We have been exploring the Scriptures that indicate that Jesus is indeed God and has been for eternity. Let us now examine texts that deserve closer attention as they are texts that are used to diminish Jesus and lower Him from His place as Jehovah. Turn with me in your Bible to the gospel of John, chapter 5. Here we are going to look at a fairly lengthy passage, verses 17-30. We are going to take it a piece at a time and then as the whole. Let us look first at verses 17-18

But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Here Jesus makes Himself equal with God, and the Jewish leaders knew it! They were incensed by the claim and sought to kill Him for it. But Jesus in response does not tell them that they were mistaken; but rather expands and reinforces what He has just stated! He had stated that He was the ‘Son of God’ and that the work He was doing was equivalent to the work that the Father does, therefore they are equal! At no time in Scripture does Jesus ever back down from the accusation that He is God or that He is equal to God.

But, some will say, why then does Jesus claim that He can’t do what He does without the Father? If He is God then why not do it Himself? This is an honest question. So again, let us go to Scripture for our understanding:

John 5:19-21

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth [them]; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

What does this mean? That Jesus can do nothing of Himself? It certainly does not mean that Jesus is without a mind or power of His own! This is evident by the exclamation in verse 21 that the Son ‘quickeneth whom He will’. Here Jesus states that He can ‘give life’ or ‘make alive’ anyone He wishes in the same manner as the Father. [Indicated by the phrase ‘for as the Father . . . . even so the Son’]

It would be beneficial here to direct out attention upon this power, this power to ‘quicken’ or give life. The word here used in the Greek is ‘zoopoiéo’ which is used only 11 times the New Testament. A short overview of those texts is needed here to understand what Jesus is speaking about in our passage in John chapter 5. To begin let us look at the texts that speak to the resurrection, for this is the power that we are speaking of here, that power that will give life to the faithful at the second coming.

Romans 4:17

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, [even] God, who quickeneth [zoopoiéo] the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Romans 8:11

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken[zoopoiéo] your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

1 Corinthians 15:20-23

But now is Christ risen from the dead, [and] become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive [zoopoiéo]. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

Galatians 3:21

[Is] the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life [zoopoiéo], verily righteousness should have been by the law.

1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened [zoopoiéo] by the Spirit:

So here we have the texts that directly speak to the resurrection. We must notice that in Romans 4:17 it is clear that it is God who raises from the dead. It is He who is the author and sustainer of life who also is the giver of life at the resurrection. Notice also that in Romans 8:11 and 1 Peter 3:18 the Bible clearly states that it is the Holy Spirit that quickeneth. Our question then must be is it God, or Jesus, or the Holy Spirit that has the power to give life? According to Scripture that power is within all three! As for Jesus’ power to raise us from the dead in the resurrection there should be no question, for He affirms this Himself in John 6:40, 44, 54; emphatically stating, “I will raise him up at the last day.”

That being the truth, we then must understand why Jesus continues in this manner:

John 5:22-29

For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all [men] should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

If Jesus is God, then why does He need the Father to commit or give anything to Him? The answer is partially revealed in this text in that Jesus is referring to Himself as the Son. Which ‘Son’ is He referring to? The Son of God, or the Son of Man? Both actually, and therein is the answer for so much of this discourse. Jesus came as the ‘Son of God’, the second son of God to this world actually; for in Luke 3:38 we see that Adam was called the ‘son of God’ as well. The difference between the two is important for our understanding. Adam was a created son of God, whereas Jesus is the ‘begotten’ Son of God. As we have seen before in the texts listed previously, in 1 Corinthians 15:22 it states:

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Jesus, the Christ, brings life through His life, where Adam through his life brought death. Jesus is the ‘second Adam’ and we see in 1 Corinthians 15:45-47

And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit. Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man [is] of the earth, earthy: the second man [is] the Lord from heaven.

Jesus, the Lord from heaven, come to redeem a fallen race. This He could not do unless He came as one of us, in our state. We read of this in Romans 8:3

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

And again in Galatians 4:4-5

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Jesus came not as a created being, a created son of God, but as the only ‘begotten’ son of God. He had to come as one of His creation to save His creation. Remember the great accusation of Satan against God is that He is not who He says He is in character, there is no doubt that Satan knows that God is God for he desires to sit on God’s throne to be worshipped as God [see 2 Thess. 2:4 and Isaiah 14:12-14].

