Jesus the Son of God - Research Paper Example

Jesus the Son of God Christianity is one of the religions that have many followers all over the world. Central to Christianity is the belief that man is by nature sinful. This led to God sending his son Jesus Christ to the world so that man could achieve salvation. Christianity is therefore a religion that believes that Jesus is the son of God who was sent for the salvation of man. Christianity also believes that the coming of Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament, and that he was crucified and died on the cross for the sake of the salvation of man. He is also believed to have risen from the dead three days after being crucified. In the course of his life, Jesus is said to have performed many miracles. The nature of Jesus has however been severally questioned by those opposed to the Christian religion. As a religion, Christianity was initially founded on the principles of Judaism. God is said to have had a covenant with the people of Israel. The covenant had a declaration that he would send them the messiah who would bless not only the Israelites but the entire world. This was after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. The Old Testament contains over 100 prophesies that make reference to the coming of the messiah and give the qualities that the messiah would have. The prophesies that are found in the Old Testament also predict the place and the circumstances under which the messiah would be born. The prophesies also give the characteristics that the messiah would have that would set him aside from the rest of the population and from the rest of the prophet. Jesus is said to have fulfilled all these prophesies and is therefore believed to be the messiah who would save mankind. He (Jesus) was for example conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is also said to have been born of a virgin (Darst 4). The title of Son of God comes from the fact that Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. The bible also makes several references to Jesus as the Son of God. An example of such reference is when the angel is delivering the news to Mary that she will conceive of the Holy Spirit. In Luke 1.35, the angle tells Mary that the child that she is expecting will be known as the ‘Son of God.’ Another reference can be found in the book of Mark 3:11 where after casting out demons, the demons bow to Jesus and refer to him as the Son of God. Jesus also referred to himself as the Son of God. He refers to God as his father. These assertions begin at an early age in Jesus’ life when his parents find him in the temple and he refers to it as his father’s house (Luke 23:49). Jesus also did not object to any reference to himself as the Son of God (Hurtado 20). The nature of the mission of Jesus is said to have been two fold. In the first place, he had to take the form of man, and live like a man so that he could teach people about the nature of salvation. His human form was despite having a divine nature in that he was the son of God sent for the redemption of man. Jesus was also to pay the ultimate price for the sins of man despite the fact that his divine nature allowed him to be free of sin. He paid this price when he was crucified and died on the cross. Because he was the son of God, he rose from the dead. This provides the basis upon which Christianity is built (McGrath 1). The teachings of Jesus were different from those that the earlier prophets and the priests preached. While the norm was for the priests and those responsible for teaching religion was to emphasize on the following of the set rules and religious ceremonies. Jesus however asserted that the mere obedience of the laws did not make one holy. Instead, he preached one love for God and love for other people as the most important commandment. Love for God and love for fellow men is therefore one of the most basic and fundamental principles of the Christian religion. As a human being, Jesus spent his life travelling with his disciples and teaching a message of peace and salvation. He also called upon people to repent their sins. He is also said to have performed many miracles that convinced many people of his divine nature. The religious leaders and high priests were however opposed to his mission on earth as they felt that it went against the religious teachings that they put in place. His divine nature was also revealed in the many miracles that he performed in the course of his mission (Ottati 3). Christianity is also based on the belief that God requires perfection from mankind. Man’s nature however makes it impossible for a person to achieve this perfection. Sin is part of human nature. Jesus however took the human form and lived among people but he lived a sin free life. The ultimate sacrifice of dying for the sins of man however means that a person achieves salvation. Those who believe in the divine nature of Christ and in his ultimate sacrifice are therefore able to achieve salvation and are thus freed from sin. Having faith in Jesus Christ is therefore what is required of man so that he can achieve salvation. After the death and the rising of Jesus from the dead, he is said to have promised his disciples that he would send them a helper to help them in their mission of spreading the good news of salvation to mankind. This formed the beginning of the spread of Christianity as a religion. The disciples therefore began spreading the gospel to the different parts of the Roman Empire. They were however often met by opposition and prosecution from the Roman Empire. There were also some attempts by some of the Roman Emperors to extinguish or ban Christianity. In 380 during the rule of Theodosius, Christianity was made the official religion in the Roman Empire. The Christian church continued to grow and spread in different regions. The Roman church however split because of disagreements among the member. This led to the formation of the protestant churches. The Christians are however united on the basis of the foundation of their faith and beliefs on the nature of Christ. The differences in the different Christian churches are brought about by differences in the doctrines of the churches. The Christian church is therefore founded in the belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. This is what sets aside the Christian religion from other religions such as Islam which do not believe that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. By following the teachings of Jesus Christ, Christians hope to achieve eternal salvation. The central belief to Christianity is that Jesus is the Son of God, and without him, it would be impossible for man to achieve salvation. Works cited McGrath, Alister. Christianity: An Introduction. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006. Print. Ottati, Douglas. Jesus Christ and Christian Vision. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. Print. Hurtado, Larry. Lord Jesus Christ: devotion to Jesus in earliest Christianity. Cambridge: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003. Print. Darst, Albert. The Revelation of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Virginia: Xulon Press, 2010. Read More