Proposition 2
- Tanner Hawkins
- 6 days ago
- 12 min read
Updated: 22 hours ago
Christadelphian Unamended First Principles
PROPOSITION 2
By Bro. Harold Thomas
PROPOSITION 2 – That Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God [not "God the Son"], begotten of the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, without the intervention of man, and afterwards anointed with the same Spirit, without measure, at his baptism. Isa. 7:14; 11:2; 41:1; 21:1; Matt. 1:18-25; 3:16-17; Luke 1:26-35; John 3:34; 7:16; 8:26-28; 14:10-24; Acts 2:22-24; Gal.4:4.
What It Means
This proposition relates to the man Jesus Christ, outlining the nature of his entrance into the earth and his relationship to the God of heaven. He was created within Mary by God’s Spirit power, and once Jesus was baptized, he himself was anointed with and given this Spirit power.
Scriptural Testimony
This proposition is extremely important because of the role Jesus plays in the purpose of God. The ultimate purpose of God is to fill this earth with His Glory as the waters cover the sea as we will see discussed in a later proposition (Habakkuk 2:14). God therefore shows in Scripture a plan to accomplish His purpose with the earth.
One of the most important aspects of this plan is that He would provide a Son, born of a woman, who would act as a representative of the human race. This Son would live his entire life without personal sin and thus conquer “sin in the flesh”, and by offering himself as a sacrifice for sin, he would be able to redeem fallen man from eternal death. Proposition 2 focuses on this Divine begettal, anointing with the Holy Spirit, and his baptism, and so we will only focus on these elements in this episode.
To break down this proposition, we will focus and elaborate on the six key phrases of this proposition. The first phrase is “the Son of God”.
1. The Son of God
Christ is the silver thread throughout the entire Bible. We see God’s Son Jesus referred to – though not named - in Genesis 3:16 soon after the fall in the Garden of Eden. We read,
Genesis 3:16 – And I will put enmity between thee (in reference to the serpent) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
As Scripture bares out, the seed of the woman is Jesus, who would deliver a dead blow to the head of the serpent – sin. This is the first direct mention of Jesus in the Bible, and it’s in connection with the fall of man because Christ’s role is to undo the wrong which man committed in the garden.
More than 40 times in the New Testament, we find the phrase “Son of God” in direct reference to Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary. We will read just three which are straight to the point. These testimonies come from the angel Gabriel, the Apostle Paul, and God Himself:
From the angel Gabriel, we read in
Luke 1:35 – And the angel answered and said unto her (Mary), The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Paul testifies to this as well, saying in
Romans 1:3-4 – Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; (4) And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Finally, for our consideration here, God publicly acknowledged Jesus as His son after he came out of the waters of baptism. We’re told in
Matthew 3:16-17 – And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: (17) And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
The Scriptures are clear – Jesus was the Son of God. He is the Son of God, not God the Son as we will see considered more in a later episode. But how Jesus would be born was also important in God’s plan, and this brings us to the second key phrase: “begotten”.
2. Begotten
John 3:18 says that Jesus is “the only begotten Son of God.” This word “begotten” is special. It means “single”, “only one of its kind” (Strong’s). This perfectly describes the nature of Christ’s origin.
Adam and Eve were the first two humans created by God, and they were created from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). They were “created” by God, not “born” of God. The rest of the human race after them has been created through Adam and Eve’s natural procreation, but Christ was created through a method that was different than any other human being. Jesus was indeed born of a woman just like all others after Adam and Eve, but God Himself was his Father – not man. Jesus was begotten directly by God through the vehicle of the woman Mary. We read in
Galatians 4:4 – But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.
We will see more on this as we progress, but the fact that Jesus was created by God’s power is essential to His plan. Let’s now consider Christ’s mother, a virgin woman named Mary.
3. Virgin Mary by The Holy Spirit, without the intervention of Man
God was Christ’s Father, but Mary was his mother. There are a total of 45 verses in the Bible which speak of Mary being the mother of Jesus. A virgin had to be chosen to become the mother of Jesus, for if he was born of a woman who was not a virgin, this would have been considered adultery if she was already married to a man. Being born from a non-virgin would have also removed the Divine credibility of Christ’s miraculous birth, for few would believe that a married woman who already had children would have a son who came from God, not her husband. The virgin-birth of Jesus was necessary and was foretold long before his actual conception.
Around 730 years before Christ was born, Isaiah prophesied of Christ’s birth:
Isaiah 7:14 – Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
The first chapter of Matthew records the circumstances surrounding Christ’s birth and says that his birth was the fulfillment of this very prophecy. As we read this, you will note that Matthew directly cites this prophecy in Isaiah:
Matthew 1:18-25 – Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together (meaning before they were fully married – they were engaged), she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. (19) Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily (meaning to divorce her). (20) But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit (the angel thus informed Joseph that she was still a virgin although she was with child). (21) And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (22) Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, (23) Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (24) Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: (25) And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
The miraculous nature of Mary’s conception is evident in this passage, for Joseph assumed that Mary had been with another man, not knowing that it was God who caused her to conceive. Joseph had determined to put Mary away – meaning to sever their marriage contract before they were fully married, and he would have done so had the angel Gabriel not appeared to him and taught him the truth.
It is abundantly evident from these verses that man had nothing to do with Mary’s pregnancy. Jesus was created by God’s Spirit power. It was totally without the intervention of any man. No place in Scripture speaks of or hints at any involvement of man. This redeemer would come from God directly, but as we will see in later propositions, Christ’s birth of a woman was necessary for him to act as a redeemer of the race.
