The Sonship of Christ is a salvation issue!

1 John 4:7-15 (KJV)

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

This is one of the most beautiful passages in scripture as it talks about the love of Jehovah. While many Christians speak of God's love and tell others that God loves them, they often fail to explain why God loves us and what is the most powerful evidence of His love.

Because most denominations deny the literal Sonship of Christ they almost never give the most important evidence of Jehovah's love for us. In verse 9, the apostle John says that the love of God was manifested toward us because He sent us His only begotten Son that we might have everlasting life. This is powerful and the power of this verse is lost on many Christians and I truly believe it is the reason we see such a struggle in evangelism efforts here in the U.S. to win souls.

Because most professed Christians deny the literal Sonship of Christ they cannot properly convey the power of this verse. Most Christians believe the Sonship of Christ is a metaphor and thereby sap the power away from this verse. Ask yourself the question, "what would reveal to the sinner the love of God more fully, a real Son sacrificed by a real Father dying for their sins or a metaphorical Son sent by a role playing Father to die for their sins?"

The answer to this should be obvious, If I were to give up my very own son in order to save the life of another, that person would without doubt know that I love them. However, if I were to send one of my friends to sacrifice their life for another, then that person may perhaps know that I love them but wouldn't be 100 percent sure. In an age of coldness the sinner needs to know that there is a love out there for them that is unequivocally sure. This is what will move them to repentance.

By God sending His only begotten Son to die for our transgressions that we might live through him is the strongest evidence of God's love. The passage by sending another God but rather the only begotten Son. The phrae "only begotten" comes from the greek word "monogenes" (strongs 3439) and means "only born, i.e. sole: - only (begotten child)." The word monogenes comes from  "monos" and "ginomai". For this study we will only address the word "ginomai" as monos simply means "only, sole, single".

The word "begotten" comes from the Greek word "ginomai" (Strongs 1096) and means "to cause to be (generate), to come into being, to become, arise, be assembled, be brought to pass, come to pass.

Scripture is crystal clear that at some point Jesus came into being and was generated (begotten) from the Father. That is why He is called the only begotten Son of God. It is not just a title nor a role play but it is who Jesus is in identity. Scripture clearly teaches the preexistence of Christ so Jesus was begotten (generated) from the Father in ages of eternity (Micah 5:2).

Once we understand the truth of Christ literal Sonship then we can properly show the sinner the depth of Jehovah's love for them. This is something everyone can relate to as we are all either parents or children of parents.

Verse 10, again John shows the evidence of Jehovah's love for us. It wasn't our love for God that brought us to the cross but rather His love for us. His love was demonstrated toward us by sending His literal Son to be the mercyseat for our sins. This was as much a sacrifice for the Father as it was for Jesus. They both demonstrated their love for us by denying themselves in order to save man from death so that he would have eternal life. They both gave up something precious and risked eternal loss for the sake of the world and to see man healed and restored.

One of the results of denying the literal Sonship of Christ is that the Father's sacrifice has been made null and void. All the credit goes to Jesus because they say He is the Almighty God and He as God Almighty came down here and died for us. They reduce the Father to just having an advisory role in the plan of salvation. This is the lie of satan. The Father gave His precious Son up for our salvation. This must have been heart wrenching for Him to risk the loss of Hos dear Son. The Father gave up the very one that was in His bosom. He sacrificed His literal Son and if we have children we can relate to this in how heart wrenching it would be for us to do this.

The Father and Son both paid a heavy price for us and it was their love for us that they did this. Denying the literal Father-Son relationship reduces the Father's role significantly in the plan of salvation. The Father sent His true Son to reconcile us, He did not send a role playing Son. This must have hurt the Father's heart as He loves His dear Son. Don't believe Satan's lie that Jesus isn't a real Son and that Jehovah isn't a real Father.

Verses 11-12, we are told by John that if God loved us so much by giving us His only begotten Son then we ought to love one another. We have no excuse not to love one another when we have freely accepted Jehovah's free gift of grace and love, His Son Jesus Christ. We cannot accept the beautiful love of the Father and be selfish and not extend love to pur fellow brothers and sisters.

We are made in the image of the Father and Son, so when we look at each other we are seeing an image of God and Christ. Being that we have not visibly seen the Father and Son, we prove our love for them when we love one another who we do see. The bible gives us a big "if", only if we love one another does Jehovah dwell in us. How does the Father dwell in us? By His Holy Spirit! The Father and Son are both in the most holy place right now so they dwell in us by the agency of their Holy Spirit. The indwelling Jehovah. When the Father dwells in us His love is perfected in us. This is how we become perfect by His love dwelling in us not by outward forms and ordinances.

Verse 13 clearly says that Jehovah gives us of His Spirit so clearly the Holy Spirit is not another being but rather the actual Spirit of the Father. It's by having the Father's Spirit that we are able to love one another and it is by loving one another that proves that we dwell in Him and He dwells in us.

Verse 14-15, these two verses are a statement of faith by the beloved apostle John. John says that He and the other apostles have seen with their own eyes and testify (bear witness, bear record, give testimony, give a good report, greek word 3140 "martureo") that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

Do you believe the clear word of God through Jesus beloved disciple John or do you believe the false Pastor's and theologians of Christendom who deny the literal Sonship of Christ? John is making the declaration of the Father-Son relationship and the Father sending His Son to the world.

In verse 15, John simplifies the basis of how one attains salvation and what the evidence of having God dwelling in someone is.

"Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God."

There is no way around it, if you don't confess that Jesus is the Son of God, the Father doesn't dwell in you. This means you don't have the Holy Spirit in you. This is not talking some metaphorical Sonship but rather a true literal begotten Sonship. It is not confessing that Jesus is "God the Son" but rather "the Son of God".

Do you want to put your salvation in the hands of highly educated theologians and pastors or will you trust the inspired word's of scripture given to us in this passage by Jesus beloved disciple John?

Jesus truly is the Son of God!