If God said that all people are His children, but Jesus was His "One and only Son." according to John 3:16, where is the truth in either of these statements?
2007-07-25 10:47:27 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I have but one father. His name was Larry. But I called him, "Dad."
2007-07-25 12:30:34 · answer #1 · answered by Yinzer from Sixburgh 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus is the only person in the universe created directly by God:
"These are the things that the Amen [Jesus] says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God" -Revelation 3:14
"He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation" -Colossians 1:15
The Bible does not refer to Jesus as God's "One and only Son". However, the Bible does refer to Jesus as God's "only-begotten" Son.
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life." -John 3:16
Like the scriptures above mention, Jesus is the "firstborn of all creation" and, according to Colossians 1:16, "by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. "
Thus, Jesus was created directly by God. All other persons, whether humans or angels, were created by God, but through Jesus. Jesus acted as a "master worker" and was used by God as the agent or instrument by which God created. Hence, Jesus credited God with creation (Proverbs 8:22-31; Matthew 19:4-6). And even though angels and humans can be called sons of God, Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God, that is, the only son that was God actually begot.
The definition of begot:
1. To procreate, as a father or sire; to generate; -- commonly said of the father.
2. To get (with child.) [Obs.]
3. To produce as an effect; to cause to exist.
2007-07-25 11:07:06 · answer #2 · answered by johnusmaximus1 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First, you need to understand that Jesus is THE Son of God, because God caused the seed in Mary to start growing without the aid of a man. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit of God dwelt in that seed from the moment God "breathed" life into it, so that makes Jesus uniquely the Son of God.
Secondly, when you talk about others being God's children, that is the work of God when that person is "born again". You might say that God adopts that person into His "Forever Family" - not a child by nature, nor by the will of man, but by God.
Third, only those who have been adopted into God's family are God's children. At one time, Jesus told the Jewish leaders that they are sons of perdition. At another time, Jesus said that satan was a liar from the beginning, and the father of all lies, and those that follow satan's lies are children of satan.
We ARE all God's special creation, made in His own image, but we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But only when we turn to God in repentance do we actually become His children.
I hope this helps clarify things a little.
2007-07-25 10:54:38 · answer #3 · answered by no1home2day 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You have to consider that the bible has been translated a bigillion times.
There are many ways to define children. So we are his children because he created/invented us, but Jesus was his only "begotten" Son...so Jesus was explicitly THE Son of god. There is a difference.
The bible uses lots of symbolism, so you just have to take that into consideration. The relationship between father and son is easy to understand and will always be easy to understand, that why it has been characterized in that way. I assume.
2007-07-25 10:54:30 · answer #4 · answered by ∞ sky3000 ∞ 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
the bible is also a literature, and by that it falls in to the same categories as literature, meaning there is many different kinds literature in the bible, allegories, similes, compare and contrast. exaggeration etc etc it uses all these forms to better communicate
when we are said to be the children of God, it doesn't mean we are blood related to Him, it means that we are his creation , in the same way a painter would call his masterpieces his children.
however Christ was at a different level, He being part God and part man was more literally a Son
see what i mean,
2007-07-25 11:02:43 · answer #5 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Jesus is the only Son sired by God. The rest of us are adopted.
2007-07-25 11:30:31 · answer #6 · answered by sparki777 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The bible says all people are his children which do his commandments. This is impossible to totally fufill, that is why Jesus is his one and only son. However if one receives the sacrifice of Jesus, then he can become one of God's children.
2007-07-25 10:51:48 · answer #7 · answered by ۞ JønaŦhan ۞ 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Spiritually we are all God's children. Physically, Christ was his "only begotten son". That's what "only begotten" means, physical.
2007-07-25 10:53:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
All the contradictions and confusion was caused by the Catholics when they were trying to put those books into bible form. Plagiarism mostly from the Mythra religion.
2007-07-25 10:56:00 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
Because Jesus was like his biological Son and we are like his adopted children.
2007-07-25 10:50:52 · answer #10 · answered by Katrina 3 · 4⤊ 4⤋