The Son and the Father

 Is it a problem, scripture addresses, for God the Most High to have a Son, literally called the Son of God? Psalms which addressed it are especially relevant because it was someone, king David, writing the psalms who was himself given promises of having a future son who would be called God’s son. The ancient Israelite king David who wrote many of the psalms wrote how the Most High said to David’s lord “Sit at my right hand” and told this lord that his throne would be forever. This Most High also said to this lord “You are My son”. It might all have been a little ambiguous, though, in the later time of Jesus, so Jesus addressed it diligently, as John’s gospel records. Jesus claimed to actually be this lord who had been spoken of by David centuries earlier in those psalms. So Jesus was clearing up ambiguities about himself. The miracles God gave him to perform were God, the Father’s, way to back up this self-testimony of Jesus, to make it more appropriate for Jesus to be preaching a testimony about himself. Jesus addressed a real problem: This was the problem later described as the problem of two powers in heaven. Scripture ostensibly did not allow for it, unless you dug down into these psalms where it is clear that there is this lord, the lord psalm-writer King David called “my lord” who is addressed by the Most High and thus distinct from the Most High, but nevertheless there at the right hand of this Most High God. It is remarkable that Jesus solved this problem by stated unequivocally that he and the Father are one. It is as if he was going beyond the mere problem of his claim to be Son of God by addressing the even deeper problem that if God did have a son, and this son was given to reign forever at God’s right hand, it would imply two powers in heaven, and make certain scriptures about God saying “I alone am God”, and “there is none apart from Me” rather difficult to reconcile with the existence forever of such a son. Jesus reconciles it by pointing out his unity with the Father, and by emphasising that the Father is still alone the Most High God. Humans can be called gods. Jesus appealed to this to reconcile the further problem of this son being a human. How, one might argue, can there be a human called by God His Son, right there forever reigning with God? Jesus addressed it by showing how it is all right there in the scripture psalms, but clarifies these with other relevant scriptures by pointing out his deep unity with the Father who is forever the Most High God. He, Jesus, is not a second power in that he is fully at one with the one true Most High, and not a challenger to that highest claim. Later he clarified the nature of this unity by praying for the same kind of unity to be given by God to Jesus’ disciples. Being one with the Father in such unity meant he can be forever there beside the Father and the Father still to be the Most High God. It also meant that there can be one who is human in this exalted position with the Most High. And Jesus would forever subject himself to this Most High, as Paul later put it, so this God is still forever the God who is all in all. Then, as John in Revelation later put it, the Son would be forever reigning from the throne of the One seated in heaven: The human Son of God, is seen forever there with the Father, and it is this Father alone who is called “the One”. The Father has the throne and forever it is He who shares it with His human Son. He has it and has power to share it even with a human, who He calls His Son. Jesus clarified it all and reconciled the scriptures which seemed in tension, and he did so first personally and then through apostles he sent out to proclaim him. He testified to the truth of it all, and sent others to do so, and the Father gave testimony too in the miracles given to these to do. 

References

Note that AI was used to list and organise these references, and the text accompanying them and explaining them is AI-generated (by ChatGPT, June 2026). See https://chatgpt.com/share/6a40a3bf-046c-83ed-8668-1bd09a1e78e3 . 

The Most High declares His King to be His Son

Psalms Psalm 2:6–12

"Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

I will declare the decree: The LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance...

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry..."

Relevance: The foundational Psalm declaring God's anointed king to be "My Son."

David's Lord seated at God's right hand

Psalms Psalm 110:1–4

"The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool....

The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."

Relevance: David distinguishes "the LORD" from "my Lord," yet this Lord sits forever at God's right hand.

David's promised son

2 Samuel 2 Samuel 7:12–16

"I will set up thy seed after thee...

I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

I will be his father, and he shall be my son...

Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever."

Relevance: God's covenant with David promises a royal son who is called God's son.

1 Chronicles 1 Chronicles 17:11–14

"I will be his father, and he shall be my son...

I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever."

God's uniqueness

Isaiah Isaiah 43:10–11

"Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour."

Isaiah Isaiah 44:6

"I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."

Isaiah Isaiah 45:5–6

"I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me."

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 6:4

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD."

