Why did God Create Everything?

  He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. –Ecclesiastes 3: 11

As I was narrating the Adam and Eve creation event from the book of Genesis, one of my friends once asked me, “Well Pastor, Why did God create us in the first place? Isn’t it fair to think that all these problems that we face today started as a result of one small decision of God, the decision to create mankind?” For the time being I chose to answer the question with a counter question, “If God did not create mankind would you or I be there to ask this question? If not, then what is the point in asking it?” All of us laughed the question off, considering it to be a silly one. However, at the back of my mind, I knew that I had to answer one of the fundamental questions a skeptic would ask about creation, “After all, why did God choose to create mankind?” I did not want to limit my search to human creation so I decided to dig deeper. As a result, I decided to begin my research with this question, “What prompted God to create everything?”

As always, I reverted to the Bible to find God’s perspective on this matter. I began by reading the first chapter of the book of Genesis, the one that presents the creation account. After two unfruitful attempts of reading in order to understand God’s mind about creation, a word caught my attention. I noticed that God said it was “Good” after every act of creation. Why did God say this each time he created anything? Perhaps, this implies that God created everything because he thought it was good to create. In other words, God who had a choice before him, either to create or to refrain from the act of creation chose to create because he thought it was good to create. However, a skeptic may ask, why did God choose to do something good? Why didn’t he do something evil? Elsewhere, in the Bible we read that the word Good defines God’s character. How could a good God choose to create something evil? Certainly, He made this choice because it defined His own character.

The word Good defines God’s character according to the Bible. In Psalm 100: 5 the psalmist says, "For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." God created everything as good because He himself is good. Some people think that God created everything because he needed something or someone to acknowledge His goodness but the Genesis account clearly states that God didn’t do it in order to please anyone else rather he did it in order to please himself which is evident from the statement, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” Note that none except God himself acknowledged his act of creation to be good.

Still we may ask, “God created everything good. He created human beings as good as well. Then, why did this good God allow mankind to fall in the trap of the evil Satan? Why did he allow Adam and Eve to rebel?” I have answered this question effectively in the next chapter titled, “Is God a Sadist?” However, I feel obliged to state the key points here as well.

In order to make this argument look stronger we may add the following questions as well, “If God knew that the angel was fallen and would become the cause of sufferings for mankind, then why didn’t He punish the evil Satan then and there? Why is he still waiting for the end of the age? If God knew that Lucifer would become a source of sufferings to mankind, then why did He allow this devil to enter the garden in order to tempt mankind? And why did He move away at the crucial time to allow the Satan a free access? Moreover, why did He plant that dreaded tree in the center of the garden and why did He create man with an ability to hear Satan’s voice and an ability to make his own choice?” The answer for all these questions is, “because of Love”, the quintessential characteristic of our God which makes him different from every other creature.  

If we examine these questions from God’s perspective we will find that he had two options before creating mankind. He could either create them with a free-will or without it. Which do you think is the option that a good and loving God would choose? We all know that Love is self-less, and it compels a person to take risks and make sacrifices. Therefore, a good and loving God would certainly choose to create mankind with a free-will rather than without it. And, as we all know it’s the freewill that gave man the ability to make his own choice.

Then, why did he plant the tree, permit Satan to enter the garden and move away from the garden at the crucial time? We all know that a skill is pointless and ability useless if we don’t have the circumstances to use it. For example, learning English would be meaningless if we live (and plan to live) in a society where no one else will ever speak this language. Similarly, a free-will would be of no use if there were no circumstances to use it. Therefore, God planted the tree, permitted Satan to enter the garden and moved away from the garden at the crucial time in order to create circumstances for man to use that free-will. We all know the rest of the story. Mankind used the free-will to rebel against God for its own destruction. God in His righteousness was forced to curse and punish mankind whom he loved, because of their sin. But even in this curse our good and loving God had concealed a promise to redeem mankind from eternal sufferings and the consequences of their sin. Certainly, this proves that God who had to make a choice either to be good and loving before the act of creation or to try to show himself good by preventing man from using his freewill after the act of creation, chose to show His goodness and love towards mankind in the beginning itself and this choice allowed man to rebel against Him.

Lately, one of my cousins asked me, “Why did God create man in flesh? If man was a spirit being alone (that is, without a physical body) then he may not have fallen in devil’s trap that worked through the lust of eyes, the lust of flesh and the pride of life, all of which are essentially the qualities of the body and not of the spirit?” I found this question interesting at first but then we all are aware of the fact that it’s the spirit being who took the decision to commit sin and the flesh just followed the course.

Even then, one might ask, why did God create physical bodies for human-beings? In the creation account, the Bible says that when God crated man He said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." I believe that every spiritual living being that was created by God before this event should have heard this exclusive statement that would make mankind greater than every other creation in every way.

In Psalm 8 the psalmist says, “You have made human beings a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.” But just before making this statement about mankind he says, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” The reason why he cares for us even though we are little when compared to his great creation is that he has made us in His own image and likeness with utmost care and attention. God did create man’s spirit in his own image and likeness with great care and affection, but then why did he give us physical bodies?

Quite often we wonder whether our physical bodies act as a hindrance to the expression of our love for others but on the contrary from God’s perspective a physical body is the best way to express one’s love for another. God, who sought many ways to show his love towards mankind through direct encounters, signs, wonders and miracles failed to convince them of his affection towards them throughout the Old Testament period. However, in his final attempt to reclaim his creation he chose to take on human nature and that too as a helpless child of a Hebrew maid. In the words of William How, an Anglican Minister of the 19^th century who wrote over fifty hymns,

“Who is this so weak and helpless, Child of lowly Hebrew maid,

Rudely in a stable sheltered, coldly in a manger laid?

‘Tis the Lord of all creation, who this wondrous path hath trod;

He is God from everlasting, and to everlasting God.”

One might ask, what was so special about the human experiment of the Everlasting One in a physical body? I would like to say, it was only in this physical body that He could ever express His unconditional love for mankind. For once He said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.” And, only in this weak physical body could he, the Life of all that is living, express this great love towards mankind through death. As we all know, a spirit-being can never die except through sin; and that death too is understood in a different sense as being a kind of separation from the Holy One. So how could God who is a Holy, Righteous spirit-being express his love by dying for mankind? There was only one way, “the human experiment”.

