God, the father of Jesus Christ - who is he and how did he appear? Jesus God or Son of God? In this verse Jesus proves that he is not God: Matthew Jesus Christ is the son of God

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“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16).

Jesus Christ– The Son of God, God who appeared in the flesh, who took upon Himself the sin of man, and with His sacrificial death made his salvation possible. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is called Christ, or Messiah (Χριστός, Μεσσίας), Son (υἱός), Son of God (υἱὸς Θεοῦ), Son of Man (υἱὸς ἀνθρώπο υ), Lamb (ἀμνός, ἀρνίον), Lord (Κύριος), Servant of God ( παῖς Θεοῦ), Son of David (υἱὸς Δαυίδ), Savior (Σωτήρ), etc.

Testimonies about the life of Jesus Christ:

canonical gospels ( )
individual sayings of Jesus Christ, not included in the canonical Gospels, but preserved in other New Testament books (Acts and Epistles of the Apostles), as well as in the writings of ancient Christian writers.
a number of texts of Gnostic and non-Christian origin.

By the will of God the Father and out of pity for us sinful people, Jesus Christ came into the world and became a man. By His word and example, Jesus Christ taught people how to believe and live in order to become righteous and be worthy of the title of children of God, participants in His immortal and blessed life. To cleanse our sins and overcome, Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again on the third day. Now, as the God-man, He dwells in heaven with His Father. Jesus Christ is the head of the Kingdom of God founded by Him, called the Church, in which believers are saved, guided and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. Before the end of the world, Jesus Christ will come to earth again to judge the living and the dead. After this will come His Kingdom of Glory, a paradise in which the saved will rejoice forever. It is foretold, and we believe that it will be so.

How they waited for the coming of Jesus Christ

IN The greatest event in the life of mankind is the coming to earth of the Son of God. God has been preparing people for it, especially the Jewish people, for many millennia. From among the Jewish people, God raised prophets who predicted the coming of the Savior of the world - the Messiah, and thereby laid the foundation of faith in Him. In addition, God, for many generations, starting from Noah, then Abraham, David and other righteous people, pre-purified the bodily vessel from which the Messiah was to take flesh. Thus, finally, the Virgin Mary was born, who appeared worthy to become the Mother of Jesus Christ.

At the same time, God directed the political events of the ancient world to ensure that the coming of the Messiah would be successful and that His blessed Kingdom would spread widely among people.

Thus, by the time of the coming of the Messiah, many pagan nations became part of a single state - the Roman Empire. This circumstance made it possible for the disciples of Christ to travel freely throughout all the countries of the vast Roman Empire. The widespread use of one universally understandable Greek language helped Christian communities scattered over long distances to maintain contact with each other. The Gospels and Apostolic Epistles were written in Greek. As a result of the rapprochement of cultures of different peoples, as well as the spread of science and philosophy, beliefs in pagan gods were greatly undermined. People began to crave satisfactory answers to their religious questions. Thinking people of the pagan world understood that society was reaching a hopeless dead end and began to express hope that the Transformer and Savior of humanity would come.

The earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ

D For the birth of the Messiah, God chose the pure virgin Mary, from the line of King David. Mary was an orphan, and She was taken care of by Her distant relative, the elderly Joseph, who lived in Nazareth, one of the small cities in the northern part of the Holy Land. Archangel Gabriel, having appeared, announced to the Virgin Mary that She had been chosen by God to become the Mother of His Son. When the Virgin Mary humbly agreed, the Holy Spirit descended on Her, and She conceived the Son of God. The subsequent birth of Jesus Christ took place in the small Jewish town of Bethlehem, where King David, the ancestor of Christ, had previously been born. (Historians place the time of the birth of Jesus Christ at 749-754 years from the founding of Rome. The accepted chronology “from the Nativity of Christ” begins with 754 years from the founding of Rome).

The life, miracles and conversations of the Lord Jesus Christ are described in four books called the Gospels. The first three Evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke, describe the events of His life, which took place mainly in Galilee - in the northern part of the Holy Land. The Evangelist John complements their narratives, describing the events and conversations of Christ that took place mainly in Jerusalem.

Film “CHRISTMAS”

Until the age of thirty, Jesus Christ lived with His Mother, the Virgin Mary, in Nazareth, in the house of Joseph. When He was 12 years old, He and his parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover holiday and stayed in the temple for three days, talking with the scribes. Nothing is known about other details of the Savior’s life in Nazareth, except that He helped Joseph with carpentry. As a man, Jesus Christ grew and developed naturally, like all people.

At the 30th year of his life, Jesus Christ received from the prophet. John's baptism in the Jordan River. Before beginning His public ministry, Jesus Christ went into the desert and fasted for forty days while being tempted by Satan. Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee with the election of 12 apostles. The miraculous transformation of water into wine, performed by Jesus Christ at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, strengthened the faith of His disciples. After this, after spending some time in Capernaum, Jesus Christ went to Jerusalem for the Easter holiday. Here He first aroused the enmity of the Jewish elders and, in particular, the Pharisees against Himself, by expelling the merchants from the temple. After Easter, Jesus Christ called His apostles, gave them the necessary instruction and sent them to preach the approach of the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ himself also traveled throughout the Holy Land, preaching, gathering disciples and spreading the teaching about the Kingdom of God.

Jesus Christ revealed His Divine mission with many miracles and prophecies. Soulless nature unconditionally obeyed Him. So, for example, at His word the storm stopped; Jesus Christ walked on water as on dry land; Having multiplied five loaves and several fish, He fed a crowd of thousands; One day He turned water into wine. He raised the dead, cast out demons, and healed countless sick people. At the same time, Jesus Christ avoided human glory in every possible way. For His needs, Jesus Christ never resorted to His omnipotent power. All His miracles are imbued with deep compassion to people. The Savior's greatest miracle was His own Sunday from the dead. With this resurrection, He defeated the power of death over people and marked the beginning of our resurrection from the dead, which will occur at the end of the world.

Evangelists have recorded many predictions Jesus Christ. Some of them were fulfilled during the lifetime of the Apostles and their successors. Among them: predictions about the denial of Peter and the betrayal of Judas, about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, about the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, about miracles that the apostles will perform, about persecution for the faith, about the destruction of Jerusalem, etc. Some prophecies of Christ related to the last times, begin to be fulfilled, for example: about the spread of the Gospel throughout the world, about the corruption of people and about the cooling of faith, about terrible wars, earthquakes, etc. Finally, some prophecies, such as those about the general resurrection of the dead, the second coming of Christ, the end of the world and the Last Judgment, have yet to be fulfilled.

By His power over nature and His foreknowledge of the future, the Lord Jesus Christ testified to the truth of His teaching and that He truly is the Only Begotten Son of God.

The public ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ lasted more than three years. The chief priests, scribes and Pharisees did not accept His teaching and, jealous of His miracles and success, sought an opportunity to kill Him. Finally such an opportunity presented itself. After the Savior resurrected the four-day-old Lazarus, six days before Easter, Jesus Christ, surrounded by the people, solemnly, as the son of David and the king of Israel, entered Jerusalem. The people gave Him royal honors. Jesus Christ went straight to the temple, but, seeing that the high priests had turned the house of prayer into a “den of thieves,” he expelled all the merchants and money changers from there. This angered the Pharisees and high priests, and at their meeting they decided to destroy Him. Meanwhile, Jesus Christ spent whole days teaching the people in the temple. On Wednesday, one of His twelve disciples, Judas Iscariot, invited members of the Sanhedrin to secretly betray their Master for thirty silver coins. The high priests happily agreed.

On Thursday, Jesus Christ, wanting to celebrate the Passover with His disciples, left Bethany for Jerusalem, where His disciples Peter and John prepared a large room for Him. Appearing here in the evening, Jesus Christ showed His disciples the greatest example of humility by washing their feet, which was the custom of Jewish servants. Then, lying down with them, He celebrated the Old Testament Passover. After the supper, Jesus Christ established the New Testament Easter - the sacrament of the Eucharist or Communion. Taking the bread, He blessed it, broke it and, giving it to the disciples, said: “ Take, eat (eat): this is My body, which is given for you,” then, taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said: “ Drink from it, all of you, for this is My Blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.“After this, Jesus Christ talked with His disciples for the last time about the Kingdom of God. Then He went to the suburban Garden of Gethsemane and, accompanied by three disciples - Peter, James and John, went deep into the garden and, throwing himself to the ground, prayed to His Father until he sweated blood so that the cup of suffering that lay before Him would pass.