Jesus must be God in order to vindicate God’s character, no one else could do that. I cannot vindicate your character, only you by your actions and words can do that. So it is with God, no one but God can vindicate God and in order to do that, God became a man! But Jesus was also a man, one of us, who came to live out a life free from sin, in harmony with the law of God and give His innocent life for the lives of the guilty. This is a key point, that while here on this earth, Jesus was like you and me, His divinity laid aside for a very important mission: to redeem mankind. Having come as one of us Jesus then lived His life as we are able to, and exhibited the relationship with God that we must have, and can have as well. He was one of us, no special advantage could have been given Him if He were to redeem us.

Many are caught up with the word ‘begotten’, claiming that at some point in eternity past Jesus was formed, or birthed, having come out of God’s substance somehow but that He was not always there.

The claim is that this is not being created, but ‘begotten’. I heartily disagree. If at any time Jesus was not, and then came to be by an act of the Father then Jesus was created. The word create itself means to fashion, to form, to shape, to make. It implies that there was someone greater that worked to make the thing or person formed, and this we have already seen does not and cannot apply to Jesus; as He is referred to as ‘Jehovah’, the self-existent one. Looking more deeply at the words that are translated ‘begotten’ we find no evidence to show that Jesus was at some point in eternity past ‘birthed’ by the Father. On the contrary we see that it validates the rest of Scripture as it relates to Jesus being the only one capable of saving the human race. In John 1:14, 18 and John 3:16, 18 the word translated begotten is ‘monogen?s, which means – single of its kind, only, unique. Jesus, was born, He was unique, He was the only of His kind, and He was the ‘begotten’ or born Son of God, not a created being.

Matthew 1:18

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Mary was found with child of the Holy Ghost, a truly begotten Son of God. Indeed the Bible tells us why Jesus is called the Son of God in Luke 1:35

And the angel answered and said unto her, 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. [Emphasis is mine]

Did you get that! The angel says, ‘therefore’ as in ‘this is the reason why’ Jesus is called the Son of God, because the Holy Ghost overshadowed Mary and she conceived. Notice what the angel did not say, that Jesus is called the Son of God because He was ‘begotten’ in eternity passed buy some divine birthing process that the Father conducted by Himself! My friends, please do not get swayed by cleverly devised arguments that lead you away from the plain clear texts of Scripture!

Another word translated as begotten is the word ‘gennáo’ which means- to father, used in the context of bearing children. We find it in this passage from the book of Hebrews:

Hebrews 1:1-6

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him.

Is this not what the text in Luke and Matthew are clearly stating as well? That by the Divine power of the Holy Spirit, God became the Father of a Son of Man! Thereby making Jesus both the Son of Man and the Son of God. Scripture is too clear on this matter, every other passage, every other doctrine must, I repeat, it must remain within this parameter of Truth.

So why did Jesus need to receive anything from the Father? Because Jesus humbled Himself, He laid aside His Divinity, Jesus was here as one of us. He came to struggle and gain victory against the trials and temptations in the same manner in which we have at our disposal. That being a faithful, obedient relationship with God. He is our example in all things. How else could He show us that with God all things are possible? In His humanity He needed to same help we do, He partook of grace even as we are to partake of grace [see Luke 2:40, John 1:14]. Judgment was committed to Jesus because He is the only Being who can rightly judge those who have been born into this sinful world, as He was and was victorious! And He did it for our sakes. For that we can be eternally grateful.

So yes, Jesus was begotten. He was the Son of Man and the Son of God, here in this world, as a human child, fathered by the Holy Ghost. And Yes, Jesus is God from all eternity, and remains so.

… to be continued in Part 4.

Joel Kratzke, delivered from the life of a bartender and an alcoholic, brought through the confusion of modern day Pentecostalism, convicted to make a stand for the Truth of the Word of God, called into the ministry with a burden to reach others that need to hear the Truth, a graduate of AFCOE, Pastor Joel Kratzke brings a unique perspective as he presents the Three Angels Messages to people across the United States and Canada. Joel lives in MN with his wife Valerie and their two children Victoria and Jeremiah.