Friday: Further Study: The Son
Further Study: Ellen G. White, Divine-Human Saviour, p. 1126-1128 in TheSDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5.
While God’s Word speaks of the humanity of Christ when upon this earth, it also speaks decidedly regarding His pre-existence. The Word existed as a divine being, even as the eternal Son of God, in union and oneness with His Father. . . . The world was made by Him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3). If Christ made all things, He existed before all things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one need be left in doubt. Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore. The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. — Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 247.
In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. He that hath the Son hath life. 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer’s assurance of eternal life. — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 530.
Discussion Questions:
- Demons knew and confessed that Jesus was the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24, NKJV), the Son of God (Mark 3:11), Son of the Most High God (Mark 5:7, NKJV). See also James 2:19. Why is this kind of acknowledgment not enough for our salvation? How can we avoid the trap of being satisfied with a mere intellectual acceptance of Jesus?
- When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Jesus, saw how He died, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God (Mark 15:39). The best place to understand Jesus is at the foot of His cross. How often do you go there? When was the last time you were there? Why don’t you take a moment, right now, to meditate on the infinite sacrifice He made for your salvation?
- A good number of Jesus’ contemporaries rejected Him because they had wrong ideas about the Messiah. Unfortunately, many people today refuse to yield their lives to Jesus, because they have prejudices or a distorted concept about Him. How can we help them to see Jesus as He really is? What do we have as Seventh-day Adventists in particular that could help give them a clearer view of who Jesus really is?
I think that Christ existed eternally as the expression of the fullness of the Godhead. Sin came into the world and salvation of humanity was necessary. I believe that God united with humanity and procreated a son as a human with a human mother. This is/was God’s only begotten son. God in total lived in and through this Son the character and life of God. This proves to me that when our humanity joins with the divinity of the Holy Spirit we are one with God as Jesus was our example. We can walk in the righteousness of Christ.
As a christian I need to do more than just believing on the name of Jesus, but I need to go a step further-the step of obedience. For this is what counts and differentiates me from the demons who could also exclaim and acknowledge my Jesus as a Son of God.
Secondly, acknowledging one has your father is not enough. You need to honour such a one with love and in love there is obedience.