Entering Into God’s Presence

Knowing God Through His Roles & Titles

Son  (Sphere of Family)

To Study and Ponder

• Scripture makes clear that Jesus is God’s son, the One who was there with God from the beginning, yet came to earth in human flesh as ‘son of man’. Rev 1:12-18 gives a vivid picture of Jesus appearing to John ‘like a son of man’ and at the same time so awesome that John falls at his feet ‘as if dead’.

• The book of Hebrews is about the supremacy of Jesus as GOD’s son:- The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. Heb.1:3

• It was Jesus’ declaration of His sonship that upset the Jewish leaders - So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God. John 5:18

• Throughout the NT Jesus is declared to be the Son of God, a gift from the Father, eternal life for us made possible because He is God’s son (1Jo 5:20).

• The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. Lu 1:35

• For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son… John 3:16

• Twice God spoke audibly “You are my dearly loved Son” (Mar 1:11; 9:7)

• … But these[miracles] are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, & that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name. John 20:30-31

• All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 1Jo 4:15 (Martha declares this, John 11:27; those who believe this overcome the world, 1Jn 5:5)

• Jesus gave himself many titles to help people understand who he was and why he came:- the Son of God, the one who comes from above, the Messiah, Rabbi/Teacher, and Lord, the “I am’s” (Bread of Life, the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Light of the World, the Door, the Gate, the Good Shepherd). But, more than anything else, he refers to himself as the “Son of Man”. In the four gospels there are over eighty references to Jesus as the Son of Man! Though there are some minor debates as to all Jesus was trying to convey when he referred to himself as the Son of Man, in general it is seen in two ways. One was his taking on human nature and thus becoming the “God-Man” and secondly is a passage in Daniel chapter seven in which the Son of Man is plainly seen to be the Jewish Messiah.

• The following statements were made by Jesus about himself as the Son of Man. He is making clear to both his followers and to the crowds that he is both human and deity, fully God and fully man, and that he will be a servant, rejected, killed by crucifixion, raised from the dead and return in great power and glory.

• No Place to lay his head (Matthew 8:20)

• Authority to forgive (Luke 5:24)

• Coming again in power/ in his Father’s glory/ in His Kingdom (Mark 13:26,14:62, Luke 21:27)

• Sitting at the Right Hand of the Mighty One (Mark 14:61b-62)

• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8, Luke 6:5)

• Sending out His angels (Matthew 13:41)

• Authority to Judge (John 5:27) and rewarder on that day (Matthew16:27)

• Crucified /Sufferer/ Be Rejected/ Betrayed (Luke 9:44, 22:48, 24:7)

• Came to serve & give his life as a ransom for many (Mar 10:45) and to seek & save the lost (Luk 19:10)

• The book of Hebrews makes clear that Jesus shared in our humanity - Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. Heb 2:17-18

• Jesus walked on earth as an obedient son, obeying his earthly parents (Luke 2:51, story v.41-52) and also constantly listening to and obeying His heavenly Father.

   - … I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. Jn 15:10b (Jn 6:38)

• Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine. Luke 22:42

• When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Philippians 2:7c, 8

• Obedience as God’s children is not difficult when we understand his heart is for our GOOD. As His sons and daughters we obey because we love Him, trust Him and realize He knows more!

• John 14:15 If you love me, obey my commandments. (Also v.23; 1John 5:3)

• Psalm 119:129 Your laws are wonderful. No wonder I obey them!

• Jesus also shows us how to live as a son fully dependent on the Father. Though God in the flesh, with all authority and power, the Creator of all, he still fully submitted himself to his Father’s will and purposes.

• I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the Son is able to do nothing from himself, of his own accord; but He is able to do only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does is what the Son does in the same way. John 5:19 (Amplified Bible). (Also John 5:30)

• ...“When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I Am he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. Jn 8:28

• The human soul has a longing for freedom but, like the rest of our humanity, that desire was corrupted & replaced by self centered freedom and independence when Adam & Eve chose to depart from their destiny as son and daughter partnering with God. Dependence and obedience are now often seen as ‘weak’, the ‘self made man” esteemed – generation after generation have gone their ‘own way’.

• “modern humanism . . . a value system rooted in the belief that man is his own measure, man is autonomous, totally independent” (“How Should We Then Live” - Francis Schaeffer, p.60)

• We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

• Salvation is a bowing of the knee to Jesus as Lord, a choice to return to dependence on God as his children: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Rom.10:9

• We need to have our minds renewed and build into our lives habits of being dependent on God and others:-

• … present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind ...Rom 12:1-2 (NIV)

• In God’s kingdom there we are to choose relationship with and dependence on others:- Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2.

• David, Jeremiah & Paul understood and spoke of their dependence on God:- My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. Psa 62:7; I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. Jer 10:23; ‘For in him we live and move and exist..’ Acts 17:28a; For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Phi 4:13 (NIV)

• Daily thankfulness for all God has given and done in our lives builds dependence.

Meditation/Memory:

Lower Grades:  For a child is born to us, a son is given to us ... And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6  (NLT)

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”   John 15:9-10 (NLT)

Middle Grades: Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 1 John 4:14-15  (NLT)

So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing.”  John 5:19-20a (NLT)

Upper Grades: And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.  1 John 5:20 (NLT)

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.  Galatians 4:4-6  (NLT)