(23) . . . his only Son . . .

How do I single Jesus Christ out of all mankind as God’s appointed Savior? Nearly everyone does saving work of some kind, meeting somebody’s serious needs. I couldn’t have got along without all my helpers, my saviors, such as the armed forces, policemen, garbage collectors, teachers, repairmen, doctors, ministers, farmers, and parents. Many a statesmen and hero has been remembered as “the savior of his people.” Which of all these do I mean when I speak of my Savior? To specify exactly the one I’m talking about, I add to the name of Jesus Christ the words, “his only Son our Lord.” Then I give a little sketch of his life, as the Creed does. That will set Jesus apart from all other saviors.

I hail Jesus as God’s appointed Savior and God’s only Son because God himself set Jesus apart from all other men. He was the only one out of mankind’s millions of dead that God ever brought back for all time. This fact by itself doesn’t prove much of anything. But considering that Jesus made himself out to be the Son of God, it would be most unlikely for the God of truth to bring him back if he hadn’t been the one he claimed he was. While Jesus didn’t make a practice of going around telling everybody point-blank that he was the Son of God, he did just about everything else imaginable to leave exactly that impression on his friends. Even his enemies among the Jews got his message quite clearly and therefore had him put to death for blasphemy. I can’t explain the cross without Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God. He certainly talked as though he were on the most intimate terms with his “Father in heaven” and as though he had real inside knowledge of “the Son.” He forgave sins, and who but God has the right to do that? He dared extend God’: law much deeper and further than when God had given it to Moses. By the sheer power of his word, just as if he were the Creator, Jesus took control of the winds and waves and nature. If he did these things only by trickery, they would be hard to reconcile with his courageous truthfulness and concern for people. Surely God would not choose to honor such a bold-faced liar by bringing him back to life and by exalting his power and existence so far beyond other men’s! What God did puts aside all past and future opinions about who Jesus was. The Almighty backed up everything that Jesus had assumed and claimed for himself. Occasionally a man may wonder whether a certain child is really his own child. But the Lord God didn’t make a mistake when he pointed out Jesus to the world as his only Son. No one else has ever stood that way in the divine spotlight. Because God thus openly recognized his Son, thoughtful men, taking account of all the facts, also acknowledge that Jesus is the only Son of God.