The Son of God with power part 3

My study on the Son of God with power part 3

What other passages speak about Jehoshua being begotten? Let's go to the virgin birth as very few talk about Jehoshua being begotten in this manner but scripture clearly teaches that this is when Jehoshua was begotten.

Matthew 1:1 (KJV)

1The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Here in the fisrt gospel Matthew tells us that the account of Jehoshua's birth via Mary's womb is the "generation" of Jehoshua. The word "generation" comes from the Greek word "genesis" (strongs 1078) and means "nativity, nature, generation". The word genesis as we know it constitutes a beginning of something. Following a chronology of Jehoshua's "goings forth" i.e. family descent (Micah 5:2) from everlasting i.e. ancient days we come to the birth account of Jehoshua in Matthew 1:18-25.

Matthew 1:18-25 (KJV)

18Now the birth of Jehoshua Messiah was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.19Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.20But 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 Ghost.21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JEHOSHUA: for he shall save his people from their sins.22Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying 23Behold, 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.24Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:25And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JEHOSHUA.

Let's look at the above passage and show that indeed Jehoshua was begotten miraculously through the womb of Mary.

Clearly in verse 18 of Matthew chapter 1, it says that this account is about the birth of Jehoshua. The word "birth" comes from the Greek word "gennesis" (Strongs 1083) and means "nativity, birth" which denotes a beginning. The root word of "gennesis" is "gennao" (Strongs 1080) and means "to procreate, figuratively to regenerate: - bear, beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make spring." Let's dig a little deeper and see the root word for "gennao" which is "genos" (Strongs 1085) and means "kin, born, country, generation, kind -red), nation, offspring, stock".

The root word for "genos" is "ginomai" (Strongs 1096) and means "to cause to be  (generate), i.e. (reflexively) to become (come into being), used with great latitude (literal, figurative, intensive): - arise, be assembled, be(-come, - fall, - have self), be brought (to pass), (be) come (to pass), be made, be ordained to be."

With the meaning of these words we can cleary see that the meaning of birth denotes coming into existence, to be procreated, to be caused to be, a beginning, offspring, to be generated or figuratively regenerated, to be begotten and to be brought forth. We can truly say that this account of Jehoshua's birth via Mary's womb is Him being begotten i.e. brought forth, coming into existence and His gennesis (beginning) as noted at the beginning of Matthew 1 and as noted above due to the greek word for "birth" is "gennesis".

As we read the birth account we see that it was the Holy Spirit who powered the miraculous conception. This isn't a third separate person that is responsible for Jehoshua being conieved in Mary for then the Holy Spirit would be His Father and not God the  Father. Luke 1:35 confirms this as it says the following:

"And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God."

Here in Luke we see that the Holy Spirit is eqauted with being the power of the Most High God who according to scripture is the Father. So the Holy Spirit that caused Mary to be pregrant is the power of God the Father not a distinct being or person. This shows us that the Father and Son indeed have a real Father-Son relationship. Jehoshua was begotten from the womb of Mary who was found pregnant by the power of God the Father's Spirit. This is the principal reason why Jehoshua is the called the only begotten Son of God.

In verse 20 it says that Jehoshua was conceived in Mary of the Holy Spirit. The word conceived comes from the same greek word we mentioned above which is "gennao" (Strongs 1080) which of course means "beget, bring forth, be born" in other words "begotten". Here is the second time in this passage we see that Jehoshua was begotten by the Father via the virgin Mary supernaturally.

In verse 21 of Matthew 1 it says that Jehoshua will be brought forth from Mary. The phrase "brought forth" comes from the Greek word "tikto" and means "bear, be born, bring forth, be delivered, be in travail, to produce, literally or figuratively."

Again we see here that Jehoshua was begotten/produced from Mary's womb. Remember it was the Father that caused this to be so Jehoshua is the begotten Son of the Father according to the Spirit and the begotten Son of Mary according to the flesh (seed of David).

In verse 23 we see a fulfillment of prophecy mentioned taken from Isaiah 7:14. The same word "gennao" is used here to describe a virign bringing forth (gennao) a child denoting that this child brought forth would be begotten which of course is how all children come into this world. This further demonstrates that Jehoshua was begotten at His birth via Mary's womb by the power of God the Father. Let's touch on this prophecy from Isaiah 7 as there are a lot of misconceptions regarding it that have promoted a false "God in the flesh" doctrine.