Jesus identifies David's Lord

Matthew Matthew 22:41–46

"If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?"

Relevance: Jesus explicitly identifies himself with Psalm 110.

Parallel passages:

• Mark Mark 12:35–37
• Luke Luke 20:41–44

Jesus claims unity with the Father

John John 10:24–38

Especially:

"I and my Father are one."

and

"The Father is in me, and I in him."

Relevance: Central passage for the unity of Father and Son.

The Father is greater

John John 14:28

"My Father is greater than I."

The only true God

John John 17:1–3

"...that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

Jesus explains "gods"

John John 10:34–36

"Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

If he called them gods...

Say ye of him... Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?"

Jesus is quoting:

Psalms Psalm 82:6

"I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High."

The Father's testimony through works

John John 5:31–37

"The Father himself... hath borne witness of me."

John John 10:25

"The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me."

Acts Acts 2:22

"Jesus... a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him...."

Unity extended to believers

John John 17:20–23

"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee...

that they may be one, even as we are one."

The Son remains subject to the Father

1 Corinthians 1 Corinthians 15:24–28

Especially:

"Then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him...

that God may be all in all."

God exalts the Son

Philippians Philippians 2:8–11

"God also hath highly exalted him...

every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Hebrews' use of the Psalms

Hebrews Hebrews 1:1–13

Especially:

"Unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son..."

and

"Sit on my right hand..."

This chapter explicitly joins Psalm 2 and Psalm 110.

Stephen sees the Son beside God

Acts Acts 7:55–56

"I see... the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."

Christ at God's right hand

Ephesians Ephesians 1:20–23

"...set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places."

Colossians Colossians 3:1

"Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."

The throne in Revelation

Revelation Revelation 3:21

"I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."

Revelation Revelation 5:6–13

The One seated on the throne and the Lamb are both present in heavenly worship.

Revelation Revelation 7:10

"Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb."

Revelation Revelation 22:1–5

"The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it...

and his servants shall serve him."

Supporting passages

• Daniel Daniel 7:13–14 — the Son of Man receives everlasting dominion from the Ancient of Days.
• Acts Acts 13:32–39 — Paul applies Psalm 2 to Jesus.
• Romans Romans 1:3–4 — Jesus declared to be the Son of God.
• 1 Timothy 1 Timothy 2:5 — "one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."
• Hebrews Hebrews 5:5–10 — Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 brought together again regarding Christ.

Taken together, these passages form a coherent scriptural chain: God's covenant with David (2 Samuel 7), the royal Psalms (especially Psalms 2 and 110), Jesus' own interpretation of those Psalms (Matthew 22; John 10), his teaching on his unity with the Father (John 10; John 17), the Father's testimony through Jesus' works (John 5; Acts 2), Paul's teaching that the Son remains subject to the Father so that "God may be all in all" (1 Corinthians 15), and John's vision of the Father and the Lamb sharing the divine throne in Revelation. 

Serve Christ and not the Beast

 Boastful threats sometimes grow so great they threaten the gospel and the authority of Jesus Christ in the life of a believer. There is power in Christ to overthrow such threats but only in the good timing of the Father’s will. So we will see looming non-Christ powers grow up and sometimes look like they will occlude the light of Jesus Christ in our lives, and then suddenly divine power overcoming them, until they look likely to resurge again. There are three great powers looking likely to occlude Christ in the coming decades: USA (along with Israel), China, and Russia. There will always be a growth of these powers, in the coming few decades, alongside the dominance ever present from Europe, which is there standing on the sidelines like a supporter at a sports event. From time to time the way of the Father is to remind everyone who it is who will one day overcome them, Jesus Christ. God sends occasional signs of this: Miracles, and judgments, and the kind of events we call ‘acts of God’. Yet we are commanded to be patient and endure if we are among those called to be saints through these times. The hope is the coming of Jesus Christ who will end the growing dystopia. Uppermost in that hope is his great resurrection of his faithful, and along with it the transformation to immortality of the faithful still alive when he comes. Come Lord Jesus. But it is a great challenge in the meantime if you are to be faithful even though you know you are living in the very power system this Christ will overthrow. Do not serve the future dystopian system that power will one day become, if you can avoid it. And stay faithful to the one who will overthrow it at his coming. The next decades will be tough and we must tough it out while we live our lives. Serve Christ and not the Beast. 

