DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE SON OF GOD?

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

APRIL 20, 2022  

TOPIC: DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE SON OF GOD?

 BY T. O. BANSO

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’” (John 9:35 New King James Version).

One of the accusations of the Jewish leaders against Jesus before His crucifixion was that He called Himself the Son of God. They considered this a blasphemy. In Luke 22, when, after His arrest, He was brought before the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, they came together and led Him into their council and asked Him to tell them if He was the Son of God (verses 67a).

Responding, Jesus told them that if He told them they would not believe and if He asked them they would not answer Him and let Him go. But He said hereafter the Son of Man would sit on the right hand of the power of God (verses 67b-69). This reply prompted them to ask, “Are You then the Son of God?” And He replied, “You rightly say that I am” (verse 70). The members of the Council then concluded, “What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth” (verse 71 New King James Version).

In Mark’s account, the High priest told the Council that Jesus had committed blasphemy by saying that He was the Son of God. “Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?’ And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death” (Mark 14:63-64 New King James Version). 

Following this, some people began to spit on Him, blindfold Him, and beat Him. They said that He should prophesy while the officers also struck Him with the palms of their hands (verse 65). The Jewish leaders did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God. They saw Him as an impostor.

The people who were passing by where Jesus was crucified also said that if He was the Son of God, He should come down from the cross (Matthew 27:40b). That sounded like what the tempter, the devil, said when he tempted Jesus at the beginning of His ministry. He said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matthew 4:3 New King James Version).

In verse 6, he also said, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone’” (New King James Version). Luke 4:3 and 9 record the same temptations. But Jesus didn’t need to prove that He was the Son of God. He wasn’t confused about His identity.

You could see that the Jewish leaders and the devil did not take the issue of the identity of Jesus as the Son of God lightly! It was either Jesus was truly the Son of God or He was a fraud. But hear what the centurion and the soldiers who guarded Jesus at His crucifixion said when they saw what happened after He breathed His last.  “So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:54 New King James Version). Mark 15:39 records the same thing. The soldiers believed that Jesus was the Son of God even when the Jewish leaders dismissed this.

Do you believe in the Son of God? Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? It is one thing to believe that Jesus was a powerful man, a great prophet, a wonderful teacher, a miracle worker, and so on, but another thing to believe in Him as the Son of God. Some people today also believe every other thing about Jesus except the fact that He is the Son of God. They don’t believe in the Son of God.

Jesus asked His disciples in Matthew 16:13, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” Mark 8:27 records a similar question. They told Him some said John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Then He asked them who they said He was. “Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:16 New King James Version).

Jesus said to Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (verses 17-18 New King James Version).

Did you see how important believing and confessing that Jesus is the Son of God is? If you believe every other thing the Bible says about Jesus, but you don’t believe in Him as the Son of God, you are in error. Indeed, you cannot be born again without believing In Jesus as the Son of God. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 New King James Version).

The apostle John says that the signs that Jesus did and are recorded in the book of John are written so that people may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing they may have life in His name (John 20:31). Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 John 4:15 says whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. According to 1 John 5:10, whoever believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself but whoever does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. On two occasions in the Bible, God said that Jesus was His beloved Son (Matthew 3:17; 17:5;  Mark 1:11; 9:7; Luke 3:22; 9:35). If you say Jesus is not the Son of God, you call God a liar.

Do you believe in Jesus as the Son of God?  Do you know that even demons acknowledge this? “And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of God!’ And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ” (Luke 4:41 New King James Version). But these demons were lost eternally; there was no opportunity for them to repent! Matthew 8:29 also records demons acknowledging Jesus as the Son of God.

In John 9, the Bible records the conversation of Jesus with the man that was born blind from birth. Jesus had healed him of his blindness but the Jews cast him out of the synagogue. “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’” (John 9:35 New King James Version). Please take note of the question in this scripture: Do you believe in the Son of God? The man asked Jesus who was the Son of God that he might believe in Him. Jesus told him, ‘You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then, he said, “Lord, I believe!” Immediately, he worshipped Him (verses 36-38).

Do you believe in Jesus as the Son of God? The Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8b). He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:12). Only those who believe in the name of the Son of God have eternal life. Believe in the name of the Son of God and continue to believe in His name (verse 13).

Jesus called Himself the Son of God (John 5:25; 11:4) Nathanael called Him the Son of God (John 1:49). Martha also called Him the Christ, the Son of God (John 11:27). Similarly, Paul called Him the Son of God (2 Corinthians 1:19; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 4:13). The writer of the book of Hebrews also referred to Jesus as the Son of God (Hebrews 4:14; 6:6; 7:3; 10:29). What about you?

The resurrection of Jesus proved that He was the Son of God as He had said. Paul said He was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4). Do you believe in the Son of God? Do you have faith in Jesus as the Son of God?

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner, and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and was raised on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: I believe in God’s testimony that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe and confess that Jesus is the Son of God who was crucified and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day. Holy Spirit, help me to know Jesus the Son of God, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. Help me to live for Jesus, die in Him, and experience the resurrection of life. I pray that those who have not yet believed in Jesus as the Son of God will believe and confess Him as their Lord and Saviour. Father, let their eyes of understanding be enlightened.

(For over 800 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org