Isaiah 7:1-25 (ASV)

1And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.2And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind.3Then said Jehovah unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller`s field;4and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thy heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.5Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have purposed evil against thee, saying,6Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel;7thus saith the Lord Jehovah, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.8For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken in pieces, so that is shall not be a people:9and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah`s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.10And Jehovah spake again unto Ahaz, saying,11Ask thee a sign of Jehovah thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.12But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt Jehovah.13And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my God also?14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.15Butter and honey shall he eat, when he knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose the good.16For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken.17Jehovah will bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father`s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah-[even] the king of Assyria.18And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.19And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the clefts of the rocks, and upon all thorn-hedges, and upon all pastures.20In that day will the Lord shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, [even] with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.21And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep;22and it shall come to pass, that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the midst of the land.23And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, shall be for briers and thorns.24With arrows and with bow shall one come thither, because all the land shall be briers and thorns.25And all the hills that were digged with the mattock, thou shalt not come thither for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.

As we can see from the above passage in Isiaah that Jehovah would give Ahaz a sign that Syria and Ephraim would be plundered and that there confederacy against Judah would come to nought (verses 4-8).

In verse 8 Ahaz is told that Ephraim will be broken and not be a people within 65 years. We can see already that this passage in Isiaah has it's first application during the time of Ahaz. This is important to understand in regards to the birth of Messiah as we shall see.

In verses 10-16 we see that Jehovah wants Ahaz to ask for a sign that He (Jehovah) would be with him (Ahaz). After Ahaz declines to do so, Jehovah through the prophet Isiaah says that He (Jehovah) will give Ahaz a sign that a virgin (maiden, damsel, a lass) will give birth to a son and that his name will be "Immanuel" meaning "God with us". So clearly this is a sign for Ahaz and has an immediate application. This passage also has a distant application in regards to the birth of Jehoshua.

This means that a woman during Ahaz's time would bear a child that was to be a sign that Jehovah was with Ahaz and the people of Judah. Let's go back to verse 14 where it says this woman would be a virgin. We know from scripture that the only miraculous birth in a woman's womb in regards to being without normal sexual relations was when Jehoshua was born, so in the near application of this prophecy we have to understand the word "virgin" as defined by it's Hebrew meaning.

The word "virgin" comes from the Hebrew word "almah" (Strongs 5959) and means "damsel, virign, maid, a lass". The word almah (virgin) here doesn't neccessarily mean a woman who has never had sexual relations but also means simply a young maiden or damsel of marrying age regardless of whether she has had sex or not. The bible uses another word "betulah" when referring to a virign in the sense of a woman who has never had sexual relations. So in this case, the near application of this prophecy denotes a young woman having a child with no specification on whether or not she has had sexual relations before. We will shortly find out who this woman ended up being.

In verse 16, we see that before this child shall know to good and refuse evil that the prophecy will be fulfilled in that the land that Ahaz abhorred would be forsaken of both the King of Israel (Ephraim) and the king of Syria. In other words this prophecy had to be fulfilled in Ahaz's lifetime. This will be important to understand shortly as we proceed in this study.

In Isaiah 8 we see the birth of the child that would be a sign to Ahaz that Jehovah was with him and the people of Judah.

Isaiah 8:1-4 (KJV)

1Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.2And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.3And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.4For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

In verse 3 of Isiaah 8, we clearly see that the immediate fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 "God with us" virgin bringing forth a son" takes place as Isaiah himself goes into (has sexual relations) the prophetess (his wife who is the virign i.e. young maiden of marrying age). In verse 4 of Isiaah 8, we see confirmation that this indeed fuflills the prophecy of Isiaah 7:14 as the child that the prophetess conceives is identified as the one, who before he has knowledge to cry (choosing good and refusing evil - verses 15-16 of ch. 7), is the one that is the sign that Damascus (Syria) and Samaria (Ephraim) would be plundered by Assyria. That is exactly what took place to Samaria and Syria before the child of Isaiah had knowledge to cry.

So it was Isaiah's child bore by the young prophetess maiden that was a sign that Jehovah was with Ahaz and the people of Judah fulfilling the prophecy of Isiaah 7:14. So why is this important in terms of Messiah's birth narrative? Because many wrongly attribute the "God with us" phrase in Isiaah 7:14 to mean that when Jehoshua was born that it was literally God coming down from heaven and taking on human form. Just as Isaiah's prophetess wife conceiving a son was a sign to Ahaz that Jehovah was with Judah, Mary conceiving a Son was a sign to Israel that Jehovah was with them. It doesn't mean that Jehovah literally came down and took on flesh. In both cases, Isiaah's son and Mary's Son were signs that Jehovah was spiritually with His people. In the case of Isaiah's son it was to bring to nought Syria and Ephraim. In the case of Mary's Son it was to reconcile the world unto Himself (Jehovah). Just to show that Jehoshua being a sign that God was with us does not neccessarily mean He (Jehoshua) was God Himself in the flesh let's go to scripture to see how exactly Jehoshua was "Immanuel" i.e. God with us.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (KJV)

18And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;19To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Paul said that God was in Messiah reconciling the world unto Himself. This is exactly how Jehoshua can rightly be called "Immanuel" i.e. God with us in that God was in Him during His earthly ministry. How was God in Him?

