Muslim Christian Dialogue

5. The Doctrine of the Divine Sonship of Jesus Christ

THE CHURCH'S DOCTRINE OF THE DIVINE SONSHIP OF JESUS

M. Is Jesus the Son of God?

C. Yes. We read in Matthew 3:17, when John baptized Jesus: "And lo! A voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."

M. You should not accept the word "son" literally, because many Prophets are called "sons of God" and "children of God" in the Bible. Read Exodus 4:22.

C. "And thou (Moses) shalt say unto Pharaoh, thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn."

M. Here it clearly states Jacob (Israel) is God's firstborn son. Read now II Samuel 7:13-14 and I Chronicles 22:10.

C. "He (Solomon) shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father and he shall be My son."

M. It will be even more confusing when you read Jeremiah 31:9: "I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn." In Exodus 4:22 just now, Israel was called firstborn too. Who is the real firstborn? Israel or Ephraim? Common people can also be children of God; read Deuteronomy 14:1.

C. "Ye are the children of the Lord your God."

M. Common people can also be called firstborn; read Romans 8:29.

C. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn of many brethren."

M. If all are firstborn, what is Jesus then?

C. He is the only "begotten son of God.

M. Long before Jesus was born, God said to David (Psalm 2.7): "I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me (David), Thou art My son; this day have I begotten thee." So David is also God's begotten son, and he was before Jesus. You see the 57 meaning of "son of God" is not literal but metaphorical. The Bible makes it clear that anyone who obeys God is beloved to God and is called son or children of God. Jesus also said that God is not only his Father, but also your Father as stated in Matthew 5:45,48.

C. "That ye may be the children of your Father"; and "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

M. As you can see in many passages of the Bible people are called "first born", "begotten son", "sons of God" and "children of God" which signify love and affection and nearness to God, and is not exclusive to Jesus alone. You will see sons and daughters of God (II Corinthians 6:18): "And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty". In view of these and other passages in the Bible, there is no reason whatsoever why Jesus (pbuh) should be regarded as the only son of God in a literal or unique sense.

C. But he had no father; that is why he is son of God.

M. Why then don't you consider Adam, who was created without a father and without a mother as a son of God? And Adam is also called son of God in Luke 3:38: "Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God". You will see that whosoever obeys God's injunctions is referred to as "son of God" as he is an obedient servant of God. Now read: Read Hebrews 7:3.

C. "Without father, without mother without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto a son of God; abideth a priest continually." Who is he?

M. The answer is in Hebrews7:v1. "Melchisedic, King of Salem, Priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham..." He is more unique than Jesus and Adam (pbut). Why is he not preferred to be son of God or God himself?

C. What do you Muslims call Jesus then?

M. We Muslims call him, "Jesus, the son of Mary" (pbut).

C. No-one can argue and deny this.

M. Absolutely! Nobody can deny it because it is an absolute fact! Jesus (pbuh) called himself son of man and refused to be called son of God. Read Luke 4:41.

C. "And devils came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the son of God. And he (Jesus) rebuking them suffered them not to speak."

M. Can you see? He rebuked / scolded them for their saying so, because it was a lie they spoke. If it were true, then he would not have rebuked them. God appointed Jesus as a messenger to the Children of Israel as he stated many times as recorded in the Bible.
It is clear here that he refused to be called son of God and also by his own disciples. Read Luke 9:20 and 21.

C. "He, (Jesus) said unto them (the disciples) but whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, the Christ of God. And he (Jesus) straightly charged (rebuked) them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing."

M. You see, again Jesus rebuked the disciples here, as it was untrue. A prophet will never allow a lie to be told. Jesus, who was the Messiah, a prophet, was escalated from teacher to son of God, to Lord, and finally to God Himself. Read John 3:2 and John 6:14 where the actual status of Jesus is recorded.

C. " The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, " Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God...." (John 6:14) Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus (pbuh) did, said, " this is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world".

M. Jesus is also called prophet in John 7:40. Matthew 21:v11, Luke 7:v16, and 24:v19. Now read Acts 9:20 and you will see who started this false teaching of "son of God".

C. "And straightway he (Paul) preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the son of God." (Acts 9:20)

M. Can you see, here it clearly states that Paul started to preach this. Jesus never preached it. You can also conclude that the early Christians were still praying in synagogues, but later when Christianity deviated from the original teaching of Jesus (pbuh) Paul, Banarbas and the gentiles were expelled from the synagogues, as they were accused of blasphemy and pollution. Read also Acts 13:50. 17:18 & 21:28. & Luke 2:11. Because Paul preached blasphemy they were expelled from the Synagogues then only Churches were established. I don't think that any more proof is needed to prove that Jesus was a prophet and not God, or son of God as this is clear from the Bible itself.