Listen:  94 Question 5

There is so much scriptural proof that God is, indeed, the father of Jesus Christ.  Let’s look at the words of the Lord Himself in Matthew 3:16-17, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  The Lord’s baptism was the beginning of His public ministry.  His Father spoke from Heaven to commend Him to the work He was sent to do.  Christ’s obedience to His Father’s will caused His Father to announce His love for and pleasure in His son.

Later in His ministry, when the Lord was transfigured in front of Peter, James, and John we hear the voice of His Father from Heaven again.  The account of the Lord’s transfiguration is told in Matthew 17:1-9.  Let’s read Matthew 17:1-5, “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”  Again, the Father publicly acknowledges Christ as His Son.  He speaks of how He is well pleased with His Son, and He tells His disciples to listen to His Son.

Throughout His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus constantly spoke of God as His Father.  Oftentimes, He was rejected because of His claim to be the Son of God.  Let’s read John 10:27-33, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”  With His claim to be the Son of God, the Lord Jesus claimed equality with God.  The unbelieving Jews sought to kill Him because of His claim to be the Son of God.

The Apostle John tells us his purpose in writing the Gospel of John.  He states in John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”  It is so important that we see and acknowledge that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.  It is by believing in Him, as the Son of God who died for our sins that we have eternal life.  John would later write in 1 John 5:12-13, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”  The Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”  We may rest assured by the authority of God’s Word that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.  (94.5)