Explaining Jesus to Muslims
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15. Jesus, the Son of God

It is important to examine this subject, because "Son of God" is perhaps the most important title of Jesus in the Injil, while it is also the biggest stumbling block to Muslims. To understand the concept of "Son of God", one must understand the Christian concept of the Trinity.

The Trinity
God is not man, he is greater in every way and more complex in his Being or Essence. Christians are not polytheistic, they have always believed in one and only one God. At the same time they refer to God as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, because the Bible teaches that the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not three gods, they are three distinctions within the Being or Essence of the one true God. Christians can't understand fully God's complex Being, he is too great for that. They accept what has been revealed. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the same in every way, except that the Son and the Spirit are not the Father, the Father and the Spirit are not the Son, and the Father and the Son are not the Spirit. So there are three distinctives within God's Being and this is called the Trinity.

Christians do not believe that God has a wife or consort. Christians do not believe that God can beget or have a son in a physical sense. Christians do not believe that God is Jesus, but they do believe that Jesus is God. Christians do not believe that Jesus taught people that they should take he and Mary for two gods beside God. Mary has nothing to do with the Trinity. These things are suggested in the Quran, either because Mohammed did not fully understand the Christian message or because some false Christians had taught him error. In Mohammed's day the idols in the Ka'ba were called daughters of Allah. This was pure idolatry and it was right for Mohammed to condemn it. But when he heard that Jesus was called the Son of God, he understood it in the same way, and so condemned the teaching without knowing the real meaning of Jesus' Sonship.

When Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and preach, he said: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19) When the apostle Paul blessed the Corinthian church, he said: "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." (2 Corinthians 13:14)

Why is Jesus called Son of God?

• One obvious reason why Jesus is called the Son of God, is that Jesus had no human father. Never before had a human being been born of a virgin. The birth of Jesus was unique. It was God who created the male seed in Mary's womb. As it was God who caused this miracle, it is natural to call Jesus the Son of God. This baby was conceived by God's direct intervention.
• When Jesus called some people "sons of the devil", he was not suggesting that the devil was their physical father. He was indicating that their character was the same as the devil's. Similarly Jesus is called the Son of God, because he has the same character as God.
• But there is a deeper meaning to the term "Son of God", it also means "God the Son". The Bible teaches that God the Son has existed from eternity, there was never a time when the Son did not exist. The apostle John puts it this way: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." (John 1:1-3) Jesus was born into time as a man, but Jesus himself said: "Before Abraham was born, I am." (John 8:58) The birth of Jesus is called the incarnation, which means that the eternal Son of God, a spiritual being, became flesh, a human being. The apostle John puts it this way: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) Jesus prayed to his Father: "And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." (John 17:5) It is difficult for Muslims who have been taught the absolute oneness of God to understand the Christian concept of the Trinity, where Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all God, but that is the revelation contained in the Injil, it is the clear teaching of Jesus Christ and it is a doctrine that Christians have always believed.

The Deity of Jesus Christ
This is most eloquently expressed by the writer of the book of Hebrews, as he explains the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as revealer and as mediator of God's grace. Jesus is God's full and final revelation, superior to all prophets and angels, the ultimate sacrifice who is now seated at the right hand of God.

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say:

          "You are my Son, today I have become your Father."
Or again: "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"?
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world he says:
          "Let all God's angels worship him."
In speaking of the angels he says:
          He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire."
But about the Son he says:
          "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
          and righteousness will be the sceptre of your kingdom.
          You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
          therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
          by anointing you with the oil of joy.
In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
          and the heavens are the work of your hands.
          They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed.
          But you remain the same, and your years will never end."
To which of the angels did God ever say,
          "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."?
(Hebrews 1:1-13)

Jesus, the complete revelation
Jesus is the complete and full revelation of God, because according to the above passage from the Injil:

• The Son is the one through whom God created the universe.
• The Son is the one whom God has chosen to possess all things.
• The Son reflects the brightness of God's glory.
• The Son is the exact likeness of God's own being.
• The Son sustains the universe by his powerful word.
• The Son achieved forgiveness of sins for all mankind.
• The Son sat down in heaven on God's right hand.

None of these things could be said of an ordinary prophet. From beginning to end the Injil teaches these truths. The Quran also testifies to the truth of the Injil:

"And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah."                    (Sura 5:49)

Some people say that the Injil must have been changed or corrupted. There is no evidence of this. It is no more possible for someone to change the Injil as it would be for someone to change the Quran. As the Quran itself says:

"The words of the Lord are perfect in truth and in justice: none can change his words."  (Sura 6:116)

The Quran, in fact, commands Muslims to believe the Injil, so it is important that those who desire the truth think carefully about who Jesus is and what he did.

"O you who believe! Believe in Allah and his Apostle, and the scripture which he has sent to his Apostle and the scripture which he sent to those before him. Any who denies Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Apostles and the Day of Judgment has gone far, far astray."       (Sura 4:136)

"Dispute not, unless in kindly sort, with the People of the Book (Christians), save as such of them who have dealt wrongfully with you: And say: "We believe in what has been sent down to us and has been sent down to you. Our God and your God is one, and to him we are self-surrendered."     (Sura 29:46)

Who is Jesus?

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible or invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."                                                                                          (Colossians 1:15-17)