The Beloved Son of God

Background Scripture: John 3; Isaiah 11; Luke 9:28-35
Lesson Scripture: Mark 1:9-11; Isaiah 42:1-7; Luke 9:35

Introduction

Jesus Redeemer, name above all names! Lord, Savior, Friend, Master, Messiah, King and Conquerer, Servant of All. So many names of grace and beauty that describe Him that we hardly can take in more than one at a time. This quarter of Sunday school we will study about Jesus and his words and ministry.

One Solitary Life

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.

He grew up in another obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty.

Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never had a family or owned a home.

He never set foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born.

He never wrote a book or held an office. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness.

While He was still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends deserted Him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial.

He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, his executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had—his coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave.

Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure for much of the human race. All the armies that ever marched and all the navies that ever sailed and all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as this one solitary life. 1

In a wonderful yet mysterious way, we too can be drawn into the wonder of Jesus. As we come face to face with his humility, his wisdom, and his love, we, like countless believers before us, can become consumed and taken in by the story of the gospel. How well do we know Him? He told us to learn about Him, so for the next three months let us try and do exactly that.

1 Adapted from a sermon by James Allan Francis

The Beloved Son of God

Lesson 1

December 3, 2023

Background Scripture: John 3; Isaiah 11; Luke 9:28-35

Lesson Scripture: Mark 1:9-11; Isaiah 42:1-7; Luke 9:35

Introduction

The love that God has for his Son is beyond human comprehension. The love a parent has for a child is only a portion of the love God has for his only begotten Son. The more we understand God’s love for his Son, the better we will comprehend his love for the souls of men. When an understanding of the love of God settles into our hearts, then his Son, Jesus, will become beloved to us also.

Key Verse

For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (2 Pet. 1:17).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

The time had come for Jesus to begin his ministry. The last item He would build in the carpenter shop was completed, and the last repair was made. The years between his time in Jerusalem as a twelve-year-old boy and the beginning of his ministry had passed one by one. The Bible is silent on those years, but they were surely quiet and peaceful as Jesus lived a normal, everyday village life in Nazareth.

Isaiah, the prophet of redemption, lived and prophesied about 700 years before the birth of Christ. Though not much is known of his life, he was probably born in Jerusalem and may have been of the royal house of Judah. He prophesied during the reigns of four kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He is often considered the greatest of the Old Testament prophets.

No Son was ever loved more than the Son of God. Dearly beloved by God and adored by the angels, the Son of God fully pleased the Father in all He said and did.

The coming of Christ and his life, death, and resurrection were the fulfillment of Isaiah’s Old Testament prophecies. The visions of a kingly yet suffering Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth” (Isa. 53:7). “The government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever” (Isa. 9:6-7). The beloved Son of God did not cling to his equality with the Father but quietly bore the penalty for our sin. He is now reigning over the everlasting kingdom of God. The passage that states “He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles” indicates that the gospel of Jesus Christ is intended for all nations of the world.

Practical Truths for Today

The heavenly Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). He chose to do this for his human, earthly children. God used the virgin Mary as a vessel whereby Jesus came to this earth. “In the Thirty-three Articles of Faith we read, ‘His flesh or body became flesh, not of Mary or of any created substance, but only of the Word of life which had come down from heaven’ (Art. 14, p. 47).” 1

There are many things we do not understand about God. However, the Word teaches us that there is no other name given under heaven whereby God’s human, earthly family could have a hope of being in heaven for all eternity. We fell from grace and were disobedient; it was only by the love of the Father that we could be redeemed.

In John 3:17 we read, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Perhaps some may wonder why it says He was not sent to condemn the world. The world was already condemned—God’s holy law had already done so. Fallen mankind would never be able to live the purity of the law. With this in place, God sent his Son to save the world, to save us from our sins.

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Pet. 1:18-20). This plan whereby we can be saved was set in order before the world was even made. In this, Jesus never wavered and was completely surrendered to his Father. He went through with the plan of salvation, even though it meant he would suffer and die on the cross.

“It is explicit and clear that the Son of God was willing to lay aside His divine attributes, and become man, because of our sins. He was one with the Father (being in the form of God) in wisdom, glory, purity, power, majesty, holiness and justice, and reigned with Him in heaven. Oh! how great a condescension and humiliation it was, for the Son of God to forsake His divine attributes, the likeness of God, and assume the form of a servant. Instead of reigning in heaven in His Godhead, He humbled Himself, and came in the form of a servant to save us poor sinners through His sacrifice. If Christ had sought to retain that which was His, and had not voluntarily sacrificed His likeness with God, what would have been our fate? But, thanks be to God for He, although ‘the joy was set before Him,’ suffered the cross, despised the shame, was willing for our sake to leave His heavenly riches and joy, and become poor for the sake of fallen mankind, and suffered, so that we could become rich and receive everlasting joy.” 2

Has the beloved Son of God become precious to us? Love is an action word. In Romans 5:6-8 we read, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” We know God loves us by the vicarious death of his Son.

“If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:23-24). We can say we love the Lord, but if we are not obedient to Him, then our claim of loving Him is without a true foundation. Lacking that foundation, our hope of eternal life with the Father is in serious question.

Illustration

In Luke chapter 15 we read of two sons. These sons were dearly beloved by their father. One son asked for his inheritance, perhaps because he felt he needed to continue with his life. He took that which his father gave him and traveled to a far country. The other son remained at home and continued to be resident at his father’s house.

The prodigal son, after wasting his father’s generous gifts, sensed the love of his father still reaching out to him there in the far country where he was feeding the swine. The memories of home came floating into his mind, and a real longing entered his heart to again be with his father. He took stock of his situation, and he began the long journey home back to his father.

We have also, at times, squandered that which the Father has given us. We have not listened to the Holy Spirit as we should have. The blessings and privileges we have in being a part of the church of God are at times taken for granted, and sometimes we complain about the direction that the church has for us. Even when we find ourselves to have strayed, the love of the Father reaches to us, and He beckons us to come back into his care, his love, and his embrace.

Upon returning, the father, having seen his son from afar, came and fell on his neck and kissed him. He again clothed him in the best of garments; he put shoes on his feet and put a ring on his finger. Then he killed the fattened calf and gave a feast.

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. . . . Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:8, 10). The younger son in Luke 15 humbled himself and returned to his father. We also are humbling ourselves as we return to our heavenly Father after we have strayed. We find, as the Word has promised, that our heavenly Father is waiting and ready to receive us. He again clothes us with the garments of righteousness. He fills us with his Holy Spirit and again gives us a place among the brotherhood.

Questions

1. What is meant by “he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles”? (Isa. 42:1).
2. Explain: “The isles shall wait for his law” (Isa. 42:4).
3. Would a greater love for the Savior help us in our struggle against worldliness, materialism, and the evil spirits that are trying to find an inroad into our hearts? How do we obtain a greater love?
4. 1 Bible Doctrine and Practice, pp. 40-41
5. 2 John Holdeman (1832-1900), Mirror of Truth, p. 23

Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).