At this time, a crowd of armed servants of the high priest, led by Judas, burst into the garden. Judas betrayed his Teacher with a kiss. While the high priest Caiaphas convened the members of the Sanhedrin, the soldiers took Jesus to the palace of Annas (Ananas); from here He was taken to Caiaphas, where late at night His trial took place. Although many false witnesses were called, no one could point to such a crime for which Jesus Christ could be sentenced to death. However, the death sentence took place only after Jesus Christ recognized himself as the Son of God and the Messiah. For this, Christ was formally accused of blasphemy, for which the law was punishable by death.

On Friday morning, the high priest went with the members of the Sanhedrin to the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, to confirm the verdict. But Pilate at first did not agree to do this, not seeing in Jesus guilt worthy of death. Then the Jews began to threaten Pilate with denunciation of him to Rome, and Pilate confirmed the death sentence. Jesus Christ was given to the Roman soldiers. At about 12 o'clock in the afternoon, together with two thieves, Jesus was taken to Calvary - a small hill on the western side of the Jerusalem wall - and there he was crucified on the cross. Jesus Christ accepted this execution without complaint. It was midday. Suddenly the sun darkened, and darkness spread over the earth for three whole hours. After this, Jesus Christ loudly cried out to the Father: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!” Then, seeing that everything was fulfilled according to the Old Testament prophecies, He exclaimed: “ It's done! My Father, I commit My spirit into Your hands!” and, bowing His head, gave up the ghost. Terrible signs followed: the curtain in the temple was torn in two, the earth shook, and the stones disintegrated. Seeing this, even a pagan - a Roman centurion - exclaimed: “ Truly He was the Son of God.“No one doubted the death of Jesus Christ. Two members of the Sanhedrin, Joseph and Nicodemus, secret disciples of Jesus Christ, received permission from Pilate to remove His body from the cross and buried him in Joseph’s tomb near Golgotha, in the garden. Members of the Sanhedrin made sure that the body of Jesus Christ was not stolen by His disciples, sealed the entrance and set up a guard. Everything was done hastily, since the Easter holiday began in the evening of that day.

On Sunday (probably April 8th), the third day after His death on the cross, Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead and left the tomb. After this, an Angel descended from heaven and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb. The first witnesses to this event were the soldiers guarding the tomb of Christ. Although the soldiers did not see Jesus Christ risen from the dead, they were eyewitnesses of the fact that when the Angel rolled away the stone, the tomb was already empty. Frightened by the Angel, the soldiers fled. Mary Magdalene and other myrrh-bearers, who went to the tomb of Jesus Christ before dawn to anoint the body of their Lord and Teacher, found the tomb empty and were honored to see the Risen One Himself and hear the greeting from Him: “ Rejoice!“In addition to Mary Magdalene, Jesus Christ appeared to many of His disciples at different times. Some of them were even honored to touch His body and become convinced that He was not a ghost. Over the course of forty days, Jesus Christ talked with His disciples several times, giving them final instructions.

On the fortieth day, Jesus Christ, in view of all His disciples, ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives. As we believe, Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father, that is, he has the same authority with Him. He will come to earth a second time before the end of the world, so that judge living and dead, after which His glorious and eternal Kingdom will begin, in which the righteous will shine like the sun.

About the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ

The Saints The apostles, writing about the life and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, did not mention anything about His appearance. For them, the main thing was to capture His spiritual appearance and teaching.

In the Eastern Church there is a legend about “ Miracle image"Savior. According to him, the artist sent by the Edessa king Abgar tried several times unsuccessfully to sketch the face of the Savior. When Christ, calling the artist, put his canvas to His face, His face was imprinted on the canvas. Having received this image from his artist, King Abgar was healed of leprosy. Since then, this miraculous image of the Savior was well known in the Eastern Church and icon copies were made from it. The original Image Not Made by Hands is mentioned by the ancient Armenian historian Moses of Khoren, the Greek historian Evargius and St. John of Damascus.

In the Western Church there is a legend about the image of St. Veronica, who gave the Savior going to Calvary a towel so that He could wipe His face. The imprint of His face remained on the towel, which later found its way to the West.

In the Orthodox Church it is customary to depict the Savior on icons and frescoes. These images do not attempt to accurately depict His appearance. They are more like reminders symbols, raising our thoughts to the One who is depicted on them. Looking at images of the Savior, we remember His life, His love and compassion, His miracles and teachings; we remember that He, as omnipresent, is with us, sees our difficulties and helps us. This sets us up to pray to Him: “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on us!”

The face of the Savior and His entire body were also imprinted on the so-called “,” - a long cloth in which, according to legend, the body of the Savior taken from the cross was wrapped. The image on the shroud was only seen relatively recently with the help of photography, special filters and a computer. Reproductions of the face of the Savior, made from the Shroud of Turin, have a striking resemblance to some ancient Byzantine icons (sometimes coinciding at 45 or 60 points, which, according to experts, cannot be accidental). Studying the Shroud of Turin, experts came to the conclusion that it showed a man about 30 years old, 5 feet, 11 inches tall (181 cm - significantly taller than his contemporaries), with a slender and strong build.

Bishop Alexander Mileant

What Jesus Christ Taught

From the book of Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev “Tradition. Dogma. Rite."

Christ did not perceive Himself as just a Teacher. Such a Teacher who bequeaths to people a certain “Teaching” that can be spread throughout the world and throughout the centuries. He does not so much “teach” as “save.” And all His words are connected with how exactly this event of “salvation” is connected with the mystery of His own Life.

Everything that is new in the teachings of Jesus Christ is connected only with the mystery of His Own Existence. The One God had already been preached by the prophets, and monotheism had long been established. Is it possible to speak about the relationship between God and man in words higher than those of the prophet Micah: “Man! Has it been told to you what is good and what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic. 6:8)? In Jesus’ moral sermon, almost any position can be identified with “parallel passages” from the books of the Old Testament. He gives them great aphorism, accompanies them with surprising and surprising examples and parables - but in His moral teaching there is nothing that is not contained in the Law and the Prophets.

If we carefully read the Gospels, we will see that the main subject of Christ’s preaching is not calls to mercy, love or repentance. The main subject of Christ's preaching is Himself. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), “Believe in God, and believe in Me” (John 14:1). “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). “No one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6); “Search the Scriptures: they testify of Me” (John 5:39).

Which ancient scripture does Jesus choose to preach in the synagogue? – Not prophetic calls for love and purity. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor” (Isa. 61:1-2).

Here is the most controversial passage in the Gospel: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37-38). It does not say here - “for the sake of truth” or “for the sake of Eternity” or “for the sake of the Path”. "For me".

And this is by no means an ordinary relationship between teacher and student. No teacher has so completely claimed power over the souls and destinies of his students: “He who saves his soul will lose it; but he who loses his life for My sake will save it” (Matthew 10:39).

Even at the Last Judgment, the division is made by people's relationship to Christ, and not simply by the degree of their observance of the Law. “What have they done to me...” - To me, not to God. And the judge is Christ. There is a division in relation to Him. He does not say: “You were merciful and therefore blessed,” but “I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat.”

For justification at the Judgment, in particular, not only internal, but also external, public appeal to Jesus will be required. Without the visibility of this connection with Jesus, salvation is impossible: “Whoever confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).

Confessing Christ before people can be dangerous. And danger will threaten not at all for preaching love or repentance, but for preaching about Christ Himself. “Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and slander you in every way unrighteously for me(Matt. 5:11). “And they will lead you to rulers and kings for me”(Mt 10:18). “And you will be hated by everyone for my name; but he who endures to the end will be saved” (Mt 10:22).

