342. The previous section (336-339) showed that saving faith is in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. But the question may be raised, what is the leading point of faith in Him? The answer is that it is acknowledgment that He is the Son of God. This was the leading point of faith which the Lord revealed and announced, when He came into the world. For if people had not first acknowledged that He was the Son of God, thus God proceeding from God, He Himself, and afterwards the Apostles, would in vain have preached faith in Him. Now because the situation at the present day is similar, but in the case of those who think from the self, that is, only from the external or natural man, saying to themselves, 'How can Jehovah God beget a son, and how can a man be God?', this leading point of faith must be proved and established from the Word. I shall quote therefore the following passages:

The angel said to Mary, You will conceive in your womb and give birth [to a son], and you are to give him the name of Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. And Mary said to the angel, How shall this be, seeing I have no knowledge of a man? The angel replied, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so that the holy thing that is born of you will be called the Son of God, Luke 1:31-32, 34-35.

When Jesus was being baptised, a voice came from heaven, saying, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, Matthew 3:16-17; Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:21-22.

Then when Jesus was transfigured, again a voice came from heaven which said, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, listen to him, Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35.

[2] Jesus asked his disciples, Who do men say I am? Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. I tell you, on this rock I shall build my church, Matthew 16:13, 16-18.

The Lord said that He would build His church on this rock, that is to say, on this truth and admission, that He was the Son of God. For rock means truth, and also the Lord in His capacity as Divine truth. Therefore where anyone fails to admit this truth, that He is the Son of God, the church is not present. That is why it was stated above that this is the leading point of faith in Jesus Christ, and so the true source of faith.

John the Baptist saw and bore witness that He is John 1:34.

Nathanael the disciple said to Jesus, You are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel, John 1:49.

The twelve disciples said, We believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, John 6:69.

He is called the only-begotten Son of God, the only-begotten of the Father, who is in the Father's bosom, John 1:14, 18; 3:16.

Jesus Himself admitted before the High Priest that He was the Son of God, Matthew 26:63-64; 27:43; Mark 14:61-62; Luke 22:70.

Those who were in the boat came and worshipped Jesus, saying, Truly, you are the Son of God, Matthew 14:33.

The eunuch who wished to be baptised said to Philip, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Acts of the Apostles 8:37.

Paul after his conversion preached Christ ¹ as being the Son of God, Acts of the Apostles 9:20.

Jesus said, The hour will come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live, John 5:25.

He who does not believe has already been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God, John 3:18.

These things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, so that by believing you may have life in His name, John 20:31.

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have everlasting life and you may believe in the name of the Son of God. 1 John 5:13.

We know that the Son of God came and gave [us understanding,] so that we might know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and everlasting life. 1 John 5:20.

If anyone shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. 1 John 4:15.

Also elsewhere, as Matthew 8:29; 27:40, 43, 54; Mark 1:1; 3:11; 15:39; Luke 8:28; John 9:35; 10:36; 11:4, 27; 19:7; Romans 1:4; 2 Corinthians 1:19; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 4:13; Hebrews 4:14; 6:6; 7:3; 10:29; 1 John 3:8; 5:10; Revelation 2:18.

There are also many passages where Jesus is called Son by Jehovah, and He calls Jehovah God His Father, as in this:

Whatever the Father does, this the Son does; as the Father raises up the dead and gives them life, so does the Son; so that all may honour the Son, as they honour the Father. As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself.' John 5:19-27.

There are very many examples elsewhere; and it is the same in the Psalms of David:

I will bring news of a decree. Jehovah said to me, You are my son, today have I begotten you. Kiss the son, so that he may not be angry and so that you do not perish on the way. For in a short while his wrath will blaze up; blessed are all who trust in him, Psalms 2:7, 12.

