The right understanding of the relative authority of the Father and the Son could not be put more clearly. In the climax of the Father’s purpose with the nations of the earth, the Son will hand back supreme authority to the Father. Now let us soberly assess what this means. Jesus has at present been in heaven for nearly 2,000 years. He is to come back and reign on the earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4). When at the end of this reign he hands over the kingdom to the Father, the Son will have been glorified in immortality for about 3,000 years! Yet he is then to hand over the kingdom to the Father! The subordination of the glorified Son to God the Father could not be more clearly expressed. For it is God the Father who is, in the end, to be “all in all”.

The origin of the Son

How Jesus came to exist is explained in simple terms in the Gospel of Luke. To Mary, a God-fearing virgin in Israel, herself a descendant of David the King, there appeared an angel with a very remarkable message:

“Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee … Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus (Saviour). He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David … and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:28-33)

Let us pause for a moment to appreciate the shock of surprise and then exhilaration that these words would provoke in her. She knew quite well the promise made to David over 900 years before. A descendant (son) of David would be the means of restoring the glory of the kingdom of Israel, and of reconciling Israel to God. This was the long expected Messiah, and she was actually to be his mother. Her child was to reign on David’s throne!

But then – perplexity. Although Mary was betrothed to a God-fearing Israelite named Joseph, they were not yet married, and there could be no question of a child being born until they were. How then, Mary asks the angel, can this promise come to pass? The angel is quite explicit in his reply:

“The Holy Spirit 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.” (verse 35)

To complete the picture, Matthew’s Gospel gives us the matter as it appeared to Joseph, her future husband. Before they were married, Mary “was found with child of the Holy Spirit”. Joseph would have been fully justified in repudiating his undertaking to marry her. But an angel had a message for him from God:

“Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20,21, RV)

From this Joseph would understand that this child was to be the Messiah. The whole episode is concluded by Matthew’s statement:

“All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying (he quotes Isaiah’s prophecy uttered 700 years before): Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (verses 22,23)

These divine statements to Mary and Joseph contained the most momentous news. A child with a great destiny was to be born, for he would not only reign on David’s throne for ever, but he would also “save his people from their sins”. But the child’s origin is clearly stressed. Mary is to be the mother, but Joseph is not to be the father. The child will be conceived because “the power of the Highest”, “the Holy Spirit”, will operate upon Mary to bring the marvel to pass. And so “a virgin shall conceive” and her son shall be called “the Son of God”. This is the clear Bible teaching of the Virgin Birth of Christ.

Jesus, Son of Man

There is reluctance sometimes to accept the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, was fully a member of the human race. Some feel that to think of him as sharing our nature with all its weakness is to degrade him, and to throw doubt on his sinlessness.

Here again we must turn to the evidence of the Bible. We have seen already the clear record of his origin and his birth: Son of God, but also son of Mary. The Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatians, puts it thus:

“When the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.” (4:4, RV)

“Born under the Law” means that he was a male Israelite, living under the Law of Moses. Paul tells us why: “that he might redeem them which were under the law” (verse 5). The Jews lived under a law that condemned them because they could not keep it without sinning. Jesus was born one of them, so that he could fully represent them in his work of redemption.

The Epistle to the Hebrews describes how Jesus had to be made “perfect through sufferings”, so that he might be “the author of salvation” for those who are to be sons (and daughters) of God. For this reason “he that sanctifieth (Jesus) and they that are sanctified (the faithful) are all of one”; that is, are of the same nature. This is what he next declares, referring to the sons and daughters this time as “the children”:

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same …” (Hebrews 2:10-14)

This is an explicit declaration that the nature of Jesus was exactly like that of his fellows, “flesh and blood”. The writer goes on to tell us why this had to be:

“Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” (verses 17,18)

In short, Jesus, in order to carry out his great work of sacrifice for sin, had to be of the same nature as those he came to save; and in order to be a merciful high priest, he had to have experience of all their temptations. The point is put equally clearly in chapter 4, verse 15:

“For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (RV)

There is, however, a great reluctance to accept the idea that Jesus literally suffered all the temptations that we do. Some feel that to think of him as literally feeling temptation – that is, the urge to commit sin – is to defile him and to make him less than sinless. This, however, is a great mistake. There is a tremendous truth embodied in the living experience and the death of Jesus, and to this we must now turn.

Why was the Son of God born thus?

What was God’s purpose in bringing His Son into the world in this way? The following statements will make it clear:

“Thou shalt call his name Jesus (Saviour): for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

“God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us … For if, when we were enemies (that is, of God), we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10)

The clear message emerging from these sayings is that the work of Jesus, under the good hand of God his Father, was to be a sacrifice so that sin could be put away, men and women could be saved and reconciled to God. This is the great work of redemption in Christ. We need redemption; we need “saving”, as the Bible puts it. For otherwise our situation is just as the Apostle Paul told those Ephesians theirs had been, when they did not yet know the Gospel:

“At that time you were without Christ … having no hope, and without God in the world.” (2:12)

What a devastating verdict! Yet that is our case too – “having no hope”, apart from the work of God in Christ. That is why the Gospel of Christ is not a pleasant “optional extra”, but vitally necessary if we are to escape the fate of eternal death.