And the opposite: “who will accept one such child in my name, he receives Me” (Matthew 18:5). It does not say “in the name of the Father” or “for the sake of God.” In the same way, Christ promises His presence and help to those who will gather not in the name of the “Great Unknowable,” but in His name: “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20).

Moreover, the Savior clearly indicates that this is precisely the newness of religious life introduced by him: “Until now you have asked nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete” (John 16:24).

And in the last phrase of the Bible there is a call: “Hey! Come, Lord Jesus!” Not “Come, Truth” and not “Overshadow us, Spirit!”, but “Come, Jesus.”

Christ asks the disciples not about what people think about His preaching, but about “Who do people say that I am?” Here the point is not in accepting a system or teaching – but in accepting a Personality. The Gospel of Christ reveals itself as the Gospel about Christ; it brings the Message of a Person, not a concept. In terms of current philosophy, we can say that the Gospel is a word of personalism, not conceptualism. Christ did not do anything that could be talked about, distinguishing and separating it from His Self.

The founders of other religions acted not as objects of faith, but as its intermediaries. It was not the personality of Buddha, Mohammed or Moses that was the real content of the new faith, but their teaching. In each case it was possible to separate their teaching from themselves. But - “Blessed is he who is not tempted about me”(Matthew 11:6).

That most important commandment of Christ, which He himself called “new,” also speaks of Himself: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you.” We know how much He loved us: to the Cross.

There is one more fundamental explanation of this commandment. It turns out that the distinguishing mark of a Christian is not love for those who love him (“for do not the pagans do the same?”), but love for his enemies. But is it possible to love an enemy? An enemy is a person whom, by definition, to put it mildly, I do not like. Will I be able to love him on someone's orders? If a guru or preacher says to his flock: tomorrow from eight o'clock in the morning, begin to love your enemies - will it really be the feeling of love that will be revealed in the hearts of his disciples at ten minutes past eight? Meditation and training of will and feelings can teach you to treat your enemies with indifference and without affect. But it is inappropriate to rejoice at their success as if it were your own. Even the grief of a stranger is easier to share with him. But it is impossible to share the joy of someone else... If I love someone, any news about him makes me happy, the thought of meeting my loved one soon makes me happy... A wife rejoices at her husband’s success at work. Will she be able to greet with the same joy the news of the promotion of someone whom she considers her enemy? Christ performed his first miracle at the wedding feast. Saying that the Savior took upon Himself our sufferings, we often forget that He was in solidarity with people in our joys...

So, if the commandment to love our enemies is beyond us, why does Christ give it to us? Or does He have little knowledge of human nature? Or does He just want to destroy us all with His rigorism? After all, as the apostle confirms, the violator of one commandment becomes guilty of the destruction of the whole law. If I violated one paragraph of the law (for example, I was engaged in extortion), then in court I will not be helped by references to the fact that I have never been involved in horse theft. If I do not fulfill the commandments to love my enemies, what benefit does it give me to distribute property, move mountains, and even give my body to be burned? I am doomed. And I am doomed because the Old Testament turned out to be more merciful to me than the New Testament, which proposed such a “new commandment” that subjected to its judgment not only the Jews under the law, but all of humanity.

How can I fulfill it, will I find the strength to obey the Teacher? No. But - “This is impossible for men, but it is possible for God... Abide in My love... Abide in Me, and I in you.” Knowing that it is impossible to love enemies with human strength, the Savior unites the faithful with Himself, just as branches are united with a vine, so that His love may be revealed and acted in them. “God is Love... Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened”... “The Law obliged us to do what it did not give. Grace gives what it obliges” (B. Pascal)

This means that this commandment of Christ is unthinkable without participation in His Mystery. The morality of the Gospel cannot be separated from its mysticism. The teaching of Christ is inseparable from church Christology. Only direct union with Christ, literally communion with Him, makes it possible to fulfill His new commandments.

The usual ethical and religious system is a path by which people reach a certain goal. Christ begins precisely with this goal. He speaks of the life flowing from God to us, and not of our efforts that can raise us to God. What others work for, He gives. Other teachers begin with a demand, this one with a Gift: “The Kingdom of Heaven has come to you.” But that is precisely why the Sermon on the Mount does not proclaim a new morality or a new law. It heralds the entry into some completely new horizon of life. The Sermon on the Mount does not so much set forth a new moral system as reveal a new state of affairs. People are given a gift. And it says under what conditions they may not drop it. Bliss is not a reward for deeds; the Kingdom of God will not follow spiritual poverty, but will dissolve with it. The connection between the state and the promise is Christ Himself, not human effort or law.

Already in the Old Testament it was quite clearly proclaimed that only the coming of God into the heart of a person can make him forget all past misfortunes: “Thou hast prepared with Thy goodness, O God, for the poor Thy coming into his heart” (Ps. 67:11). Actually, God has only two dwelling places: “I dwell on high in the heavens, and also in a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and revive the hearts of the contrite” (Isa. 57:15). And yet, one thing is the consoling anointing of the Spirit, which is felt in the depths of a contrite heart, and another is the messianic time, when the world becomes inseparable from God... Therefore, “blessed are the poor”: the Kingdom of Heaven is already theirs. Not “it will be yours,” but “yours is.” Not because you found it or earned it, but because It itself is active, It itself found you and overtook you.

And another gospel verse, in which they usually see the quintessence of the gospel, also speaks not so much about good relationships between people, but about the need to recognize Christ: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” So what is the first sign of a Christian? – No, not “to have love,” but “to be My disciple.” “So everyone will know that you are students, that you have a student card.” What is your main attribute here – having a student card or the fact of being a student? The most important thing for others is to understand that you are Mine! And here is my seal for you. I chose you. My Spirit is upon you. May my love remain in you.

So, “The Lord, having appeared bodily to people, first of all demanded from us knowledge of Himself and taught this, and immediately attracted us to this; even more: for the sake of this feeling He came and for this He did everything: “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (John 18:37). And since He Himself was the truth, He almost did not say: “Let me show myself” (St. Nicholas Kavasila). The main work of Jesus was not His word, but His being: Being-with-people; being-on-the-cross.

And Christ’s disciples—the apostles—in their sermons do not retell the “teachings of Christ.” When they go out to preach about Christ, they do not retell the Sermon on the Mount. There are no references to the Sermon on the Mount either in Peter's speech on the day of Pentecost or in Stephen's sermon on the day of his martyrdom. In general, the apostles do not use the traditional student formula: “As the Teacher instructed.”

Moreover, even about the life of Christ the apostles speak very sparingly. The light of Easter is so bright for them that their vision does not extend into the decades preceding the procession to Calvary. And even about the event of the resurrection of Christ, the Apostles preach not as a fact only of His life, but as an event in the lives of those who accepted the Easter gospel - because “The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you” (Rom. 8, eleven); “But if we knew Christ according to the flesh, now we know it no more” (2 Cor. 5:16)

The apostles say one thing: He died for our sins and rose again, and in His resurrection is the hope of our life. Without ever referring to the teachings of Christ, the apostles speak about the fact of Christ and His Sacrifice and about His impact on man. Christians do not believe in Christianity, but in Christ. The apostles preach not Christ the Teaching, but Christ Crucified - a temptation for moralists and madness for theosophists.

We can imagine that all the evangelists would have been killed along with St. Stefan. Even in our New Testament, more than half of the books were written by one apostle. Pavel. Let's set up a thought experiment. Suppose all 12 apostles are killed. There are no close witnesses to the life and preaching of Christ left. But the risen Christ appears to Saul and makes him His only apostle. Paul then writes the entire New Testament. Who would we be then? Christians or Paulinists? Could Paul be called the Savior in this case? Paul, as if foreseeing such a situation, answers quite sharply: why “do they say among you: “I am Pavlov,” “I am Apollosov,” “I am Cephas,” “and I am Christ’s”? was Paul crucified for you?” (1 Cor. 1. 12-13).

This apostolic concentration on the mystery of Christ himself was inherited by the ancient Church. The main theological theme of the 1st millennium was not debates about the “teaching of Christ,” but debates about the phenomenon of Christ: Who came to us?

