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. (John 3:16 – NIV)
Actually, John 3:16 DOES NOT SAY that God SENT someone named “JESUS.” It says he sent (or gave) his only Begotten Son.
Care must be taken here because it is critical to understanding.
When God sent his only begotten Son, there was no Jesus. Jesus had not come into existence yet and had to be born. Jesus did not know who he was (The Son of God) for 29 years of his life. It was not until he was baptized that he was told – by his Father in heaven – that he had a pre-human existence in heaven as a Son of God.
Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am! (John 8:58)
and …
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (John 17:5)
We know that the one who was named Jesus by his human parents proved to be that heavenly angelic Son of God whose life’s force was transferred into Mary who, in turn, produced a manchild.
A study of Scripture shows that the one who BECAME Jesus was NOT God’s “one and only Son.”
The man Adam was a “son of God.”
The son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (Luke 3:38)
The angelic hosts are referred to as “sons of God.” (Gen 6:4 and Job 38:4-7)
The “angelic” being (son of God) who lived in heaven who was sent into the world to BECOME the man many know in English as Jesus [the] Christ (Messiah), was the FIRST entity God created BEFORE he created the heavens and the things in them and the earth and the things in it.
Notice what Col 1:15 says concerning this Son of God:
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
See that?
“THE FIRST BORN OVER ALL CREATION”
Notice that Col 1:15 does not give the name Jesus. Jesus is the name of the man-child (son of man). This “Son of God” is the angelic creature that God created before anything else was created. This “Son of God” was the one God loved and adored but dispatched him (gave him) into the world. It was this FIRST Son of God that transferred it’s life’s force into the womb of Mary who gave birth to the one known as Jesus.
As stated earlier, Jesus did not know he had a pre-human existence in heaven as the first angel; the first creation by God. He had no clue as to his being a Son of God. It was not until his baptism that he was told – by his Father in heaven – that he was His Son (The Son of God). (Matthew 3:13-17)
What makes this FIRST angelic Son of God different from the others is that it was “Begotten.” What does that mean?
It means that this FIRST angelic Son of God was created DIRECTLY by God. No other creation in the heavens or on earth can claim a “begotten” status. Why? Because everything else that was created after this FIRST BEGOTTEN Son of God was created “through” this Son of God. This is what the Scriptures says at Col 1:15-17 (Notice what I capitalized):
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the FIRSTBORN OVER ALL CREATION. FOR IN HIM ALL THINGS WERE CREATED: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; ALL THINGS HAVE BEEN CREATED THROUGH HIM and for him. HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS, and in him all things hold together.
When the man Jesus died, it was not a man that ascended into heaven. It was the original FIRST Son of God going back to his station next to God that he had in the beginning.
So John 3:16 DOES NOT focus on a name, but rather, it focuses on that fact that God sent an angel – A Son of God. No man was dispatched out of heaven. The FIRST angel God created – His Only Begotten – was sent and that angel transferred it’s life’s force into Mary and Mary produced a son who her and her husband gave the name of Jesus (Yeshua) to.
That male child walked 29 years on the earth not knowing that he had an existence in heaven as a Son of God BEFORE becoming a man.
That is one of the reasons why Jesus had so many problems with people believing him when – after his baptism – he said all of a sudden was claiming he is The Son of God. The people knew that for 29 years of his life he did not make this claim. They knew his parents. It was only AFTER he was baptized by John the Baptizer did God reveal to him his “pre-human” existence as an angelic “Son of God.” God’s FIRST creation.
Take another look at John 3:16 and understand who it was God sent: An ANGEL to the woman Mary who produced the person we know as Jesus [the] Christ.
Upon his death as a human and ascension back into heaven, did this angel resume taking upon himself his heavenly name – the name he had when he was created as an angel – or did keep the name given him by his human parents?
Do Scripture tell us the name of this angel – Son of God – who was sent by God into the world of mankind? Who is it should the world expect to return, a man by the name of Jesus, or this angel?
These questions I will answer in another article to follow shortly.