So, if a physical body could be useful for God in order to communicate his great love for mankind by dying on a cross how much more should it serve us as a means of effective communication. If we see things from God’s perspective then we should conclude that a physical body was in fact a blessing rather than a curse. If human beings had used the physical bodies wisely I am compelled to think that they were in fact more privileged than perhaps God himself who did not use a physical body until that time. But, human beings being led by the devil used it to rebel against God and are now paying the price for their wrong doings. So is it sensible to blame our physical bodies for our rebellion? No! Our bodies are a gift from God. He created everything and also gave human beings physical bodies because he is good and loving.

Written By: Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore,

Copyright © 2012 Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

http://shalomchristianministry.org/

Can God Die?

“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.” -John 10: 17

Recently while I was preaching the good news one of my friends asked me, “Can God die? God is supposed to be immortal, right? Why does Christianity present a God who died?” I thought for a while and felt a little embarrassed because this question although a very simple one seemed to be very difficult to answer. I did not know where to start. Yet, I was overwhelmed by the fact that Christianity had survived a little over twenty centuries despite this great contradiction which makes it look absurd to anyone who thinks logically. In hind-sight this question seems to puzzle us but history testifies to the fact that every new thing or discovery that at first baffled human mind was a gateway to novel ideas and surpassingly great revelations. We can hence be certain that the idea of ‘God dying on a cross in order to save mankind’ also has some deep spiritual mystery behind it. This chapter is an attempt to uncover some of it.

In my reply I told my friend that I had some more questions in my mind that would make his argument look even stronger, “Can God cry for help? Does God need a spiritual son or partner in order to carry out his eternal plans for the whole creation? And above all, “Why did God need a human birth to ensure the salvation of mankind?” I began to answer his question by asking him to view things from God’s perspective.

God created human beings and placed them in a garden commanding them to take care of it. At that time they could communicate with God directly because while in the garden human beings were fully aware of their own spiritual reality. By spiritual reality I mean to say that they knew they are spirit beings. How many of us are born with a realization that we are spirit beings and not just physical bodies? In fact, we start thinking about our spiritual existence only when others begin to point it to us. Why is it so? The Bible says that this is because we are spiritually dead due to sin. How and where did this sin originate? From the Bible we understand that sin originated when mankind rebelled against God.

God had told them that they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit, but they still went on to eat it and as we all know they did not die physically; they died spiritually and hence lost the awareness of their being spirit-beings. This is evident from the fact that man felt ashamed of his nakedness only after committing the act and never before it. The resultant spiritual death that passed on from generation to generation is the reason why we are born without spiritual awareness. We all know and believe that God loves mankind, wants to restore this spiritual awareness in to us and thereby save us from eternal death in hell. But again, why should God become a human being for this purpose? Can’t He who can do everything that He wants to do choose to forgive people for their sins arbitrarily? Let us examine.

God is righteous and just. He cannot leave any sin unpunished. Therefore, he needs to punish sin but at the same time (because he loves us) He wants to exonerate the sinners. How can he do both these things? One way that we would suggest is for God to change his laws. But, if He does so he would be contradicting his own nature. So he has introduced a new way such that he doesn’t have to change his laws or contradict his nature. He has brought in the system of redemption through sacrifice.

At first he commanded people to sacrifice animals for the forgiveness of their sins. In the Torah, God revealed through Prophet Moses the idea behind the sin offerings for the forgiveness of sins. “If the citizens of Israel do something forbidden by the Lord, they will be guilty of sin. When they become aware of their sin, they must bring as their offering a goat with no physical defects. They are to lay a hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it. The priest will then offer the sacrifice to the Lord. In this way, the priest will make atonement for them and they will be forgiven.” (Leviticus 4: 27-31) The idea was that the sin to be atoned for was transferred from the transgressors to the offering when they laid their hands on it. And the sacrificed animal which has now become a carrier of the sins was punished (killed) instead of the transgressor. As the sins were punished in the body of the animal, the sinners could now be pardoned for their transgressions. Everyone knows that a law breaker cannot stand bail for another law breaker. Similarly, the animals without physical defects symbolized the logic that the one who takes up the defect (sin) should not be of any defect.

But any man who thinks will assert, “What is the logic in punishing innocent animals for the sins of wicked human beings?” Even God is concerned about this statement, but unfortunately there is no one in the entire human race who is completely free from any spiritual defect because we all are dead spiritually due to sin. God knew that since no man qualifies for the act, He himself should take on a human nature, totally identify with us – except for not rebelling in sin and become a sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, He took on a human nature as the One who has revealed the mystery of God to human eyes, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. God entered time and space, matter and energy, as a weak, poor human baby, lived a common-yet-sinless life and died as a rejected good man to pay the penalty for human sins.

Though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights as God. He made himself nothing; He took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. He appeared to be so weak that he cried on the cross because for his sacrifice to be acceptable he needed to identify with humanity in every way. He was oppressed and afflicted yet He did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers ever so silent. He did not rebel or curse but became obedient to death – even death on a cross.

He was wounded and crushed for our sins; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him. In the Gospel according to St. John, John the Baptist, the last prophet of the Old Testament said to his disciples, “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  (John 1: 29) He said this about Jesus Christ. Jesus became the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of mankind. For a sacrifice to be acceptable to God the lamb to be offered should be free from all defects. Jesus, being born of a virgin and having lived a sinless life, was free from all spiritual defects so that the criteria of the sacrificial lamb could be fulfilled in Him. He is the savior of the world!

Jesus Christ died and was buried. But, of course, how could death and destruction hold God the Creator? It couldn’t, so in power he rose to a new life and offers that to his Creation: “Be reconciled”. “And, again, in weakness, he entrusts this good news and the message about reconciliation to his human followers, to pass on to all his creatures by the testimony of our lives and words.”