Isaiah 11:1-4 (ASV)

1And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit.2And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.3And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears;4but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

We see here the prophecy that Jehovah would pour the fulness of His very own Spirit into His coming Messiah. Jehoshua is the fulfillment of this passage. When did this happen during the life of Jehoshua?

Matthew 3:16-17 (ASV)

16And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him;17and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

This is when Jehovah anointed His Son for the work of the ministry. Some of the ancient manuscripts qoute Psalm 2:7 in the above Matthew passage:

" I will tell of the decree: Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son; This day have I begotten thee."

In the old testament when a King was anointed  by Jehovah to sit on the throne they were considered as being begotten by Jehovah to be His son and they were given Jehovah's Spirit.

At His baptism, Jehoshua was anointed by His Father to do the work of the ministry of reconciliation and to bring the Kingdom of God nigh unto the people as a precursor to be enthroned as King of Israel subsequent to His ascension to heaven. We see that prior to His baptism, Jehoshua had not yet had the fulness of the Father's Holy Spirit but rather was increasing in the Spirit as He learned obedience. Let's prove this from scripture.

Luke 2:40 (KJV)

40And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Luke 2:51-52 (KJV)

51And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.52And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

We see that even as a child Jehoshua had the Holy Spirit and it increased in Him as He increased in wisdom and in stature. However, the fulness of the Spirit hadn't come to Him yet otherwise we wouldn't see the emphasis here on Him increasing in wisdom and growing in stature and in favour with God. Jehovah was preparing His Son for the ministry and the Son was learning obedience as we see in the book of Hebrews.

Jehoshua had to go through a sanctification process before receiving the Father's Spirit in its fulness.

Hebrews 5;8-9 (KJV)

8Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;9And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Jehoshua had to learn obedience like all of us do. Obviously, Jehoshua was already doing this as a child but it is at His baptism that we first learn of Him being filled with the Holy Spirit in its fulness.

Luke 4:1 (KJV)

1And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

Luke says that Jehoshua was full of the Holy Spirit having returned from Jordan where He was baptized.

Luke 4:14-18 (KJV)

14And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.15And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.17And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,18The 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,

After Jehoshua's wilderness experience we see that He returned from there in the power of the Holy Spirit and this is where His fame began to be spread as He started teaching in the synagogues on the Sabbath day. Notice that these verses of Jehoshua being filled with the Holy Spirit are right after His baptism whereas before this Jehoshua is described as increasing in wisdom and waxing strong in the Spirit. Obviously, Jehoshua was in the process of sanctification prior to His baptismal anointing as through learning obedience to the Father the Spirit increased in Him.

Back to Luke 2:40 where it says Jehoshua waxed strong in Spirit. Let's look at the definition of "waxed strong", this phrase comes from the Greek word "krataioo" (Strongs) and means "increase in vigor, be strengthened, be (wax) strong".

Waxing strong has the meaning of increasing in strength. To increase in something means that you didn't always have that thing you increased in at least to the level that you have attained that thing you have increased in. So prior to Jehoshua's baptism He was going through the process of increasing wisdom thereby the Holy Spirit was increasing in Him. It was after His baptism that we first read of Him being full of the Holy Spirit and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit inferring being filled to the full of the Spirit without measure.

Back to Luke 4 and the account of Jehoshua preaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath. In verse 18 Jehoshua quotes the prophet Isiaah chapter 61 where it says:

1The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening [of the prison] to them that are bound;2to proclaim the year of Jehovah`s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Jehoshua quotes this shortly after His baptism where clearly He was anointed by the Lord Jehovah to preach the gospel of the Kingdom. Jehoshua makes it clear that Jehovah God anointed Him and that He didn't have this anointing prior. His baptism is the clear point in time that we could ascertain when Jehoshua was anointed for the work of the ministry as described in Isiaah 61. All the passages of Jehoshua being filled with the Holy Spirit to the full are after His baptism and the ancient manuscripts qoute Psalm 2:7 in the baptism accounts. To be begotten by God has the meaning of being anointed with His Spirit for ministerial work.