John the Baptist

 Who was John the Baptist and why does he matter today?

John the Baptist was a truly great first century preacher because in effect he announced a new divine Passover. It was the Passover in which God provided Jesus Christ as the sacrificial lamb. Passover is the feast in which there is a lamb sacrificed by each participating household, originally in divine preparation for the ancient Israelite people leaving slavery in Egypt millennia ago. A few Egyptians who believed also participated. With the later first century Passover the whole thing starts again but this time the household is the household of disciples of Jesus but is for the sins of the whole world too, as many as believe. John the Baptist spent years preaching and foretelling this divine event, before it took place not long after he died a martyr. It prepared everyone for this great new Passover, and many of the disciples of Jesus had started off as disciples of John the Baptist, prepared by him for their life of faith in Jesus and their discipleship as holders to the teachings of Jesus. The inner circle were there to participate in that Passover Last Supper when it happened. Jesus Christ called John the Baptist the greatest of all prophets who came before him and more than a prophet. But Jesus went on to say that anyone included in the kingdom of God is greater still. This is the kingdom created by that Passover in which Jesus was the lamb sacrificed. 

Compare the first Passover with the Passover in the first century AD when the lamb of God was Jesus Christ.

 AI (ChatGPT, June 2026) answers it:

https://chatgpt.com/share/6a3ccdda-d588-83ed-8e8a-bae418cbdfaa

Many Christians see a deliberate parallel between the first Passover in Egypt and the death of Jesus Christ during Passover in the first century AD. The New Testament explicitly identifies Jesus as the Passover lamb, especially in First Epistle to the Corinthians 5:7: "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."

Here's a comparison:

First Passover (c. 13th century BC, according to biblical chronology)	Passover in the First Century AD (Jesus Christ)
Israel was enslaved in Egypt.	Humanity is portrayed as enslaved to sin and death.
God sent Moses to deliver Israel.	God sent Jesus to bring spiritual salvation.
A spotless male lamb was chosen.	Jesus is presented as sinless and without blemish.
The lamb was sacrificed.	Jesus was crucified.
The lamb's blood was applied to the doorposts.	Jesus' blood is understood by Christians to provide atonement for believers.
The blood protected households from judgment.	Faith in Christ is believed to save from divine judgment.
The firstborn were spared where the blood was present.	Believers receive spiritual life through Christ.
Israel was freed from physical bondage.	Believers are freed from the power of sin.
The Passover meal commemorated deliverance from Egypt.	The Lord's Supper commemorates Christ's sacrificial death.
The event marked the beginning of Israel as a covenant nation.	Christ's sacrifice inaugurated the New Covenant.

Significant Parallels

1. The Lamb

In the original Passover (described in Book of Exodus 12), each family sacrificed an unblemished lamb. In the New Testament, John the Baptist calls Jesus "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

2. The Blood

The blood on the doorposts identified those under God's protection. Christians understand Jesus' blood as the means by which believers are reconciled to God.

3. Deliverance

The first Passover resulted in Israel's liberation from Egypt and eventually led to the Exodus. Christians see Jesus' death and resurrection as bringing liberation from sin, death, and separation from God.

4. Timing

All four Gospels place Jesus' final days during the Passover season. The Gospel accounts emphasize that his death occurred in close connection with the Passover observance, reinforcing the symbolism.

Important Differences

First Passover	Jesus' Passover Sacrifice
Repeated annually.	Viewed by Christians as a once-for-all sacrifice.
Animal sacrifice.	Human sacrifice of the Messiah.
Applied to one nation (Israel).	Offered for people of all nations.
Delivered from physical death and slavery.	Delivers from spiritual death and sin.

Theological Summary

From a Christian perspective, the first Passover was both a historical act of deliverance and a foreshadowing of Christ. Just as the blood of the Passover lamb spared Israel and led to freedom from Egypt, Jesus—the "Lamb of God"—shed his blood to bring salvation and freedom from sin. Thus, Christians often view the original Passover as a "type" or prophetic picture that finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ during the Passover of the first century AD.