A MUSLIM, Gerald Jibreel Lardizabal, insists that the Lord Jesus is NOT THE ONLY “SON OF GOD.”
Muslims say there are other people called by God as His “son.” They ask, “Are these other ‘sons’ God also?” referring to the Christian belief that the Lord Jesus is God because He is the “Son of God.”
So, they seem to be confused by the term “SON OF GOD.” They think there is ONLY ONE MEANING for it.
They are wrong.
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A. QUICK RESPONSE:
Simply put, Muslims DO NOT KNOW what “Son of God” means. They also DO NOT UNDERSTAND why God calls certain persons as “My son.”
In the Bible, being God’s son has two meanings: LITERAL and FIGURATIVE.
a. Literally, God has ONLY ONE SON, the Lord Jesus Christ, His ONLY BEGOTTEN. The Lord Jesus CAME OUT of the FATHER (John 16:28), like a child comes out of his parent.
b. Figuratively, God CALLS some people as His “son,” because He MADE THEM His children either by adoption or because HE CREATED THEM. Example, Adam (Luke 3:38), Israel (Exodus 4:22-23), and Solomon (1Chronicles 17: 13; 22:10; 28:6).
In these, God MADE THEM His sons. A TRUE SON is NOT MADE. HE is BEGOTTEN.
In contrast, God PUBLICLY introduced ONLY ONE PERSON as HIS SON—the Lord Jesus. (Matthew 3:17; 17:5)
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B. ADDED INFORMATION:
Muslims IGNORE the DIFFERENCES between the LITERAL and FIGURATIVE MEANINGS of being God’s “son.” The NEED to IGNORE the TRUTH. If not, they would admit that the Lord Jesus was indeed God.
Let us examine the verses where God CALLED certain persons as His “son.”
a. Exodus 4:22-23
Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD: Israel is my firstborn son.
I said to you, "Let my son go that he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; now I will kill your firstborn son.'"
Here, God collectively refers to the NATION of ISRAEL as His “firstborn son.” Obviously, this is NOT LITERAL.
God called ISRAEL His son because HE CHOSE IT to be His PEOPLE.
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b. 1Chr 17:13
I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you,
1Chr 22:10
He shall build a house for my name. He shall be a son to me, and I will be a father to him, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.'
1Chr 28:6
He said to me, 'It is your son Solomon who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him.
This refers to Solomon. Again, God as the “father” of Solomon and Solomon as His “son” is NOT LITERAL.
Take note, God used the FUTURE TENSE: “I WILL BE a father …”, “He SHALL BE a son …”
God also said, “I have CHOSEN HIM TO BE a son to me.”
Clearly, GOD ONLY MADE Solomon as a son. Solomon was NOT a NATURAL SON of God.
NONE of those called by God as “son,” proclaimed that God was their FATHER. God was simply GOD.
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IN CONTRAST, God PUBLICLY DECLARED that the Lord Jesus was HIS SON.
Matthew 3:17 and 17:5
“And a voice from heaven said, "THIS IS MY SON, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
In the ORIGINAL GREEK, the word used for “beloved” is “AGAPETOS.” It is often used to refer to someone who is ONE AND ONLY.
That supports the declarations that the Lord Jesus is the ONLY SON OF GOD.
a. JOHN 1:14
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a FATHER’S ONLY SON, full of grace and truth.”
b. JOHN 1:18
“No one has ever seen God. It is GOD THE ONLY SON, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.”
c. JOHN 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave HIS ONLY SON, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
d. JOHN 3:18
“Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the ONLY SON OF GOD.”
e. 1JOHN 4:9
“God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent HIS ONLY SON into the world so that we might live through him.”
How did JOHN KNOW that the Lord Jesus was GOD’S ONLY SON?
John knew because HE PERSONALLY KNEW the Lord Jesus. The Apostle HEARD the LORD JESUS TEACH and SPEAK that GOD is HIS FATHER. He was a WITNESS.
NO OTHER person in the BIBLE was DECLARED as GOD’S ONLY SON. ONLY the Lord Jesus was PROCLAIMED as the ONE SON of GOD.
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C. MUSLIM ERROR
Muslims need to insist that the Lord Jesus is not God because their Quran has said it so.
But HOW DID the QURAN KNOW that the Lord Jesus is not God? Did their PROPHET MUHAMMAD, who GAVE the Quran to Muslims, PERSONALLY KNOW the LORD JESUS?
NO. The Lord Jesus lived in the 1ST CENTURY. Muhammad and Islam only appeared in the 7TH CENTURY. Islam’s prophet COULD NOT HAVE KNOWN who the Lord Jesus was. So, he or the Quran could not have any basis to say that the Lord Jesus was “not the only Son of God.”
Compare that to the declarations of JOHN the APOSTLE that the Lord Jesus was the ONLY SON OF GOD. John MET and KNEW the Lord. He was a WITNESS to the Christ.
Muhammad NEVER KNEW the Lord Jesus.
So, WHO SHOULD be BELIEVED?
I CHOOSE to BELIEVE the WITNESS JOHN.
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