Listen:  81 Question 2

There are two instances in the scriptures where the voice of God was heard, expressing His love for His son.  When the Lord Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the Lord spoke from Heaven.  Matthew 3:16-17 tells us, “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.”  Not only was the voice of God heard, but evidence was given of the existence of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Ghost in this portion, as the Lord Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and the Father spoke from Heaven, affirming that this Jesus, was indeed, His beloved Son.

When the Lord Jesus was transfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and John, the Lord spoke again from Heaven.  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.”  In this portion, the Father not only validates that Jesus was indeed His beloved Son, but He instructs the disciples to listen to Him.

The Old Testament is very instructive; teaching us that God has a Son.  Isaiah 9:6, a very familiar verse tells us, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”  What a precious thought!  A child was born, but a son was given.  We learn of the eternal son in portions such as Proverbs 8:22-30, “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.   When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:  When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.”  God has an eternal Son, and that son is Jesus.

We have the testimony of many in the New Testament concerning the Lord Jesus being the Son of God.  The angel said to the Virgin Mary in Luke 1:35, “…The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”  John the Baptist said of Jesus in John 1:34, “And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.”  The disciples said to the Lord in John 6:69, “And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Many of the Jews sought to kill the Lord Jesus because of His claim to be the Son of God as we read in John 19:7 which says, “The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”  Even demons acknowledged that Jesus is the Son of God as we read in Matthew 8:28-29, “And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?”  We also read of demons acknowledging Jesus as the Son of God in Mark 3:11 which says, “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.”  At the Lord’s crucifixion, we have this testimony in Matthew 27:54, “Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.”

The Father acknowledged Jesus as His very Son, the one in whom He was well pleased.  The Lord Jesus, Himself said in John 8:29, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”  We read in Colossians 1:12-14, “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”  Finally, we have this wonderful testimony of the sonship of Christ in 1 John 5:20, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”  There are many more scriptures to show us that Jesus Christ is truly the only begotten Son of God.