And at its Liturgies, the ancient Church thanks Christ for something that is not at all what modern textbooks on the history of ethics are ready to show Him respect for. In ancient prayers we will not find praises like: “We thank You for the law that You reminded us of”? “We thank You for your sermons and beautiful parables, for your wisdom and instructions”? “We thank You for the universal moral and spiritual values that You preached.”

Here, for example, is the “Apostolic Constitutions” - a monument dating back to the 2nd century: “We give thanks, Our Father, for the life which You revealed to us through Jesus Your servant, for Your Servant, Whom You also sent for our salvation as a man, Whom You also deigned to suffer and die. We also give thanks, Our Father, for the honorable blood of Jesus Christ, shed for us and for the honorable body, instead of which we offer images, as He established for us to proclaim His death.”

Here is the “Apostolic Tradition” of St. Hippolyta: “We thank You, O God, through Your beloved Servant Jesus Christ, whom in the last times You sent to us as Savior, Redeemer and Messenger of Your will, Who is Your Word, inseparable from You, by Whom all things were created according to Your will, Whom You sent from heaven into the womb of the Virgin. Fulfilling Your will, He stretched out His hands to free those who believe in You from suffering... So, remembering His death and resurrection, we bring You bread and cup, giving thanks to You for the fact that You have made us worthy to appear before You and serve You.” ...

And in all subsequent Liturgies - up to the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which is still celebrated in our churches, thanksgiving is given for the Sacrifice of the Son of God on the Cross - and not for the wisdom of the sermon.

And in the celebration of another greatest Sacrament of the Church - Baptism, we gain a similar testimony. When the Church entered into its most terrible battle - a head-to-head confrontation with the spirit of darkness, it called on its Lord for help. But - again - How did she see Him at that moment? The prayers of ancient exorcists have reached us. Due to their ontological seriousness, they have hardly changed over millennia. When beginning the sacrament of Baptism, the priest reads a unique prayer - the only church prayer addressed not to God, but to Satan. He commands the spirit of rebellion to leave the new Christian and not to touch him from now on, who has become a member of the Body of Christ. So by what God does the priest conjure the devil? “Forbids you, devil, the Lord, who came into the world and took up residence in men, so that he may destroy your torment and destroy men, who on the tree conquer the opposing forces, who destroy death by death and abolish the possessing power of death, that is, you, the devil...” And for some reason there is no call here: “Fear the Teacher, who commanded us not to resist evil by force”...

So, Christianity is a community of people who are struck not so much by some parable or by the high moral demand of Christ, but by a collection of people who have felt the mystery of Golgotha. In particular, this is why the Church is so calm about “biblical criticism” that reveals insertions, typos or distortions in biblical books. Criticism of the biblical text can seem dangerous for Christianity only if Christianity is perceived in the Islamic manner - as a “religion of the Book”. “Biblical criticism” of the 19th century was capable of generating anti-church triumphalism only if criteria that were important for Islam and, partly, Judaism were transferred to Christianity. But even the religion of Ancient Israel was built not so much on some teaching inspired from Above as on the historical event of the Covenant. Christianity, moreover, is not faith in a book that fell from the sky, but in a Person, in what she said, did, experienced.

What is important for the Church is not so much the authenticity of the retelling of the Founder’s words, but rather His life, which cannot be faked. No matter how many insertions, omissions or defects crept into the written sources of Christianity, this is not fatal for him, for it is not built on a book, but on the Cross.

So, has the Church changed the “teachings of Jesus”, transferring all its attention and hope from the “commandments of Christ” to the very person of the Savior and the Mystery of His Being? Protestant liberal theologian A. Harnack believes that - yes, she has changed. In support of his idea that in the preaching of Christ ethics is more important than the Person of Christ, he cites the logic of Jesus: “If you love Me, keep My commandments,” and from it he concludes: “Making Christology the main content of the Gospel is a perversion, this is clear speaks the sermon of Jesus Christ, which in its main features is very simple and puts everyone directly before God.” But you love Me and the commandments are also Mine...

The Christocentrism of historical Christianity, which is so obviously different from the moralistic reading of the Gospel by people of little religion, is not liked by many of our contemporaries. But, as in the 1st century, Christianity is now ready to arouse antipathy among the pagans with clear and unequivocal evidence of its faith in the One Lord, Incarnate, Crucified and Risen - “for us for man and for our salvation.”

Christ is not only the means of Revelation through which God speaks to people. Since He is the God-man, He is also the subject of Revelation. And moreover, He turns out to be the content of Revelation. Christ is the One who enters into communication with man, and the One about whom this communication speaks.

God did not just tell us from afar certain truths that He considered necessary for our enlightenment. He Himself became a man. He spoke about His new, unheard-of closeness with people in each of His earthly sermons.

If an Angel flew from Heaven and announced some news to us, then the consequences of his visit could well be contained in these words and in their written recording. Anyone who accurately remembered the angelic words, understood their meaning and conveyed them to his neighbor would exactly repeat the ministry of this Messenger. The messenger is identical to his commission. But can we say that Christ’s commission came down to words, to the announcement of certain truths? Can we say that the Only Begotten Son of God performed the ministry that any of the angels and any of the prophets could have performed with no less success?

- No. The ministry of Christ is not limited to the words of Christ. The ministry of Christ is not identical with the teaching of Christ. He is not only a prophet. He is also a Priest. The ministry of the prophet can be completely recorded in books. The ministry of a Priest is not words, but action.

This is the question of Tradition and Scripture. Scripture is a clear record of the words of Christ. But if the ministry of Christ is not identical to His words, it means that the fruit of His ministry cannot be identical to the Gospel recording of His sermons. If His teaching is only one of the fruits of His ministry, what are the others? And how can people become heirs of these fruits? How the teaching is transmitted, how it is recorded and stored is clear. But – the rest? What was superverbal in the ministry of Christ cannot be conveyed in words. This means there must be another way to participate in the ministry of Christ, besides Scripture.

This is Tradition.

1 Let me remind you that, according to the interpretation of Clement of Alexandria, in this word of Christ we are talking about being ready to refuse to follow social prejudices (naturally, even if these prejudices encourage parents to raise their son in the spirit of opposition to the Gospel).
“The miracles of Christ could be apocryphal or legendary. The only and main miracle, and, moreover, completely indisputable, is He himself. To invent such a Person is as difficult and incredible, and it would be wonderful, as to be such a Person” (Rozanov V. Religion and Culture. vol. 1. M., 1990, p. 353).
3 For a more detailed analysis of the Christocentric passages of the Gospel, see the chapter “What Christ Preached About” in the second volume of my book “Satanism for the Intelligentsia.”

Christianity is not made by hands, it is the creation of God.

From the book "The Un-American Missionary"

If we assert that Christ is God, that He is sinless, and human nature is sinful, then how could He be incarnate, was it possible?

Man is not initially sinful. Man and sin are not synonymous. Yes, people have transformed God’s world into the catastrophe world we know. But still, the world, the flesh, humanity in themselves are not something evil. And the fullness of love lies in coming not to the one who is good, but to the one who is bad. To believe that the incarnation will defile God is the same as saying: “Here is a dirty barracks, there is disease, infection, ulcers; How can a doctor risk going there, he might get infected?!” Christ is the Doctor Who came into the sick world.

The Holy Fathers gave another example: when the sun illuminates the earth, it illuminates not only beautiful roses and flowering meadows, but also puddles and sewage. But the sun is not defiled because its ray fell on something dirty and unsightly. So the Lord did not become less pure, less Divine because he touched man on earth and took on his flesh.

- How could a sinless God die?

The death of God is truly a contradiction. “The Son of God died - this is unthinkable, and therefore worthy of faith,” wrote Tertullian in the 3rd century, and it was this saying that later served as the basis for the thesis “I believe because it is absurd.” Christianity is truly a world of contradictions, but they arise as a trace of the touch of the Divine hand. If Christianity had been created by people, it would have been quite straightforward, rational, rational. Because when smart and talented people create something, their product turns out to be quite consistent and of logical quality.

