Class 5 Who is God the Son?

In Christianity, the belief in Jesus as the Son of God and fully divine is central to its theology and worldview. Colossian 1:15 declares, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, **16 **for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. **17 **He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.”

This view of Jesus as God incanrate sets Christianity apart from other major religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In Christianity, Jesus Christ is regarded as the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, who became incarnate through the Virgin Mary. He is believed to be fully divine, possessing the same nature and essence as God the Father, while also being fully human. This concept of the Incarnation is foundational to Christian doctrine, emphasizing the belief that God entered into human history in the person of Jesus Christ to reconcile humanity with Himself.

Contrastingly, in Islam, Jesus (known as Isa) is considered a prophet, but not divine. While revered as a significant figure and a messenger of God, Islamic theology rejects the concept of Jesus being the Son of God or part of the Trinity. Similarly, in Hinduism, Jesus may be regarded as a saintly figure or an enlightened teacher, but he is not considered divine in the same sense as in Christianity. Hinduism encompasses a vast array of beliefs, and interpretations of Jesus vary widely among Hindus.

In Mormonism, Jesus is seen as the literal Son of God and the Savior of humanity, but Mormon theology diverges from traditional Christian doctrine regarding the nature of God and Jesus. According to Mormon belief, Jesus is a separate and distinct being from God the Father, and both are regarded as divine beings, but not as part of a Trinity. Similarly, Jehovah’s Witnesses view Jesus as a created being and the firstborn Son of God, but they reject the traditional Christian understanding of the Trinity, teaching instead that Jesus is subordinate to God the Father.

The Christian view of Jesus as fully divine is intricately linked to the concept of atonement for sin through divine sacrifice. According to Christian belief, Jesus’ death on the cross serves as the ultimate sacrifice for humanity’s sins, providing redemption and reconciliation with God. This sacrificial act is seen as necessary for the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of the broken relationship between humanity and God. The belief in Jesus’ divinity and sacrificial death is foundational to Christian soteriology, or the doctrine of salvation, distinguishing Christianity from other religions that offer alternative explanations for sin and salvation.