Author: Paul Nordman

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“Are You Then the Son of God?”

“Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house . . .” — Hebrews 3:6 NIV

It was at an industry conference that I met an employee of one of our competitors. His company was founded in the 1800s and then led by four successive generations of the same family. “It eliminates the cut-throat political race to the top,” he quipped, “because everyone knows a picture of the next president stands somewhere among the family photos on the CEO’s credenza.” He proved prophetic: In the 25-plus years since our conversation, a son from the fifth generation has become that company’s leader. It was just a matter of time.

We have been beholding the Son of God through celestial lenses, “the glory [He] had with [the Father] before the world began”1 — His oneness with the Father even before He “became flesh and dwelt among us.”2 Today we glimpse Jesus’ sonship, itself, for David wrote of it in Messianic song long before Jesus’ incarnation: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.’”3 David closed his poem with an imperative and a promise: “Kiss the Son4 . . . Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”5 Isaiah likewise foresaw divine sonship appearing in our midst: “For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us . . .  His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.6 And introducing Jesus to the world, the Father proclaimed, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”7 It was this Son whom God appointed “the heir of all things.”8

So, Jesus once asked His detractors, “Why do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?”9 After all, isn’t this what the prophets foretold? If Jesus fulfills what had been spoken of Him, how can this be blasphemy? Scripture affirms Jesus’ eternal sonship. Then consider this: “both the one who makes people holy [Jesus] and those who are made holy [us] are of the same family. So Jesus [the Son] is not ashamed to call [us] brothers and sisters.”10 Paul affirms, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”11 The eternal Son has made us to be His forever brothers and sisters. It was just a matter of time.

Father, You have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. You chose us in Him before creation to be holy and blameless before You. You adopted us into sonship through Him.12 Receive our thanks; receive our praise. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 John 17:5 NIV
2 John 1:14 ESV
3 Psalm 2:7-8 ESV
4 In this culture, a sign of homage, and in this context, homage to God’s Son.
5 Psalm 2:12 ESV
6 Isaiah 9:6 NASB
7 Matthew 3:17 ESV
8 Hebrews 11:2 ESV
9 John 10:36 NIV
10 Hebrews 2:11 NIV
11 Romans 8:16-17 ESV
12 Ephesians 1:3

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“Where Is Your Father?”

“Oh, so you’re Duke’s boy!” the townsfolk would exclaim when making the connection. This was often followed by, “You look just like him!” Though I was seven when Dad died, I have vague recollections of our times together. His whiskers on my cheek as he hugged me, his gentle tuck-ins and goodnight kisses, his cheerful whistle as he walked home from work. But above all memories was this: Dad and me alone in the boat, fishing for Perch in the serene morning mists of Mullet Lake. Quiet time. Quality time. Together time.

Over the past two weeks, we have been beholding Jesus, the Son of God, from a heavenly perspective. For Jesus is not a mere man who became God; He is the Son of God who, for a specific time and purpose, took the form of a man and lived with us in His own creation. Today we glimpse the intimacy between Father and Son, incomprehensibly close from everlasting to everlasting. In prayer Jesus exalted the Father, “you loved me before the foundation of the world.”1 This Son, wrote John, “was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.”2 He lived incarnate among the people, but the Father they could not see. So the skeptics asked Him, “Where is your father?”3 Even an unsettled disciple said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”4 Jesus answered him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?. . . Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?”5

Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”6 Scripture attests. Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”7 “In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”8 “In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”9 Indeed, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.”10 Then “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.”11 Why? Because they are one — Father and Son. They always have been; they always will be. Together time. Forever time.

It is into this intimacy that the Father and the Son draw us. Jesus prayed that we believers in Christ “may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”12 United, we live with purpose: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”13

“Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”14 Thank You for showing us Yourself to us clearly through Your Son. You are worthy of our praise. Be glorified in us, Your people. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 John 17:24 ESV
2 1 John 1:2 NLT
3 John 8:19 ESV
4 John 14:8 NIV
5 John 14:9-10 ESV
6 John 14:9 ESV
7 Colossians 1:15 ESV
8 Colossians 1:19 ESV
9 Colossians 2:9 ESV
10 Hebrews 1:3 ESV
11 1 John 2:23 ESV
12 John 17:21 ESV
13 Matthew 5:16 NIV
14 Matthew 6:9 RSV

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“Where Are You From?”

Hannah1 was an atheist when we first met her, a bright young woman with a highly scientific mindset, but her convictions eventually began to change. “I believe there is a God,” she confessed to Peggy and me one evening before adding, “But I don’t believe in Jesus being God.” We’ve all heard this before, and perhaps said it ourselves. In fact, we’d probably agree that one of the primary reasons people struggle with Jesus is the very notion of a man being God or a man becoming God. When Jewish leaders surrounded Jesus one winter’s day in the temple, they, with stone in hand, accused Him of blasphemy, “because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”2 Indeed, if “a mere man” were to proclaim himself or be esteemed by others as deity, we would rightfully object.

In Jesus’ case, however, the flaw lies in the premise. Jesus is not a man who became God; He is the eternal Son of God who, for a specific time and purpose, became a man. This distinction changes everything. Jesus “was God,” wrote John, and “He was in the beginning with God.”3 Some 700-plus years before the birth of Jesus, Micah foretold His coming this way: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah . . . from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”4 The phrase, “from ancient days” here refers to Jesus’ timeless origin. The Messiah of eternal existence would be borne to us in Bethlehem, claimed the prophet, and indeed He has. Jesus himself proclaimed, “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am.”5 Paul echoed the same of Christ Jesus, who “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”6

As Jesus stood before Pilate, the increasingly frightened governor asked of Him the question that confronts us all: “Where are you from?”7 From a human perspective, we could say Jesus was from Bethlehem, Egypt, Galilee, or Nazareth — all would be true. But His origin is elsewhere: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”8 Can a mere mortal rise up and save us? No, only the Son of God can do that.

Epilogue. Hannah has since become a believer in Jesus Christ, embracing relationship with Him through His Word and refreshingly open and trusting prayer. Her inner joy outward shines.

Father, thank You for sending Jesus from Your presence and into our world. Truly He is the Son of God. In Him we trust, in Him we live, and in Him we pray. Amen.

1 This name is changed for privacy purposes.
2 John 10:33 NASB
3 John 1:1-2 ESV
4 Micah 5:2 ESV
5 John 8:58 ESV
6 Philippians 2:6-7 NIV
7 John 19:9 ESV
8 John 6:38 ESV