I believe that this explains why God needed a human birth, a sinless life, helpless cries and finally death on a cross to ensure the salvation of mankind. God who cannot die chose to die because he loved us so much. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Even now, some people might argue why couldn’t God who is capable of doing anything even if it means changing his own laws, decrees and ways forgive mankind directly without a sacrifice? Well, I would prefer to answer this question with a counter question, “Will God who is infinitely merciful forgive Satan if he were to ask for it?” If the answer is “no”, I ask, “why so?” Some people suggest that God in his foreknowledge knows that Satan will not ask for forgiveness. Others think that God has created Satan in such a way that he can never ask for forgiveness. Still others believe that Satan cannot ask for forgiveness because God who is in control of everything doesn’t allow him to do so.

If we were to believe any of the above statements, then it would be a direct contradiction to God’s characteristic of Righteousness. How can a righteous God who is always ready to forgive the sins of people punish Satan for his sins without even giving him an opportunity to repent? If God were to forgive everyone who asked for it directly (that is without a sacrifice/ mediator) he would certainly be obliged to forgive Satan as well. But the fact remains that God doesn’t want to forgive Satan. So, we have another problem before us. God in His love wants to forgive mankind but if he does so directly that is, without a sacrifice he would be risking an opportunity for Satan to repent.

We all know that God having decreed Satan’s punishment the moment he sinned doesn’t want to change His statement as that would mean He is contradicting His own nature. So how can God offer an opportunity for mankind to repent but deny it to Satan at the same time?

Jesus Christ is God’s answer to this question. Jesus died to pay the penalty for only human sins (as he was born as a human being) and not for the sins of angels. Only people can claim the forgiveness through his sacrifice. Satan being an angel has no right to partake in it. So through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God has chosen to forgive mankind and denied Satan the opportunity to repent. I believe that this explains the logic behind the need for a sacrifice.

All people are born sinners. They try to escape the punishment by their righteous works. But just as a murderer is not left unpunished in our civil society irrespective of the numerous righteous acts that he might have done in the past or may do in the future, our righteous works cannot cleanse the stain of our sins. The only way out for sinful mankind is dependence on God’s loving-kindness and mercy that He has expressed through the sacrifice of His only begotten son on a cross.

Do you want the forgiveness of your sins through Jesus Christ?

If you repent for your sins and receive Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of your life, God will cleanse your conscience with the blood of Jesus, forgive your sins and fill you with His Holy Spirit. He will come inside you and remain with you forever. You will become a spiritual child of God. He will write your name in the “Book of Life” in Heaven. You will be assured of eternal life.

If you believe this message I exhort you to say the following prayer with all your heart. “Lord Jesus I am a sinner. I repent for my sins and believe that you died on a cross to save me. Please forgive me and cleanse my conscience with your precious blood. I receive you in my heart as my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you for coming into my heart and making me your child. Amen!”

If you have prayed sincerely, God has forgiven your sins. You are united with Him and have become His spiritual child. He has written your name in the ‘Lamb’s Book of Life’ in heaven and you have received eternal life. The Bible also promises all spiritual children of God a complete redemption of their physical bodies when Christ returns from heaven.

Written By: Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

Copyright © 2012 Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

http://shalomchristianministry.org/

Who Triggered the Big Bang?

“The entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” [Hebrews 11: 3]

Regarding the origin of the universe, some scientists suggested that if Einstein's General Theory of Relativity is correct, there will be a singularity, a point of infinite density and space-time curvature, where time has a beginning. But, Einstein's theory cannot predict how the universe will begin, but only how it will evolve once it has begun. So, it was suggested that entire universe was compressed into a teeny tiny little ball, which exploded into all space, time, matter and energy (the Big-bang). The pre-big bang singularity should be infinitely dense and possessed all the mass in the universe, effectively bringing ‘time’ to a standstill.

The Big-bang theory was totally rejected at first. But, those who supported it had predicted that the ignition of the Big-bang would have left behind some sort of 'hot flash' of radiation. In 1965, without looking for it, two physicists at Bell Labs in New Jersey found it.  Observational evidence confirmed the idea that the universe had a very dense beginning with the discovery of a faint background of microwaves throughout space, in October 1965. Robert Wilson was one of the scientists who discovered this radiation. Wilson said, "Certainly there was something that set it all off. Certainly, if you are religious, I can't think of a better theory of the origin of the universe to match with Genesis."

Although there is not much doubt about the Big-bang it is still not possible to explain who precipitated it in the first place. The beginning of time would have been a singularity, at which the laws of physics would have broken down. So the laws of physics can no longer guide the Big-bang explosion. Besides, this theory suggests that nothing existed before the explosion. Time and space came into existence as a result of this explosion or bang! Is it scientifically possible to prove that nothing exploded under nobody's direction at no point in time and everything came into existence? Naturally, anyone who thinks logically would ask, “Who initiated the Big-bang?”

No one knows what/who could have triggered the Big-bang. And, scientifically it is impossible to discover this because the laws of physics can no longer guide the Big-bang explosion. The scientists appear to be saying, "We don't know what caused the Big -bang, and the question itself may not make sense.  We'll keep working on it.” Some Atheists say that, “There is still no proof of any deities that may have triggered the big bang explosion. You might as well try and say a giant Cyborg bunny triggered the big bang.  There is no proof.” As a matter of fact science has not progressed enough to prove the existence of the One who triggered the Big-bang. However, the one who triggered the Big-bang has left some clues in the universe to help us find Him. Let us examine those clues.

The Big Bang theory also suggests that the universe expanded to its current form from a basic subatomic singularity. Studies on the rate of this expansion suggest that if the universe had expanded a little faster, the matter would have sprayed out into space like fine mist from a spray bottle - so fast that a gazillion particles of dust would have sped into infinity and never even form a single star. If the universe had expanded just a little slower, the material would have dribbled out like big drops of water, then collapsed back where it came from by the force of gravity. A little too fast, and you get a meaningless spray of fine dust. A little too slow, and the whole universe collapses back into one big black hole. The surprising thing is just how narrow the difference is.  To strike the perfect balance between too fast and too slow, the force, something that physicists call "the Dark Energy Term" had to be accurate to one part in ten with 120 zeros.

