Saturday, July 24, 2010

God Is One And Is To Have Our Complete Undivided Devotion. Jesus The Son Is God

The following Scripture verses come from the book currently covered on my main blog: Dr. Dennis Kinlaw's "Let's Start With Jesus: A New Way of Doing Theology."

God is the only one God: Dt 6:4, Is 45:5, 43:10, 44:8, 45:6, 14, 18, 21.
Jesus and Moses both affirm the oneness of God (Jn. 5:45-46) and we are to give God our undived love (Mk 12:29-30)
Paul teaches the same (ICor 8:4-6). He Paul teaches that God is both Father and Son. Christianity's difference with Judaism and Islam: Jesus, a stumbling stone(IPet. 2:8, Rom. 9:32-33).  The difference between Christianity and other monotheisms: Jesus' own self-understanding as God's Son.  In John, Jesus speaks of God as His Father twice as many times as in Matthew, three times as much in Luke, six times as much in Mark.  The Father is mentioned by Jesus so much in John that the Father becomes the main character of the book.  The Father is spoken of no less than 170 times in the New Testament. In Jn. 5, Jesus heals on the Sabbath and states that His Father works on the Sabbath.  Jesus is accused of blasphemy for claiming to be equal to the Father.  Jesus states He does nothing but what He sees His Father doing. (5:19).  Jesus states that the Father has given all judgement to Him (5:27).  Jesus should be recognized for who He is by His works.  John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Messiah (5:33,36), Moses prophesied of Him (5: 46-47).  This means that Jesus is to be honored as the Father is honored.  Failure to recognize who Jesus is is to miss out on the life Jesus offers (5:39-40). See also Jn 17, Mt. 10:40, 11:27, Mk 12:1-2, Lk 10: 22.

 To see Jesus is to see God.  Jn 1:18 (He has "exegeted" Him to us (KJV), compare with Mt 11:27. See also Col. 1:15, Heb 1:1-4, Rev. 5:5, 22:1-5. The unity of Father and Son seen in familial terms.  Prefigured in the Old Testament.  Israel spoken of as God's first born- Ex. 4:22, Israel as God's son- Hos 1:11, Jer. 3:4-5.David spoken of as God's son- IISam 7:14 (with this bckground Israel understood Ps. 2:7 as refering to David), Ps. 89:26-28. The vulnerable spoken of as God's children- Ps. 68:4-6.  See Pauls' introductions in his epistles.  See Jn. 10:7.  Jesus is the door (KJV) not only to salvation but into participation in the very fellowship of the Father and Son which is spoken of in familial terms.         

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