[3] These passages now permit the conclusion that everyone who wishes to be a true Christian and to be saved by Christ should believe that Jesus is the Son of the living God. Anyone who does not believe this, but only that He is the son of Mary, is implanting in his mind various ideas about Him which are damning and destructive of his salvation; see above on this (92, 94, 102). Much the same might be said of these people as of the Jews, that in place of a King's crown they put on His head a crown of thorns; and also that they give Him vinegar to drink and cry, 'If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross' [Matthew 27:29, 34, 40]. Or as the devil said tempting Him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread' or 'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down' (Matthew 4:3, 6). These people profane His church and temple, and make it a robbers' cave. These are those who make His worship like the cult of Mohammed, and do not distinguish between true Christianity, which is the worship of the Lord, and nature-worship. They can be likened to people riding in a carriage or a trap over thin ice, when the ice breaks beneath them and they are drowned, as freezing water closes over them, the horses and the carriage. They can also be likened to those who fashion a boat out of rushes and reeds, and glue it with pitch to make it hold together, and entrust themselves to it on the open sea; but the pitch that holds it together comes unstuck, and they are drowned and swallowed up in sea-water, and find their grave in its depths.

Footnotes:

226. (i) THE WORD IS NOT TO BE UNDERSTOOD WITHOUT DOCTRINE.

This is because the Word in its literal sense is composed of nothing but correspondences, in order that it should simultaneously hold spiritual and celestial meanings; and every single word is a container and support for these. That is why in the literal sense the Divine truths are rarely uncovered, but are clothed. They are then called appearances of truth, and in many cases are made suitable to be understood by the simple, who do not lift their gaze above what is in front of their eyes. Some appear to be contradictions, when in fact there is no contradiction, if the Word is looked at by its own spiritual light. Moreover in some passages of the Prophets there are collections of place-names and personal names, from which no sort of sense can be extracted. Seeing that the Word is like this in its literal sense, it can easily be established that it could not be understood without doctrine.

The Word is not to be understood without doctrine. Doctrine is to be drawn from the literal sense of the Word. But Divine truth, on which doctrine is based, is not visible to any but those who are enlightened by the Lord.

[2] But let us take examples to illustrate this. It is said that Jehovah regrets (Exodus 32:12, 14; Jonah 3:9; 4:2); and also that Jehovah does not regret (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29). These statements cannot be reconciled without doctrine. It is said that Jehovah visits the wickedness of the fathers upon the sons, to the third or fourth generation (Numbers 14:18); and also that a father shall not die on account of his son, nor a son on account of his father, but each in his own sin (Deuteronomy 24:16). Doctrine can show that these statements do not conflict, but are in harmony.

[3] Jesus says:

Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find. To him that knocks, the door shall be opened, Matthew 7:7-8; 21:21-22.

Without doctrine one might believe that each will receive what he asks for; but we know from doctrine that whatever a person asks from the Lord, that is granted. For this too is what the Lord teaches:

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you will, and it will be done for you, John 15:7.

[4] The Lord says:

Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God, Luke 6:20.

Without doctrine one might think that heaven was for the poor and not the rich; but doctrine instructs us that the poor in spirit are meant, for the Lord says:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens, Matthew 5:3.

[5] The Lord says further:

Do not judge, so that you are not judged; with whatever judgment you judge, so will you be judged, Matthew 7:1-2; Luke 6:37.

Without doctrine anyone could be induced to assert that we must not judge wicked people to be wicked; but doctrine tells us we may judge, so long as we do so justly. For the Lord says:

Give just judgments, John 7:24.

[6] Jesus says:

Do not have yourselves called teacher, for you have one teacher, Christ. Do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one father in the heavens. And do not have yourselves called master, for you have one master, Christ, Matthew 23:8-10.

Without doctrine this would mean that we are not to call anyone teacher, father or master; but doctrine tells us that we may do so in the natural sense, but not in the spiritual.

[7] Jesus said to the disciples:

When the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you too will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, Matthew 19:28.

One might infer from these words that the Lord's disciples too are to act as judges, though in fact they can judge no one. Doctrine therefore will reveal the mystery by the fact that the Lord alone, who is omniscient, and knows the hearts of all, can and will be judge. His twelve disciples mean the church in respect of all its truths and all its kinds of good, which are given to it by the Lord by means of the Word. Doctrine infers from this that it is the truths and kinds of good which will judge everyone, as the Lord said in John (John 3:17-18; 12:47-48). There are many more passages like this in the Word, which show plainly that the Word cannot be understood without doctrine.