In their paper "Disturbing Implications of a Cosmological Constant" two atheist scientists from Stanford University stated that the existence of this dark energy term would essentially require a miracle … "An unknown agent" intervened in cosmic history "for reasons of its own." Just for comparison, the best human engineering example is the Gravity Wave Telescope, which was built with a precision of 23 zeros.  The Designer, the 'external agent' that caused our universe must possess an intellect, knowledge, creativity and power trillions and trillions of times greater than we humans have. Absolutely amazing! Another amazing discovery of scientists, in recent decades, is that many properties of the universe are "just right" for life. Most scientists are convinced that constraints on a life-allowing universe are very tight, that small changes would make the existence of intelligent life impossible. Based on scientific evidence, there is little doubt about this conclusion. There are two main theories for why our universe is "just right" for life, the Intelligent Design theory and the Multiverse theory.

Intelligent design means our universe was designed and created by an extremely intelligent and powerful designer who wanted to create a magnificent world with sunshine, proteins, and people. Whereas, the Multiverse theory suggests that, “Since the probability of a life-supporting universe is extremely low, scientists think that if there are many universes (in a Multiverse) with properties varying throughout the entire range of possibilities, at least one universe may show the properties to support intelligent life.” Basically, Multiverse theory is a way to beat the odds, and it can be used to "explain away" all the evidence for design, whether this evidence occurs at the level of the universe, origin of life, or development of life, or you winning ten consecutive lotteries, because everything will happen if there are enough universes.

Most scientists are convinced that constraints on a life-allowing universe are very tight, that small changes would make the existence of intelligent life impossible. Based on scientific evidence, there is little doubt that many properties of the universe are "just right" for life. Isn’t this data sufficient to prove that the one who triggered the Big-bang is an intelligent designer?  Scientists have enough evidence to prove that everything that exists today has a beginning. They also have sufficient data to suggest that everything has come out of nothing and has been designed intelligently. So isn’t it scientifically reasonable to believe that in the beginning an intelligent designer designed everything to perfection after creating it out of nothing? Sir Albert Einstein said, “Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe- a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble."

Now the question that is left before us is, “Who could that intelligent designer be?” The Hindus and the other religions that have evolved out of Hinduism believe in Advaita, a highly impersonal consciousness that pervades everything and yet has nothing to do with anything, which neither creates nor destroys, which doesn’t influence anything seen or unseen and is least concerned about the condition of mankind in general, let alone the life of an individual. Advaita doesn't advocate an intelligent designer but from the way we find the universe we can see that the Being who has worked behind it has intelligently designed everything to perfection after creating it out of nothing. Therefore, the so called universal consciousness that the proponents of Advaita claim cannot be the one who has triggered the Big-bang.

The only popular religions that advocate an intelligent designer as creator God are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In my opinion, we should compare the lives and/or teachings of the so-called Gods from the books written by the people who claim to be their devotees in order to arrive at a conclusion in this matter; e.g. the Life and teachings of Christ from the Bible and teachings of Allah from the Qur'an. Since we all know that our conscience by which we would be able to know and acknowledge God was also created by Him, we should try to figure out for ourselves the one who represents God’s true nature based on what is acceptable to our conscience.

While most of the religions present a God who hates sinners and then destroys them, The Holy Bible presents a God who is so full of love that not only does he love the repentant sinners but also is willing to die for their cause. The intelligent designer who has designed the Universe to perfection has left one great clue about His nature in the conscience (which again is designed by Him) of mankind. We all by instinct know that sacrificing ones’ life is a greater virtue than killing/destroying others. The one who has triggered the big bang and has also designed our conscience to help us know him should be a God of love rather than hatred. The Bible says, "God is Love and Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of God's Love for man-kind.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This proves the God of the Bible is the intelligent designer who has triggered the formation of the universe.

The following verses from the Bible also confirm the same fact. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) “... that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” (Hebrews 11: 3) “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.....for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1: 1-3, 14, 16)

Written by: Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

Copyright © 2012 Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

http://shalomchristianministry.org/

Is God a Sadist?

Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees? –Job 10: 4

Why should we pray to a God who has created Sufferings?

Very often we ask, “If God is omnipotent then why does he need our prayers? If God is all-knowing, then why should we pray in order to tell Him our feelings and desires? If God is perfectly good and just, then aren't our prayers asking Him to help others pointless? Doesn’t the act of prayer show God’s limitations? After all, why should we pray?” Well, the answer is simple, "we should pray in order to know/receive/understand the answers to the above questions from God because prayer is the only means of communicating with God, who is a Spiritual being.”

God is omnipotent and doesn't need our prayers but a person who knows God will not stop praying because he knows that God is kind and merciful and is always willing to listen to our cry. In the words of a famous person, "Man cannot work without God and God does not work without man." It’s not that the omnipotent God needs our prayers in order to work, He has designed everything in such a way that He does not will to work without the involvement of man (through prayer). Note that there is a great difference between the words need and will. Any person who thinks logically would ask, why can’t the omnipotent God work independently? The reason is the most important attribute of God, The Bible says, “God is Love”. If we take a view of these things from God’s point of view we will find that God has two options before him either to do everything independently or to do everything by involving man in it (shared participation). Which do you think is the option that a Loving God would choose to take? Certainly he would choose to work in conjunction with man. That’s why God doesn’t will to work without the involvement of man, through prayer. He involves mankind (our prayers) in everything He does because his nature is Love. Even though God is omniscient, he still responds to our prayers because his love for us is unconditional.

Our prayers may not change His plans for us but prayer does prepare us to know and acknowledge His plans. Prayer helps and prepares us to receive God's purpose of the things that we do not know and also about the things that we cannot change within our ability. Prayer does not denote God’s inability but instead it helps us to understand how God has limited himself, despite his limitless power, for the sake of communicating with his creation - who has very limited knowledge of His attributes, plans, purposes and sometimes even questions His existence because He doesn't intervene in their lives in the way they expected or wanted to.