4. Anointed with the same Spirit
Jesus was not only created by the Holy Spirit – he was later anointed with it after his baptism as we read earlier in Matthew 3. We’re also told in
Acts 10:38 – God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.
The word “anoint” means to apply oil (or ointment) to a person or object. This has been done down through the ages with oil for medical purposes, but it’s greatest meaning was in what it symbolized. In Scripture, to be anointed means to be “chosen, consecrated, or set apart for a divine purpose” (Strong’s). Kings of Israel like Saul and David were anointed with oil, symbolizing God’s spirit being placed upon them. Priests and prophets were anointed as well. Even furnishings of the tabernacle were anointed, showing that they were dedicated to God’s purpose and use.
While oil was symbolic of the Spirit, Jesus was anointed directly with God’s Holy Spirit after his baptism. It was not done in symbol, but in reality, and this showed that He is God’s chosen vessel to manifest His name and carry out His will. These roles which carry far into the future from our present day. He is the one sent by God. Jesus in said in
Luke 4:18 – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
Jesus himself knew that he was sent by God and could only perform miracles because his Father anointed gave him the power to do so. We see this explicitly expressed by Jesus himself in
John 5:19 – Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Scripture leaves us without any doubt that that Jesus was Anointed by His Father God for a very special purpose. We’ll see more on this as we look at our last two phrases in the subject Proposition, those are, “without measure” and “baptism”.
5. Without Measure
In the Old Testament, it is recorded that a few prophets received limited amounts or “measures” of God’s Spirit to allow them to perform miracles, heal the sick, and even a case or two, to raise the dead. God’s spirit power is what made this possible.
But regarding Jesus, we read,
John 3:34 – For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
Once Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit, he had God’s Spirit power without limitation. This is another thing which made him unique and above all other servants of God, and it explains why Jesus’ testimony is absolute and decisive: God sent Him, God speaks through Him, and God empowered Him with the Spirit without limitation. He is chief in God’s plan of salvation.
There are many other verses which speak to this subject like Isaiah 11:1-2, but these should serve the point. This explains why Jesus was able to perform the miracles that he did: healing people of infirmities, wielding command over nature, and having power to bring back others from the dead. Not only did he do this at his first coming, but he will do it in a far greater extent at his second coming. God has anointed him to rule the earth in the age to come like we see explained in
Acts 17:31 – he (God) hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained (or “appointed”), whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
Jesus is indispensable from God’s plan, even saying himself in
John 14:6 – I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The last phrase in this proposition that we’ll comment upon is “at his baptism”.
6. At His Baptism
The baptism of Jesus is puzzling for many, some saying that it was not truly necessary, but that Jesus simply did it because God wanted him to. But Jesus himself showed how important it was for him to be baptized by John. We read in
Matthew 3:13-17 – Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. (14) But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (15) And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. (16) And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: (17) And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Much is in this passage, and we will cover it quite briefly. Baptism is for the remission of sins, and though Jesus was under the Law of God as given by Aaron and Moses, he had no personal sin and thus many question, “Why did Jesus insist that John baptize him?” Christ’s answer was that it was essential in order “to fulfill all righteousness”. If Jesus was not baptized, he would not be able to play his special role in God’s plan.
The main reason he had to be baptized relates to sin. As we will see explained more in a later episode, sin is not just personal transgression. Man is born in a state of corruption and alienation from God (Romans 5:12, Ephesians 2:12). Because Christ was sent to be a representative of the fallen race of man and redeem them, it was critical that he truly represent them and be “made like unto his brethren” as we’re told in Hebrews 2:17. Baptism is what removes this condemnation for us (Romans 6:3-6, 8:1-3), and it therefore did the same for Christ. It was for this reason that God only publicly acknowledged Jesus as His Son after he came out of the waters of baptism. Jesus was therefore baptized into his own death just as we are.
We also believe that his baptism harkens to the Old Testament and relates to how high priests consecrated. High priests like Aaron were bathed in water as a means of preparation for the priesthood. He was consecrated to the Lord God as a priest on behalf of his brethren. Christ’s baptism prepared him for this as well.
This was also the time God chose to anoint him as we already discussed, and it is important to note that he could only be anointed after he was cleansed. God directly and publicly declared Jesus to be his Son, and Jesus then went about teaching by word and deed and working miracles, demonstrating an impeccable character and providing the example of all time for fallen mankind for those who come to repentance and call upon the name of God in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Let’s now briefly consider why this is a first principle.
Why This a First Principle
Understanding that Christ is the Son of God, son of the virgin Mary, and was anointed by the Holy Spirit is essential to our salvation because it directly relates to our understanding of the redeemer of the race. Jesus had to come in the form and the way he did in order to be a sufficient offering for sin and mediator between God and man, and if we do not believe on him and that he is who God says he is, Jesus cannot intercede for us. Belief in God and His Son is the starting point for salvation. The importance of this is given to us by Jesus himself in
John 3:16-18 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Christ also says in
John 17:3 – And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Not knowing God or the man who was sent by God is a barrier to eternal life. It is therefore essential that we know and believe in Christ and that he is in fact the Son of God, and we are to do to the best of our ability as he commands.
There is much more that could be said on these subjects, but this hopefully provides a sufficient overview. It is important to understand why Jesus is needed in the plan of God in the first place, and this is the subject of proposition 3 which will be discussed in the next episode.
