thats the difference btween Jesus and God Jesus was Given the authority By God, His Father. we are also one with Jesus, but it doesnt make us Jesus. Jesus was Given all the Power and authority, By God. He came from God, has always been of God and will always be one with God. because He is the Son of God, the Only begotten of God. thats where His unity with God and divinity comes from, He is of God, Gods right hand. like the holy spirit is one with God and makes us One with God
Jesus will hand over the Kingdom after all things are subdued beneath Him. at that point God will be all in all.
1 corinthians 15:24 "
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power." <<< " sit at my right hand until i make thy enemies thy footstool"
Like a mans son, is an extension of Himself, so is Jesus an extension of God, One with, the Son of in order to bring us into unity with God in Jesus.
john 14:20 "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you."
john 17:20-24 "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 24Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
what is the glory God gave unto Jesus? and Jesus gives unto those who believe that God sent Him???
john 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
its the means by which we are made children of God, to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God.
1 john 59-12 ":If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."
this is not cryptic it only needs faith in the Son of God. muslim belief is that God has no son, He does, i witness to that fact.
john 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
the only belief is that Jesus is the One and only begotten son of God thats the question that determines whether we believe What God has said of His Son, and what the Son has said of the Father. there is no scripture to say God came into the world, and then said He was His son. we put that together because God gave Jesus the name equal to God, because Jesus is the expres image of the invisable God.
John who certainly understood this and certainly saw Jesus at His transfiguration and all through the gospel says plainly "No one has ever seen God" this Long after Jesus came and was risen John saw Him often, thats why He expresses that Jesus is Gods only Son so often. Jesus is the promised Christ, the Only begotten son of God through this faith we are begotten of God because we believe in the Son of God, and the One who sent Him by His word.
I mostly agree with you, I mean you said this here and I strongly agree with it-
He came from God, has always been of God and will always be one with God.
He is absolutely one with God, there is no denying that through His own words.
But then you say this here-
What God has said of His Son, and what the Son has said of the Father. there is no scripture to say God came into the world, and then said He was His son.
And Im assuming that you are saying that He and the Father are separate? I mean we both agree that He and God are one, that He comes from God, is a part of God and shares His attributes, but you say that He is not God?
I dont believe that being the Son of God separates Him from being God. He is a part of God, if He isnt, then we worship two gods, meaning God shares His glory with another, and did not create us on His own. They are either one or they arent, if Jesus is just the Son of God and not also God then we cannot say that we worship one God, we then worship two gods, the God of Abraham and his offspring. And that is not biblical.
And I dont believe the prayer from Jesus denies His one-ness with God either, from the verses you posted here-
john 17:20-24 "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 24Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
I mean reading that prayer, Jesus says again that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. He says that He wants us to be one with Him, but I believe that context is important before jumping onto the "this denies Jesus' divinity" bandwagon. Jesus tells us multiple times He and the Father are one. He tells us that He was with God and shared in His glory before the world even existed. He tells us that He will raise the dead, and that He will judge the world.
And He tells us that He came to die for our sins, so that we can be saved from them. I think through context it is clear that Jesus' oneness with God is not the same as His wish for us to be one with Him, too.I think it is clear that Jesus tells us that He and the Father are one, and that He wants us to be with Him for eternity.
And I disagree with this bit here-
there is no scripture to say God came into the world, and then said He was His son.
And I base that on verses like these-
Isaiah 43-
verse 3- For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior
verse 6-7
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
verses 10-13 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord,
and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?”
verses 14-15 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,
in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator, your King.”
Psalm 50:6
And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge.
Zechariah 12
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Zechariah 14:9
9 The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.
TL;DR
I believe that Jesus IS the Son of God, but I do not believe that He is ONLY the Son of God. I saw a response today from a Christian teacher where a former Muslim asked him, is Jesus the Son of God or God Himself? And his response was this-
"let me ask you a question first. Are you a man, or a son of a man?"
He is both God, and the Son of God. That is why we say He is God with us : p I do not believe that God had literal offspring, I believe He is the only begotten Son of God because He came from the Father into the womb of Mary and lived among us. But I believe He came from God and is a part of God, and I believe the Bible supports my belief.
Our God is not two : p He exists as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but all of these are one.