If we think from the Biblical stand-point; when God created man and placed him in the garden, man could communicate with Him directly because at that time he was fully aware of his own spiritual reality. By spiritual reality I mean to say that man knew that he is a spirit being. How many of us are born with a realization that we are spirit beings and not just physical bodies? In fact, we start thinking about our spiritual existence only when others begin to point it to us. Why so? The Bible says that this is because we are spiritually dead due to sin. How and where did this sin originate? From the Bible we understand that sin originated when mankind rebelled against God in the garden of Eden. God had told them that they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit, but they still went on to eat it and as we all know they did not die physically; they died spiritually and hence lost the awareness of their being spirit-beings. This is evident from the fact that man felt ashamed of his nakedness only after committing the act and not before it. The resultant spiritual death that passed on from generation to generation is the reason why we are born without spiritual awareness. This condition is reversed when a person asks for forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. A person who believes that Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for his sins becomes born-again spiritually. God promises that he would fully restore those who are spiritually born-again even to the state in which Adam and Eve could talk with him directly, after the judgment and the resurrection of the dead. Until that time prayer is the only means of communicating with God!

If God is Love then why did he create Sufferings?

Another question that one would ask is, “If God loves us so much, then why did he create sufferings in the first place?” If there were no sufferings, then would anyone bother to pray? Well, the Bible says that God did not create sufferings it’s the work of the Satan. Naturally we would then ask, “Why did God create the Satan?” According to the Bible, God did not create Satan. In fact, he created a beautiful angel named Lucifer. Lucifer used His freewill [the ability to think, decide and act independently] to rebel against God and became Satan. One would then ask, “If God is omnipotent and omniscient, then why did he allow the angel to rebel?” The secret again is hidden in the most mysterious attribute of God, Love. If we look at these concepts from God’s stand point we would find that he had two options in front of him before creating the angels. He could either create them with a free-will or without it. Which do you think is the option that a loving God would choose? We all know that love is selfless. Then, certainly he would choose to create angels with a free-will, rather than without it. So is it sensible to put the blame on God for allowing the fallen angel use his freewill?

A man once asked me, “Well, if God who is full of love knew that the angel would fall then why didn’t he stop him?” I answered with a counter question, “Well, what use is a freewill if a person (in this context, angel) has no freedom to use it?” On a different occasion another person asked me, “Well, God knew that the angel was fallen, He also knew that this angel would become the cause of sufferings for mankind, then why didn’t he punish the Satan then and there? Why is he still waiting for the end of the age? Well, he could have spared mankind all these sufferings if he had punished Satan at that very moment. So, do you still think that God loves us?” I added a few more questions to make his argument look even stronger. I asked, “If God knew that the angel would become a source of sufferings to mankind, then why did He allow this fallen angel to enter the garden in order to tempt mankind? And why did He move away at the crucial time to allow the Satan a free access? Above all, why did He plant that dreaded tree in the center of the garden and why did He create man with an ability to hear Satan’s voice and an ability to make his own choice?” Once again the answer for all these questions is found in Love that one crucial characteristic of God which makes him different from every other creature. 

If we examine these questions from God’s point of view we would find that he had two options before creating mankind. He could either create them with a free-will or without it. Which do you think is the option that a loving God would choose? We all know that love is selfless, and it compels a person to take risks and make sacrifices. Therefore, a loving God would certainly choose to create mankind with a free-will rather than without it. And, as we all know it’s the freewill that gave man the ability to make his own choice.

Then, why did he plant the tree, permit Satan to enter the garden and move away from the garden at the crucial time? We all know that any ability is useless if we don’t have the circumstances to use it. For example, learning English would be meaningless if we live (and plan to live) in a society where no one else will ever speak this language. Similarly, a free-will would be of no use if there were no circumstances to use it. Therefore, God planted the tree, permitted Satan to enter the garden and moved away from the garden at the crucial time in order to create circumstances for man to use that free-will. We all know the rest of the story. Mankind used the free-will to rebel against God for its own destruction. God in his righteousness was forced to curse and punish mankind whom he loved, because of their sin. But even in this curse our loving God had concealed a promise to redeem mankind from eternal sufferings and the consequences of their sin.

In Genesis 3: 15 he tells Satan, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." This is in fact, the first mention of the gospel and of Jesus Christ in the entire Bible. You might have missed it because the name Jesus isn’t in the text, but he is there, nonetheless. Jesus is the “seed of the woman”, who would one day come into this world in a most unlikely fashion. I like to think of this verse as the top of a wide funnel. When the promise was given, no one could have imagined the coming Jesus Christ.

The “seed of the woman” simply meant that he must be a member of the human race. But after the flood the line was narrowed to Noah’s descendants, then later to Shem’s descendants, and later came to rest on one man–Abraham, the father of the nation Israel. This was passed on to his son Isaac, to Isaac’s son Jacob, then to Jacob’s son Judah. Centuries later the line was further narrowed down to the house of David. Finally, approximately nine centuries after that, the line came to rest on the firstborn son of a virgin named Mary. What started with the whole human race has narrowed to just one man–Jesus Christ. He didn’t come in the usual way; he came by means of a virgin birth. No one before or ever since entered the world as he did. Thus he is the ultimate “seed of the woman” since no man was involved in his conception.

Written by: Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

Copyright © 2012 Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

http://shalomchristianministry.org/

Is Jesus the Creator God?

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” –John 1: 1-3

The Bible says that Jesus Christ is the Creator God. In the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. John we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth… For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” In The Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians we read, ‘For by him (Jesus Christ) were all things created’. Not only does Scripture affirm it, but during His earthly life and ministry He did the very things we would expect the Creator God to do. He did them in the way that we would expect the Creator God to do them—by His word of authority and the exercise of His will.

Jesus resurrected the dead on three occasions:  a widow’s son, Jairus’ daughter, and his friend Lazarus. Several of Jesus’ miracles involved the creation of new material. Jesus’ first miraculous sign to His disciples involved turning water to wine. Other examples are the two times when Jesus fed a multitude: the first occasion was when he provided food for more than 5,000 people with just five loaves and two fish, and on the second occasion he fed more than 4,000 people with seven loaves and a few pieces of fish. Some of Jesus’ miracles of healing, for example, of lepers, the blind and paralytics, involved the instant repair of tissues, nerves, muscles, etc., and the instantaneous regeneration or growth of healthy cells. The net result was the creation of healthy functioning parts of the body to replace diseased, non-functioning or atrophied parts.