The origins of Christianity were undoubtedly very talented and intelligent people. It is equally certain that the Christian faith turned out to be full of contradictions (antinomies) and paradoxes. How to combine this? For me, this is a “certificate of quality,” a sign that Christianity is not made by hands, that it is the creation of God.

From a theological point of view, Christ as God did not die. The human part of His “composition” passed through death. Death occurred “with” God (with what He accepted at earthly Nativity), but not “in” God, not in His Divine nature.

Many people easily agree with the idea of the existence of one God, the Most High, the Absolute, the Supreme Mind, but categorically reject the worship of Christ as God, considering it a kind of pagan relic, the worship of a semi-pagan anthropomorphic, that is, human-like, deity. Aren't they right?

For me, the word “anthropomorphism” is not a dirty word at all. When I hear an accusation like “your Christian God is anthropomorphic,” I ask you to translate the “accusation” into understandable, Russian language. Then everything immediately falls into place. I say: “Excuse me, what are you accusing us of? Is it that our idea of God is humanoid, human-like? Can you create for yourself some other idea of God? Which? Giraffe-shaped, amoeba-shaped, Martian-shaped?”

We are people. And therefore, whatever we think about - about a blade of grass, about space, about an atom or about the Divine - we think about it humanly, based on our own ideas. One way or another, we endow everything with human qualities.

Another thing is that anthropomorphism can be different. It can be primitive: when a person simply transfers all his feelings and passions to nature and to God, without understanding this action. Then it turns out to be a pagan myth.

But Christian anthropomorphism is aware of itself, it is noticed by Christians, thought out and conscious. And at the same time, it is experienced not as inevitability, but as gift. Yes, I, a man, have no right to think about the Incomprehensible God, I cannot claim to know Him, much less express it in my terrible scanty language. But the Lord, out of His love, condescends to clothe Himself in images of human speech. God speaks in words that are understandable to the nomadic nomads of the 2nd millennium BC (which were the Hebrew forefathers Moses, Abraham...). And in the end, God even becomes Man Himself.

Christian thought begins with the recognition of the incomprehensibility of God. But if we stop there, then religion, as a union with Him, is simply impossible. It will be reduced to desperate silence. Religion acquires the right to exist only if this right is given to it by the Incomprehensible Himself. If He Himself declares His desire to be found. Only when the Lord Himself goes beyond the boundaries of His incomprehensibility, when He comes to people, only then can the planet of people acquire religion with its inherent anthropomorphism. Only Love can transcend all boundaries of apophatic decency.

There is Love - that means there is Revelation, the outpouring of this Love. This Revelation is given to the world of people, beings who are quite aggressive and incomprehensible. This means that we must protect the rights of God in the world of human self-will. This is why dogmas are needed. Dogma is a wall, but not a prison, but a fortress. She keeps gift from barbarian raids. Over time, the barbarians will become the guardians of this gift. But first gift you have to protect yourself from them.

And this means that all the dogmas of Christianity are possible only because God is Love.

Christianity claims that the head of the Church is Christ Himself. He is present in the Church and leads it. Where does this confidence come from and can the Church prove it?

The best proof is that the Church is still alive. Boccaccio’s “Decameron” contains this proof (it was transplanted onto Russian cultural soil in Nikolai Berdyaev’s famous work “On the Dignity of Christianity and the Unworthiness of Christians”). Let me remind you that the plot is as follows.

A certain French Christian was friends with a Jew. They had good human relations, but at the same time the Christian could not come to terms with the fact that his friend did not accept the Gospel, and he spent many evenings with him in discussions on religious topics. In the end, the Jew succumbed to his preaching and expressed a desire to be baptized, but before Baptism he wished to visit Rome to look at the Pope.

The Frenchman had a clear idea of what Renaissance Rome was, and in every possible way opposed his friend’s departure there, but he nevertheless went. The Frenchman met him without any hope, realizing that not a single sane person, seeing the papal court, would want to become a Christian.

But, having met his friend, the Jew himself suddenly started talking about how he needed to be baptized as soon as possible. The Frenchman couldn’t believe his ears and asked him:

Have you been to Rome?

Yes, he was,” answers the Jew.

Have you seen dad?

Have you seen how the pope and the cardinals live?

Of course I saw it.

And after that you want to be baptized? - asks the even more surprised Frenchman.

Yes,” the Jew answers, “it’s precisely after everything I’ve seen that I want to be baptized.” After all, these people are doing everything in their power to destroy the Church, but if, nevertheless, it lives, it turns out that the Church is not from people, it is from God.

In general, you know, every Christian can tell how the Lord controls his life. Each of us can give a lot of examples of how God invisibly leads him through this life, and even more so it is obvious in managing the life of the Church. However, here we come to the problem of Divine Providence. There is a good work of art on this topic, it is called “The Lord of the Rings”. This work tells how the invisible Lord (of course, He is outside the plot) arranges the entire course of events in such a way that they lead to the triumph of good and the defeat of Sauron, who personifies evil. Tolkien himself clearly stated this in his comments to the book.

“One of the biggest differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat only has nine lives.”
-Mark Twain, Dupe Wilson's Calendar

Son of God, son of David or son of man? Jesus is called “son of David” fourteen times in the New Testament, starting with the very first verse (Matthew 1:1). Luke records forty-one generations between Jesus and David, and Matthias records twenty-eight. Jesus, a distant descendant, can be called “son of David” purely metaphorically. But how then should we understand the title “son of God”?

The "trilemma" is a common assumption among Christian missionaries, declaring that "Jesus was either a madman, a liar, or the son of God, as he claimed." For the sake of argument, let's agree that Jesus was neither crazy nor a liar. Let's also agree that he was exactly who he claimed to be. But who exactly was he? Jesus called himself “son of man” frequently, consistently, perhaps even emphatically, but where did he call himself “son of God?”

Let's pause. First, what does “son of God” mean? No legitimate Christian sect suggests that God took a wife and had a child, much less that God fathered a child through a human mother outside of wedlock. Moreover, the suggestion that God physically mated with an element of His creation, which smacks of the blasphemy of ancient Greek mythology, is as yet beyond the bounds of religious tolerance.

Without a rational explanation available within the beliefs of Christian doctrine, the only means to understand this issue is to create yet another doctrinal mystery. It is then that a Muslim remembers this question stated in the Koran:

“He is the First Creator of heaven and earth. How can He have a son if He does not have a wife? He created every thing and knows about all things.? (Quran 6:101)

...while others shout: “But God can do anything!” However, the Islamic worldview is such that the Almighty does not do anything inconsistent with His Holiness. According to Islamic doctrine, the character of God is an integral part of His essence and is consistent with His majesty.

So what does “son of God” mean? And if Jesus Christ has such exclusive rights, why does the Bible say: “...for I am the Father of Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn” (Jeremiah 31:9) and “...Israel is my son, my firstborn” (Exodus 4:22) )? Taking from the context of Romans 8:14, read as “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God,” many scholars conclude that “Son of God” is a pure metaphor and, as with the word christos, does not imply exclusivity. After all, the Oxford Dictionary of Judaism confirms that in Hebrew idiom "Son of God" is clearly metaphorical, citing that "son of God" is a term sometimes found in Jewish literature, biblical and post-biblical, but nowhere is it implied to be physically derived from Deities."[ 1 ] Hasting's Bible Dictionary comments:
In Semitic languages, "sonship" is a concept, somewhat loosely used, to denote morality rather than physical or metaphysical relationships. Thus the "sons of the devil" (Jg 19:22, etc.) are evil men, not the descendants of the devil; and in the New Testament the "children of the wedding" are the wedding guests. So a “son of God” is a person, or even people, who reflect the character of God. There is little evidence that this title was used in Jewish circles of the Messiah, and filial relations implying more than a moral relationship would be contrary to Jewish monotheism.[ 2 ]
In any case, candidates for "sons of God" begin with Adam, according to Luke 3:38: "...Adam's (son) of God."

To those who rebut by quoting Matthew 3:17 (“And behold, a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”) let us say that the Bible describes many people, including Israel and Adam, as “sons of God.” “Both II Samuel 7:13-14 and I Chronicles say, “He (Solomon) will build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son."

