The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1995 ed., s.v. "Religious Information."
2 James Reston, Jr., Our Father Who Art in Hell (New York/Toronto: Times/Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1981).