Jesus employed a variety of means to perform His miracles. These included touching lepers, the blind, and the deaf; the use of saliva to heal a deaf mute and a blind man; the use of clay (with instructions to wash) to heal a blind man; and the word of command to heal, to raise the dead, and to exorcise demons. What happened in these and in all of Jesus’ miracles was that Jesus willed the event to happen and it did. Jesus willed the water to become wine, as it was being taken into the wedding feast in Cana, and it happened! He willed the bread and fish to multiply and they did, and He willed the ten lepers to become well and they were healed soon after they had left Him and were on their way to the priests.

John, an apostle of Jesus calls His miracles’ signs and in his Gospel He indicates which way the signs point; “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Very often we ask, what’s significance of a name? Why can’t we approach God in any name? Doesn’t God the omniscient creator know our innermost desire to know him and can’t he receive our prayers that are rendered in any name? Most people think that when they call God by different names, like Allah, Krishna, Rama or Jesus, they are referring to the same person. Is this true? Let us examine. What is the purpose behind using a name? Why do we give names to our children? Why do the scientists give names to different species of plants, animals and even hybrids? We all know that names help us to make a distinction of individuals, species and even societies.

Name is a key feature that helps us to identify a thing and differentiate it from other things. A name is a word or term used for identification. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. So when we call God by a certain name, we are indirectly referring to the person who was/is known by that name. We all know that every person has a unique character, lifestyle and way of thinking. This is also evident in the lives of the personalities that we refer to as Gods. We can easily point out that the character, lifestyle, teaching and the way of thinking of these personalities (whom people claim to be God or incarnations of God) are completely different from each other and sometimes even quite opposite. Why is it so? This is because behind every name there is a person, behind every person there is a character or lifestyle, behind every character there is a teaching and behind every teaching there is a Spirit. The answer is very simple, “their Spirits are different” or “they are different Spirit-beings”. So from the above observation it is clear that we are not calling on the same person when we call upon God by these different names.

Do you want eternal life through the name of Jesus Christ?

If you repent and confess your sins to God and receive Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour of your life you can receive this free gift of eternal life. God will cleanse your conscience with the blood of Jesus, forgive your sins and fill you with His Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners; he destroyed the power of death and has brought immortality to light through the gospel. 

If you believe this message I exhort you to say the following prayer with all your heart. “Lord Jesus I am a sinner. I repent of my sins and believe that you died and resurrected to save me. Please forgive me and cleanse my conscience with your precious blood. I receive you as my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Amen!”

If you have prayed sincerely, God has forgiven your sins. He has written your name in the ‘Book of Life’ in heaven and you have received eternal life.

Written By: Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore,

Copyright © 2012 Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

http://shalomchristianministry.org/

Is Jesus the Only Way?

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14: 7

If there is only one heaven and one God, then why would God create many different ways for people to reach him? The necessity of God to create ways for people to approach him is not validated because If He exists then He is the one in authority and has all the right to command all men to come to him through ‘His way'. Think logically and ask yourself, if God is seated on His throne (which is in fact the highest position) then why should He create more than one way for one kind of creature (that is, mankind) to reach him? Jesus is honored because He is confident that He is the only way to heaven; ask all other gods but none can make such an exclusive statement because they are not even certain of their own position.

Jesus said, "I am the way", and not "I am a way". There are many good ways, people and philosophies, but there is only one God and one way to heaven. Some people believe in the ten incarnations of God. But let me ask you a question, “Why should God be born again and again in this world to solve one problem (that is, the problem of sin) and yet not solve it even after ten incarnations?” Is God so weak and is his strategy so fragile? On a closer examination you will find that the way these so called incarnations were trying to solve the problem of sin was the 'real’ problem. You cannot defeat sin by destroying sinners, which is exactly what all those incarnations excelled in doing. Sin cannot be defeated by destroying sinners; it can be overcome only by destroying the "sin" that lies within the sinner.

For this reason God came once and for all, (because that was sufficient) in human form and bore the punishment of all sins on his sinless body to set free all sinners (who believe in Him) from the prison of sin.  First, by forgiving their past sins and saving them from the punishment of sin (in hell), then by saving them from the tendency to sin or from "sin" itself by creating in them a new way of life, and ultimately by residing inside of them spiritually and leading them according to His plan and purpose for their lives.

Jesus kills the sin and not the sinner, that's the difference. When this 'sin' inside a person is killed he is Born-again spiritually. Which do you think is the better option? God being born again several times to destroy sinners and finally becoming frustrated because the sin keeps on increasing or God deciding to die for sinners in order to forgive their sins and then starts living inside them by making them Born-again spiritually? I think if I were God I would choose to give sinners the opportunity to be Born-again spiritually and live holy lives rather than I being born again and again just to kill a few sinners, yet not solve the problem of sin.

Immortality is a fundamental desire of all human beings. According to a popular Hindu belief Asuras and Devas fought each other for it. The legend goes that both Asuras and the Devas joined hands in churning a sea called the sea of milk. As they churned, a variety of gifts were released from the bottom of the sea; the last of all but the most precious one was “Amrutham,” a sacred fluid that gives eternal life to all who drink from it. Devas tricked the Asuras and captured the jar containing the fluid. As they were fighting for it in the heavenly realms, a portion of it fell to some rivers of the earth. Hence, these rivers became holy, and there came a belief that those who wash themselves in these rivers will receive the cleansing of their sins and eternal life. Hindus believe that all human beings are sinners and cannot acquire eternal life without the cleansing of their sins. 

The Holy Bible also proclaims the same fact. All human beings are sinners and we all need cleansing. Where should this cleansing take place? Is the cleansing of the body sufficient to remove our sins? Is it enough that we clean the outside of the vessel while the inside remains dirty? Think about it. True cleansing should take place within us: in the conscience, for it is the conscience that makes us aware of our sins. The Bible says, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses our conscience from all sin.”