Entire nations are referred to as sons or children of God. Examples include:
Genesis 6:2, “Then the sons of God saw the daughters of men...”
Genesis 6:4, “At that time there were giants on the earth, especially since the time when the sons of God began to come in to the daughters of men...”
Deuteronomy 14:1, “You are the sons of the Lord your God.”
Job 1:6, “And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD...”
Job 2:1, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD...”
Job 38:7, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
Philippians 2:15, “That you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blame among a crooked and wicked people...”
1 Last John 3:1-2, “See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God... Beloved! We are now children of God..."
In Matthew 5:9, Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” And further, in 5:45, he instructs his followers to achieve noble traits of character: “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Not exclusively his Father, but their Father...

What is the most convincing proof that Jesus is God, and not the Son of Man, otherwise Muslims do not consider Christ as God, but as a prophet, and therefore have no faith in Him, although they expect the Second Coming! Thank you.

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

The Holy Scripture says that Jesus Christ is not only the Son of Man, but also God incarnate. When the Apostle Thomas believed in the resurrection of his Teacher, he said: “My Lord and God my!" (John 20:28). The Gospel of John begins: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"(1:1). In the text, the Word (Logos) that the New Testament books apply to Jesus Christ is directly called God. In Greek: “Theos en o Logos.” St. Apostle Paul writes: “And about Son: Thy throne, God, in the century of the century; The scepter of Your kingdom is the scepter of righteousness. You loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore You anointed You, God, Your God provides the oil of gladness more than your fellows” (Heb. 1:8-9). The Son of God is called God twice. In the Greek text in both cases there is Theos (Theos) - God. The Apostle Paul said to the elders of the city of Ephesus: “Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God which He purchased for Himself with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). The founder of the Church, Jesus Christ, who shed His Blood, is most definitely called God. In the Epistle to Titus we read: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking forward to the blessed hope and the great appearing of glory.” God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (2:11-13). What could be more specific: “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Can the evidence given have any weight for a Muslim? They can, because the Koran recognizes the authority of the Gospel: “And We sent Jesus, the son of Mary, after them, with confirmation of the truth of what was revealed before him in the Torah, and We gave him the Gospel, in which is guidance and light, and with confirmation of the truth what was revealed before him in the Torah, and a guide and admonition for the pious” (Surah 5). Representatives of Islam show obvious inconsistency: having the Gospel as their source about Jesus Christ, they change it in accordance with their religious constructions.

The divinity of Jesus Christ is proven not only by the text of the holy books of the New Testament, but also theologically. The Lord Jesus is the Savior of the world. He redeemed the human race from eternal death. The Redemptive Feat cannot be accomplished by any person, not even a prophet. This is available only to God incarnate. This idea was the starting point of St. Athanasius the Great in his fight against the false teaching of the Arians.

“This is how you know the Spirit of God (and the spirit of error): Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 4:2).

“One of the biggest differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat only has nine lives.”

Mark Twain, Dupe Wilson's Calendar

Son of God, son of David or son of man? Jesus is called “the son of David” fourteen times in the New Testament, beginning with the very first verse (Matthew 1:1). Luke records forty-one generations between Jesus and David, and Matthias records twenty-eight. Jesus, a distant descendant, can be called “son of David” purely metaphorically. But how then should we understand the title “son of God”?

The “trilemma” is a common assumption among Christian missionaries, declaring that “Jesus was either a madman, a liar, or the son of God, as he claimed.” For the sake of argument, let's agree that Jesus was neither crazy nor a liar. Let's also agree that he was exactly who he claimed to be. But who exactly was he? Jesus called himself “son of man” frequently, consistently, perhaps even emphatically, but where did he call himself “son of God?”

Let's pause. First, what does “son of God” mean? No legitimate Christian sect suggests that God took a wife and had a child, much less that God begat a child through a human mother outside marriage. Moreover, the suggestion that God physically mated with an element of His creation, which smacks of the blasphemy of ancient Greek mythology, is as yet beyond the bounds of religious tolerance.

“He is the First Creator of heaven and earth. How can He have a son if He does not have a wife? He created every thing and knows everything that exists?” (Quran 6:101)

In Semitic languages, "sonship" is a concept, somewhat loosely used, to denote morality rather than physical or metaphysical relationships. Thus the “sons of the devil” ( Jg 19:22, etc.) – evil men, not the descendants of the devil; and in the New Testament the “children of the wedding” are the wedding guests. So a “son of God” is a person, or even people, who reflect the character of God. There is little evidence that this name was used in Jewish circles of the Messiah, and filial relations implying more than a moral relationship would be contrary to Jewish monotheism.

In any case, candidates for the “sons of God” begin with Adam, according to Luke 3:38: “...Adam (son) of God.”

To those who refute by quoting Matthew 3:17 (“And behold, a voice from heaven saying: This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”) let us say that that the Bible describes many people, including Israel and Adam, as “sons of God.” Both II Samuel 7:13-14 and I Chronicles say: “He (Solomon) will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son.”

Entire nations are referred to as sons or children of God. Examples include:

Genesis 6:2, “Then sons of God saw the daughters of men..."

Genesis 6:4, “At that time there were giants on the earth, especially from the time sons of God began to come in to the daughters of men..."

Deuteronomy 14:1, “You sons Lord your God.”

Job 1:6, “And there was a day when they came sons of God stand before the LORD..."

Job 2:1, “There was a day when they came sons of God to appear before the LORD..."

Job 38:7, “When the morning stars rejoiced together, when all sons of God shouted for joy?”

Philippians 2:15, “That you may be blameless and pure, children of God blameless among an obstinate and corrupt people..."

1 Last John 3:1-2, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God... Beloved! We are now children of God..."

In Matthew 5:9 Jesus says: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” And further, at 5:45, he instructs his followers to achieve noble character traits: “Be sons of your Father in heaven.” Not exclusively his Father, but their Father... Hastings, James. Dictionary of The Bible. p. 143.

IS JESUS THE SON OF GOD or THE SON OF GOD?

Jesus is unique

There is no doubt that the New Testament portrays Jesus Christ as an outstanding man. The miracles He performed testified to the extraordinary power He possessed; His remarks reflect the very essence of human life, faith, true service to God; and His statements about Himself as the only source of future life are such that no one else would dare to express them. After His ascension, the Apostles said that He was endowed with all power, being at the right hand of God. And the assessment of the vital importance of His personality is expressed in the following words:

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the One True God, and those whom You have sent Jesus Christ" (John 17:3).

Of course, if we want to have hope for a future life, we must know the truth about Jesus Christ and His importance.

Conventional wisdom

Most of those who know anything about Jesus think of Him as part of the Godhead, as God the Son, who existed in heaven from the beginning of time, having equal authority and power with God the Father, but came down to earth and was born from the Israeli virgin, known to everyone as the Virgin Mary (Mother of God); His death on the cross was a sign of God's love for humanity, and then He returned to heaven to resume His exalted position. Trinity believers claim that the Holy Spirit is also part of the Godhead (God in three Persons), as taught in the doctrine of the Trinity. The relationship between the three Persons - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit - is very subtly understood by the learned theologians who defend this doctrine; most of those who simply accept it have a very vague idea about it.

Many religious people truly believe that Jesus is God. They look upon anyone who disagrees with this teaching as a “heretic” and “not a Christian.” We ask the reader to read this short brochure carefully. The author and all those who share his views firmly state that they truly believe that Jesus was and is really God's Son. They are not Unitarians who think of Jesus that He is only a great man; nor do they agree with those who believe that God adopted Jesus as His Spiritual Son. They believe that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God as stated in the scriptures.

Not in the Bible

It is very significant that the ideas contained in the doctrine of the Trinity cannot be found in the Bible. This is not a new discovery, but it was known a long time ago, back in the 4th century AD. Later theologians made this clear. For example, Anglican theologian J.G. Newman, who joined the Roman Catholic Church in 1845, wrote:

"...doctrine (i.e., what concerns the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) cannot be known only from the Holy Scriptures" ("Arians of the 4th century", p. 50).