How does the blood of Jesus qualify over the water of the rivers?

The Blood of Jesus is Divine: It has its origin in God whereas “Amrutham” came from the bottom of the sea. Why do we say that the blood of Jesus is divine? The answer is simple, ‘because Jesus himself is divine’. Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary. Before His birth an angel told her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so the Holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Jesus is the Son of God, He is divine and so is His blood.

The Blood of Jesus is Redemptive: Jesus shed his blood on a cross for the very purpose of cleansing the sins of humanity whereas “Amrutham” fell in the rivers accidentally. Jesus’ blood is God’s payment for human sins. God is Just; man is a sinner. God, in his justice must punish all human beings for their sins. The punishment of sin is eternal death in hell. God loves us and so he sent Jesus, His son, in human likeness, to take the punishment of all our sins and hence save us from hell. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins by His substitutionary death on a cross. His blood is the price that God paid for our sins, once and for all.

Those who believe in Jesus can receive the cleansing of their sins by His blood and hence eternal life or immortality. God will pour out his Holy Spirit into such people. Holy Spirit is the true “Amrutham”, which God gives freely to all who ask Him in Jesus name. It is the true living water that satisfies the inner thirst of every human being and becomes in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Jesus said, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”

Written By: Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore,

Copyright © 2012 Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

http://shalomchristianministry.org/

Is Jesus Only a Prophet?

Jesus replied, "If you knew me, you would know my Father also." –John 8: 19

Jesus Christ is one of the most relevant names in history. This rabbi (teacher) from Israel is known, believed and worshipped by at least one third of the World’s population. How did Jesus become so famous? How did this ordinary carpenter from Israel become world famous? How could this prophet who worked only for three and a half years influence the world for more than 2000 years? All religions and even cults have something to say, reveal or proclaim about his life, teachings and work on earth.  Christianity and Islam have their own views about this holy man. The Quran claims that Jesus Christ was a Prophet of God whereas the Bible claims that He is more than a Prophet. The question is, is Jesus only a prophet or is He someone greater than that? This article is an attempt to answer this question and to draw your attention to the personality, work and purpose of Jesus’ life on earth. Let us begin our analysis with the two major claims of the Quran about the birth and the personality of Jesus.

Virgin Birth of Jesus: The Quran accepts that Jesus (Isa’ in Qur’an) was born of the Virgin Mary, without a father. ‘Isa is called as the son of Mary 23 times in the Qur’an. It even tries to justify Mary and confirm that she did not give birth to the child out of wedlock.  (Sura Al ‘Imran 3:45-47; Sura Al Maryam 19: 16-23)

Sinless Life of Jesus: When announcing the birth of Christ in the Quran, Jibril, who is acknowledged to be a spirit of Allah and the messenger of his revelations, promised Mary that he would grant her a pure and flawless boy. (Sura  Maryam 19:19) Some commentators of Quran openly write that ‘Isa was born without sin and was holy, because he was born of the spirit of Allah. According to the Quran, if Christ had been a sinner, he would have died and would have had to wait in his grave for the hour of Allah’s judgment, but Christ, according to the Qur’an, was lifted up to Allah. He lives with him. He is one of those brought near to Allah.

Jesus talks with him in a personal dialogue (Sura al-Ma’ida 5: 116-118). No sin separates him from the holy one. The Qur’an speaks of Abraham’s, Moses’ and Muhammad’s sins (Sura Ghafir 40: 55; Muhammad 47:19; al-Fath 48: 2; al-Nasr 110: 3), but concerning Christ there is no hint, not even in Tradition, that he might have sinned, erred or become weakened.

Now we have two questions before us, “Why was Jesus born of a virgin?” and “Why did he lead a sinless life?” If Christ wanted to serve God as a Prophet alone He could have done that without a virgin birth or a sinless life like the other prophets like Abraham, Moses and Muhammad. We all know and believe that God does not do anything without a purpose. What purpose did God fulfill through the virgin birth and sinless life of Jesus? The Holy Bible unveils the mystery behind this. God is Just; all human beings are sinners. God, in his justice must punish all human beings for their sins. The punishment of sin is eternal death in hell. God loves us and wants to save us from hell. At the same time, God hates sin and therefore must punish sin. In order to save the sinners and to punish their sins God sent Jesus (the meaning of the name Jesus is ‘Savior’) on earth. Jesus took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. God laid on him the guilt and sins of all human beings. Jesus did not sin yet he accepted the death of a sinner on a cross. God punished the sins of all human beings in the body of Jesus. He became a sacrifice for us.

Once a Muslim asked a missionary, "If you saw a group of thugs attacking your son and could see they were going to kill him, would you not go to his rescue? Do you not love your son? Then how can you say that the Loving God let His only son die on a cross?" The Missionary replied, "What if you saw me walking down the road with a knife in my own hand and my son in the other, intending to kill him myself. Would that not be far worse?" The Muslim friend agreed.

He continued, "Then how can you believe that Abraham was such a great prophet and father when that is precisely what he did. He prepared one day to kill his own son according to the Qur’an (Surah 37.102-103).” “God told Moses ‘You shall not kill’ - How can you proclaim that Abraham is worthy of honor when he resolved to do this to his very own son?" The Muslim friend emphatically replied: "You do not understand. That was different! It was a test of his love for God. If a man will give his son for God, he’ll give anything for him!" "Exactly", the missionary replied, "and that is precisely what we are saying about God. He did not stand by watching, he willingly gave his Son for us to save us from our sins. It was the greatest proof of His love for us.”

Jesus was oppressed and afflicted yet He did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers ever so silent, so He did not open His mouth. He did not rebel or curse but became obedient to death – even death on a cross. He was wounded and crushed for our sins; the punishment that brought us peace with God was upon him. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins by His substitutionary death on a cross. His blood is the price that God paid for our sins, once and for all. If Jesus was born normally, like every one of us, He would have been a sinner himself. A sinner cannot take the bail for the sins of others. A sinner cannot become a sacrifice. This explains the mystery behind the virgin birth and sinless life of Jesus.

In the Torah, God revealed through Prophet Moses the idea behind the sin offerings for the forgiveness of sins. “If the citizens of Israel do something forbidden by the Lord, they will be guilty of sin. When they become aware of their sin, they must bring as their offering a goat with no physical defects. They are to lay a hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it. The priest will then offer the sacrifice to the Lord. In this way, the priest will make atonement for them and they will be forgiven.” (Leviticus 4: 27-31)

In the Gospel according to St. John, John the Baptist, the last prophet of the Old Testament said to his disciples, “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  (John 1: 29) He said this about Jesus Christ. Jesus became the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of mankind. For a sacrifice to be acceptable to God the lamb to be offered should be free from all defects. Jesus, being born of a virgin and having lived a sinless life, was free from all spiritual defects. He was the best person suited for such a sacrifice. Therefore, we can conclude that Jesus was born of a virgin and He lived a sinless life so that God could fulfill the criteria of the sacrificial lamb in Him. He is not just a prophet. He is the Savior of the World!

In the Qur’an, God commanded Abraham not to sacrifice his own son. There Allah says to him “And we have redeemed him with a great (slaughtered) sacrifice.” (Sura al-Saffat 37: 107) This revelation admits the possibility of a divine reconciliation through a slain offering. The complete redemption of Abraham’s son was not accomplished by his faith or his good works, but by a sacrifice. Thus the Qur’an indirectly admits that a sacrifice is sufficient for redemption. Jesus Christ is the true Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! He came into this world to save sinners. As Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins we do not need to suffer in hell. Now, through Jesus our sins can be forgiven, we can be reconciled with God and inherit a place in heaven. We can be saved from eternal death in hell.

Let us channel our focus towards this question “How could this Jesus live a sinless life?” We all know that God alone is Holy and Perfect. Then, how could this man Jesus claim perfection? The Holy Bible unveils the mystery behind this as well. In John’s Gospel Jesus is quoted as saying to the Jews, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?” [John 8: 46] In verse 54 he adds “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.” According to the Bible Jesus claimed a sinless life because he was the son of God!

The Qur’an however rejects the idea of a biological fathering of Christ by Allah in Mary. All churches rightly reject this idea too without hesitation! A Christian sect in the Arabian peninsula had called Mary “the mother of God” and considered the Triune God to be composed of “Father, mother and son” (Sura al-Ma’ida 5: 116). This rumor was justly rejected by Qur’an. The Bible does not speak of a biological fathering of Christ by God in Mary. St. Luke explains the conception of Jesus in Mary like this, “God sent angel Gabriel to Nazareth a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “God has decided to bless you! You will become pregnant and have a son and you are to name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” (Luke 2: 26- 31) Mary asked the angel, “How can I have a baby? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the son of God.” (Luke 2: 34, 35) Jesus being conceived by the Holy Spirit is the “spiritual” son of God. 

In the Qur’anic version when Jibril appeared to the Virgin Mary, he confirmed to her that Allah sent him for only one purpose, to give her a blameless, good son: He said, “Anyway, I am the messenger of your Lord, to grant you a pure boy.” (Sura Maryam 19: 19) She said, “How shall I have a son and no man has touched me, neither have I been unchaste.” (Sura Maryam 19: 20; see also Al ‘Imran 3: 47) The Qur’an further adds in Sura al-Anbiya 21: 91 “And she who guarded her virginity; so we breathed into her our spirit and appointed her and her son to be a sign to the worlds.” This famous verse removes several misunderstandings and clarifies that Christ was not born of Mary through Jibril as some claim, but it was Allah himself who breathed into her of his own Spirit! The Spirit of Allah did not procreate Christ through physical intimacy but through the spirit. The Almighty did not breathe Jibril, his sent spirit, into Mary, but of his own Spirit. Some people think that when God breathed His Spirit into Mary it was much the same way that he breathed in to Adam, a created being. In fact, this verse doesn't say that God breathed His own Spirit in to Jesus just like he breathed it into Adam after creating his body out of dust. Instead it says that God breathed His own Spirit in to Mary, whereas God breathed his spirit directly into Adam. To be more specific, in Jesus' case, God breathed His own Spirit into Mary’s womb, and a Spirit being came forth. So we should conclude that the Spirit-Being (the person) that came forth as a result is God Himself. It is reasonable to conclude from this verse that the son of Mary is at the same time a son by the Spirit of Allah, or the ‘spiritual’ son of Allah.

The Qur’an states 16 times that Allah has no son. This is true as long as it means that he has no son sexually. The conception of ‘Isa in Mary was a spiritual act and not a sexual one; therefore, He was born holy and pure. Further, in Sura al-Nisa 4: 171 we read “…’Isa, the son of Mary, is a messenger of Allah, and His Word that He put into Mary, and a Spirit from Him…” The Qur’an calls the son of Mary “Spirit from Allah”. This term testifies that Christ is not an ordinary man, born of a father and a mother, but He is the incarnation of the Spirit from Allah. The Almighty put his Word and His Spirit into the Virgin Mary. Jesus is more than a prophet- he is the incarnation of God’s word! He is the spiritual son of God!

Jesus claimed to be the son of God. Apostle John, in his gospel says, “For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him, not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5: 18) In the decisive hour of His life Jesus affirmed before the Sanhedrin that He was Christ, the son of the living God. (Matthew 26: 63-68, Luke 22: 70) For this confession He was sentenced to death. He did not rebel or curse but became obedient to death – even death on a cross because his death had a purpose.

God is Holy and Perfect, all human beings are sinful and imperfect. Although God loves us and wants us to be one with him, he cannot associate with us directly because of our sin. In order to unite with us, God sent Jesus, His Son, to earth. Jesus took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. God laid on Him the guilt and sins of all human beings. Jesus did not sin yet he accepted the death of a sinner on a cross. God punished the sins of all human beings in the body of Jesus. He became a sacrifice for us. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins by His substitutionary death on a cross. His blood is the price that God paid for our sins, once and for all. As Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins we do not need to be separated from God anymore. Now, through Jesus our sins can be forgiven and we can be reconciled with God.

Written By: Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore,

Copyright © 2012 Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

http://shalomchristianministry.org/