Dr. W. R. Mathews, for many years Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, put it more emphatically:

"...the doctrine of the Trinity... was not known from the very beginning. The Holy Apostle Paul did not know it and could not have understood the meaning of this church theory, recognized by all churches at the present time" ("God in Christian Thought and Experience", p.180).

Many sincere admirers of Christ may feel disappointed to learn that the great Apostle Paul knew nothing about the doctrine of the Trinity!

How then did it arise?

To answer this question, we need to know when this happened. The answer is: only 300-400 years after the days of Jesus and His Apostles. Surprising but true! "Early Church Fathers" - theologians who wrote in 100 - 300 AD. e. - knew nothing about it and often expressed opinions contrary to this teaching. For most of them, the question of whether Jesus was “pre-eternal and equal with the Father” did not arise at all. He was subordinate to God, His Father, and considered a "created being." The views that now constitute the Doctrine of the Trinity were adopted as a result of the decisions of a number of Ecumenical Church Councils. Here are the most important ones:

325 AD The First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea declared that the Son from the very beginning had the same nature as the Father.

381 AD e. The Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople declared that, along with the Father and the Son, it is necessary to worship the Holy Spirit.

431 AD BC The Third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus decreed that Jesus had a dual nature - human and divine, that Mary was the "Mother of God", in contrast to those who claimed that she was the "mother of Christ".

451 AD BC The Fifth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon declared that the two natures in Christ constitute one Person and one will.

The gradual formation of the Doctrine of the Trinity over a long period of time is easy to follow when you compare the main Church teachings:

Apostolic Creed , undoubtedly an early creed, although the exact date is unknown, expresses the relationship between Christ and God as follows:

"... God, the Almighty Father... Jesus Christ, His only son... conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary..." After His resurrection, Christ "ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, from where He He will come to judge the living and the dead..."

This is completely consistent with what the Bible says.

Nicene creed , 325 AD e., declared that Jesus Christ exists

"the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds... God of God, the Existing God of the Existing God, having one essence with the Father... The Holy Spirit is revered and glorified together with the Father and the Son..."

Creed of Athanasius , the date is unknown, but it definitely arose at the beginning of the 6th century, even more expressively:

"We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in Unity... one Person - the Father, another Person - the Son and a third Person - the Holy Spirit. But the Divinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is all one; Equal Glory, Eternal Majesty. Father, always existing, the Son always existing and the Holy Spirit always existing. All are eternal, not three eternal, but one eternal." The record of the creed ends with the threatening words: “Whoever thinks this way about the Trinity will be saved.”

The new doctrine of the Deity led to much opposition from those who believed that they were holding to the original beliefs. The consequence of this was a bitter dispute between church leaders that lasted for more than a hundred years. The decisions of the Church Councils of the 5th and 6th centuries were adopted by the heads of the church to suppress all “rebels”. Thus, the official Doctrine of the Trinity was developed and proclaimed, and its acceptance was to be mandatory.

What does the Bible say?

Before the appearance of Jesus, the people of Israel for centuries deeply revered the writings of the Old Testament as a revelation of God who saved them and led them out of Egypt during the Exodus. What was their idea of the nature of God? The quote below gives us a clear answer to this question:

“Judaism is confident in the existence of God, it emphasizes one main idea about Him, which is a recognized dogma - the Unity of God. "Hear Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One." This phrase denies the belief in many gods, widespread in the Ancient World. It destroys the idea of the existence of two gods or two sources of creation, one of which is good and the other is evil. It is clear that this also denies the idea of the Trinity - Three Gods in One, which is now an established teaching of Christianity. For Judaism there can be absolutely no compromise in this fundamental understanding of the One and Only God, who is the ultimate creative source of all life and death, the elements of nature and history, the power that supports all physical and spiritual forces" (S. Pearl and P. Brooks." A Guide to Jewish Knowledge", pp. 96-97).

To this day, the Orthodox Doctrine of the Trinity remains the greatest obstacle to any Jew interested in the Christian religion.

In this modern age of unclear ideas, we must consider that the Old Testament that we have is the same collection of scriptures that was revered as the Word of God in the days of Jesus. Jesus Himself spoke of them as “the law... the prophets and psalms,” which contain prophecies about Himself. In Psalm 2 we read:

"You are My Son; I am now gave birth to you; Ask of Me, and I will give the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession" (verses 7-8).

From this follows a clear conclusion: God has anointed the One who will reign for Him (" My King") by all nations on earth. But He is the Son of God, because God “begot” Him. The ruler is not God; He is the Son of God, and He was born on the day He was born. Like all sons, the Father preceded Him. This is stated very clearly in the first verse of the New Testament:

"The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1).

In the beginning, when this "Son" first appeared among men, how did He think about Himself? The answer is beyond doubt. Jesus always said that He was subject to the Father, He always relied on Him in all His teaching and in all His work. Here are some of His own sayings:

“The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless he sees the Father doing...” (John 5:19).

“My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me” (John 7:16).

“For my Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).

When the Jews accused Him of making himself God, He denied it and said, “I am the Son of God” (John 10:34-36). He did not even allow himself to be called “good.” When one man turned to Him, saying: “Good Teacher,” He answered him:

"Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:18).

In His significant prediction, made shortly before the crucifixion, Jesus speaks of His coming to earth to reign:

“Then they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with much power and glory... But about that day or hour no one knows, not the angels of heaven, not the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:26,32).

When He resurrected, He said to Mary:

“Go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God” (John 20:17).

We cannot doubt the opinion that Jesus had of Himself: the Father is above Him in everything, the Son depends on Him.

Objection

We may sometimes hear that the gospel verses above about Jesus refer to the “days of His human flesh” and cannot be applied to Him when He was in an exalted position. Let's see what Scripture says about this. Now the time has come when Jesus rose from the dead; His mortal nature changed and He became immortal; having ascended into heaven, He sat down at the right hand of the Father:

“He humbled himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death... Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" ( Philippians 2:8-11).

The exaltation of Jesus and the high place He received in heaven was the work of the Father. Therefore, we should glorify the Father. All significant events in the life of Jesus are attributed to God the Father. It is “God who has made...Jesus Lord and Christ,” who “is God’s appointed Judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 2:36, 10:42).

The apostles turn many times to God and Jesus, who are now in heaven. They do it like this:

“Grace peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:7).

Exactly the same words are repeated in a number of Epistles. The book of Ephesians says:

“God bless the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ... God of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:3,17).

When they turn to God to Jesus in heaven, they always present them as two separate Persons, and primacy is always given to the Father.

The Book of Revelation of St. John is particularly interesting; it was probably written in 90 AD. e. or a little later. It contains examples where the Lord himself speaks about his relationship with God the Father. Notice how this revelation begins:

"Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show His servants what must soon take place...” (Revelation 1:1).

In the same chapter, Jesus addresses “the seven churches that were in Asia” (Verse 4). As we read further, we notice that many times he refers to God as His Father:

“He who overcomes will be clothed in white, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels” (Revelation 3:5; see also verses 12 and 21).

These are Jesus' own words; they were uttered approximately 60 years after His ascension into heaven, where He took His place of honor at the right hand of God. They indicate His relationship with God at this time. It becomes clear that God the Father has ultimate authority; gives revelations to His Son, Who sits with Him on His Throne; The Son calls Him “My God.” Thus, nothing indicates Jesus' equality with God.

The main proof that God the Father rules over His Son can be found where the Apostle Paul speaks about the reign of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:24-28):

“And then the end, when He (Christ) hands over the Kingdom to God and the Father, when He abolishes all rulership and all authority and power... When everything is subdued to Him (Christ), then the Son Himself will submit to Him who put all things in subjection to Him, so that God may be all in everything.”

The power of the Father over the Son cannot be understood more clearly. In the end, when the Father's purpose for people on earth comes true, the Son will return power over them to the Father. Let's soberly assess what this could mean. Jesus has been in heaven for almost 2000 years, He is to return to earth and reign here for 1000 years (Revelation 20:4). At the end of his reign, He returns the Kingdom to the Father, by which time the Son will already be immortal for about 3000 years! However, He must return the Kingdom to the Father! The subordination of the Son in glory to God the Father could not be more clearly expressed. Therefore, it is God the Father who will in the end be “All in All.”

Origin of the Son

The Gospel of Luke gives a simple and clear explanation of how Jesus was born. Mary, a God-fearing Israeli virgin from the line of King David, was visited by an Angel with an important message:

"Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with you: blessed are you among women... And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and you will give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus (Savior). He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David... and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:28-33).

Let's pause for a moment to appreciate what a joy and surprise it was for Mary and, as the Scriptures say, she was troubled by the words of the Angel as she pondered this message. She knew well the promises made to David more than 900 years ago. Through the descendant (Son) of David the kingdom of Israel must be restored and glorified and the reconciliation of Israel with God must take place. He must become the Messiah, whom the Jews have been waiting for so long, and she, Mary, will truly be His mother. Her child will reign on the throne of David!

But immediately a difficulty arose. Although Mary was betrothed to a God-fearing Israelite named Joseph, she was not yet married and, of course, having a child was out of the question. Therefore, Mary asks the Angel how this can happen when she does not know her husband. The angel gave her a definite answer:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

To complete the picture, we need to turn to the Gospel of Matthew, where this event is presented from the point of view of Joseph, Mary’s future husband. It says: “Before Joseph got married, Mary was already with a child from the Holy Spirit.” Joseph would have been completely justified if he had refused to take Mary as his wife. But the Angel had a commission for him from God:

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to receive Mary your wife, for that which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit; and she will bear a Son, and will call his name Jesus; for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21 ).

Thus, Joseph understands that this child will be the Messiah. Matthew explains all these incidents to us in the following way:

“And all this happened, that what was spoken by the Lord might be fulfilled through the prophet, who says (he cites the prophecy of Isaiah, given 700 years earlier) behold, the Virgin will be with child and bear a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel, which means: God is with us.” (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22-23).

These Divine messages to Mary and Joseph were messages of the greatest importance. The child is born with a great destiny: not only to reign forever on the Throne of David, but also to save people from their sins. However, our attention is focused on the origin of the child. Mary will be a mother, but Joseph will not be a father. The child will be conceived because a Higher Power, the Holy Spirit, will act on Mary to perform this miracle. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name “Son of God.” In the Bible we clearly read the teaching that “A virgin gave birth to Christ.”

Jesus, Son of Man

Many are reluctant to accept that Jesus, the Son of Man, was indeed a man just like us. Some believe that the idea that Christ had the same nature as ours, with all its shortcomings, brings Him down in our eyes, and creates doubt about His sinlessness.

We must again turn to the Bible for evidence. We already know well about His origin: the Son of God, but also the Son of Mary. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians:

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his (only begotten) Son, who was born of woman, made subject to the law” (Galatians 4:4).

“Subject to the law” means that He, as an Israelite, lived under the Law of Moses. Paul tells us why this was necessary: “To redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons” (Verse 5). The Jews lived under the Law, which condemned them because they could not keep it and not sin. Jesus was one of them, so he could rightfully be their representative in his work to atone for their sins.

The book of Hebrews explains how Jesus was perfected through suffering and became the “Prince of Salvation” for the sons and daughters of God. “For both He who sanctifies (Jesus) and those who are sanctified (believers) are all of One,” that is, they are of one nature . This is what is said next about sons and daughters, called “children” this time:

“And just as the children share in flesh and blood, He also took part in the same...” (Hebrews 2:10-14).

This is a clear statement that the nature of Jesus was exactly the same as that of his flesh and blood followers. The writer goes on to tell us why this was necessary:

“Therefore He had to become in every way like the brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest before God to make propitiation for the sins of the people; for just as He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:17-18).

In other words, Jesus, in order to fulfill His destiny as a “sin offering,” had to be of the same nature as the people He saved; and in order to become a merciful High Priest, He had to be tempted in all things. This is clearly stated in the chapter 4, verse 15:

“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.”

Despite this, many are very reluctant to accept the idea that Jesus really suffered from all temptations, just like us. Some believe that the thought of Jesus literally being tempted to sin could defile Him and make Him not sinless. This, however, is a big mistake. There is a stirring truth embodied in the life experience and death of Jesus to which we now turn.

Why was the Son of God born this way?

What was God's Purpose when He brought His Son into this world in this way? The following statements explain everything clearly:

“You shall call His name Jesus (Savior); for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

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

“But God proves His love for us by the fact that Christ died for us while we were still sinners... For if, being enemies (of God), we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by life Him” (Romans 5:8-10).

The content of these verses is that the work of Jesus Christ, under the leadership of God the Father, became a sacrifice for our sins to save people and reconcile them with God. This is the great work of redemption in Christ. We need redemption and salvation as the Bible says. Otherwise, our situation will be similar to the condition of the Ephesians, as the Apostle Paul said, at a time when they did not yet know the Gospel:

“At that time you were without Christ... You had no hope and were without god in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).

What a terrible conclusion! However, we are in the same circumstances - we would have no hope if God had not done through Christ what was required for our salvation. Therefore, the Good News of Christ is not just a pleasant excess, but it is vitally necessary for us to avoid eternal death.

The Vital Work of Christ

Here we come to a problem that we must solve. Humanity cannot independently save itself from the consequences of sin, that is, from death. But God, as the Scripture says, does not want “any to perish, but that all should come to repentance.” He wants “all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4). However, He cannot ignore sin and renounce His just authority over the world. Sin must be recognized, condemned and defeated so that people with zealous and sincere hearts will be taught a lesson, and they themselves will recognize His truth. People need a Redeemer who can do for them what they are incapable of doing in their weakness.

So, God sends His Only Begotten Son, born by the Power of His Holy Spirit, but who is, in the full sense, a member of the human race. This son experiences all human temptations, but steadfastly rejects them, deciding to act not according to his own will, but according to the will of the Father. It is very important to understand that Jesus decided to do this absolutely voluntary, God did not force Him to do this. But as it is written in the book of Hebrews:

“You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore Your God has anointed you, O God, with the oil of gladness more than your fellows” (Hebrews 1:9).

Thus, the representative of humanity, Christ, defeated sin in human nature, in flesh and blood, where previously it (sin) triumphed; Jesus showed man another way away from the fall, and, being sinless Himself, offered Himself as a sacrifice for sins. His death on the cross became the atonement for human sins. Thus God, having maintained His Righteousness and condemned sin, can now with the greatest love and mercy forgive sins and reconcile to Himself all people who acknowledge His work in Christ.

If Jesus, as part of the Godhead, already existed in heaven, then the knowledge of this would inevitably have a profound impact during His earthly life as “Jesus of Nazareth.” He would have known that His resurrection and ascension were predetermined. He would not have needed and was not capable of one's own free will make a decision to be obedient to God in spite of the natural desire to do something for yourself. His great victory over sin, as the representative of mankind, would have been impossible, and the necessary atonement for sin would not have been achieved.

A true understanding of the nature and experience of Jesus in “his days in the flesh” is essential for us if we are to understand the divine work of redemption in him.

Holy Spirit

The doctrine of the Holy Spirit as one of the Persons of the Trinity appeared later - in the 4th-5th centuries. This happened after it was declared that the Father and the Son are God, one in two Persons. The creed of the Apostles says nothing about this; the appearance of such a concept in the Nicene and Athanasian creeds is considered by many as a later invention.

The Bible presents the Holy Spirit differently. This is the power and energy with the help of which God achieves his goals. In the beginning, “the Spirit of God hovered over the waters,” as a result of which various acts of creation took place. All living creatures, man and animals, says the Psalmist, depend on God:

“You take away their spirit, they die, and return to their dust. You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth” (Psalm 103:29-30).

The life of all is sustained by His Spirit.

The prophets did not invent any predictions of their own, but spoke what they received from God: “For no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke them, being moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Jesus Himself performed miracles and spoke words of life because “God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with Power” (Acts 10:38).

Nowhere do the actions of the Holy Spirit suggest that He is a Person.

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