Gospel Growth

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The Gospel of John 1:1-14

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. In him was
life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not
overcome it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was
John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that
light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was
not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.









The Gospel of John 1:1-14

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into
the world. He was in the world, and though the world was
made through him, the world did not recognize him. He
came to that which was his own, but his own did not
receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God children born not of natural descent, nor
of human decision or a husbands will, but born of God.

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.







Ambassadors For Christ
Informed (Knowledge)
Winsome (Character)
Wisdom (Approach)


http://theagora.blogspot.com
Jesus was born of a virgin, a sign
for all peoples
He (Gabriel) said: "Nay, I am only
a messenger from thy Lord, (to
announce) to thee the gift of a
holy son. She said: "How shall I
have a son, seeing that no man
has touched me, and I am not
unchaste?" He said: "So (it will
be): Thy Lord saith, 'that is easy
for Me: and (We wish) to appoint
him as a Sign unto men and a
Mercy from Us': It is a matter (so)
decreed."
(19:19-21)


Jesus was created like Adam
The similitude of Jesus before Allah
is as that of Adam; He created him
from dust, then said to him: "Be".
And he was. (3:59)

Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary:
(it is) a statement of truth, about
which they (vainly) dispute. It is not
befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that
He should beget a son. Glory be to
Him! when He determines a matter,
He only says to it, "Be", and it
is. (19:34-35)



Jesus was a servant/prophet
But she pointed to the babe. They
said: "How can we talk to one who is
a child in the cradle? He said: "I am
indeed a servant of God: He hath
given me revelation and made me a
prophet (19:29-30)

Jesus unique titles in the Koran:
Gods Word (Kalimatullah 3:39, 45;
4:171), the Messiah (Al-Masih 3:45),
and Gods Spirit (Ruhullah 4:171).



Jesus taken up into heaven
He said: "I am indeed a servant of
Allah: He hath given me revelation
and made me a prophet. (19:30)

We gave Moses the Book and
followed him up with a succession of
messengers; We gave Jesus the son
of Mary clear (Signs) and
strengthened him with the holy spirit.
Is it that whenever there comes to
you a messenger with what ye
yourselves desire not, ye are puffed
up with pride?- Some ye called
impostors, and others ye slay! (2:87



Jesus ascended to heaven and
will be vindicated
Behold! Allah said: "O Jesus! I will
take thee and raise thee to
Myself and clear thee (of the
falsehoods) of those who
blaspheme; I will make those who
follow thee superior to those who
reject faith, to the Day of
Resurrection: Then shall ye all return
unto me, and I will judge between
you of the matters wherein ye
dispute. (3:55, Yusuf Ali)



Jesus confirms the Torah and
predicts Muhammads coming



Jesus did not accept worship for
Himself or Mary

And behold! Allah will say: "O Jesus
the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto
men, worship me and my mother as
gods in derogation of Allah'?" He will
say: "Glory to Thee! never could I say
what I had no right (to say). Had I said
such a thing, thou wouldst indeed have
known it. Thou knowest what is in my
heart, Thou I know not what is in
Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that
is hidden. (5:116)

Jesus was not killed by crucifixion
Copies: How Early? How Many?
The earlier the copies, the closer they are to the original and less
time for errors to creep in. The more copies we have, the more
confidence we have in making comparisons.




Jesus According To His Critics
Lucian the satire writer:

The Christians, you know
worship a man to this day the
distinguished person who was
crucified which explains the
contempt of death and
voluntary self-devotion which
are so common among them
and deny the gods of Greece,
and worship that crucified
sage, and live after his laws.
Evidence outside of Bible
Talmud (Jewish source): On the eve of the Passover Yeshu
was hanged. (second century AD)

Tacitus (A.D. 55 - 117, Roman historian): Christus suffered
the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands
of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus

The life and death of Jesus are historically verifiable, not an
imaginary fairy tale.

Why would Christians want to invent an embarrassing story
about their Masters death on the cross? Unless of course, it
really happened.




Son of God
according to the NT

Matt 16:16 Simon Peter replied, You
are the Messiah, the Son of the Living
God.
Mark 2:1-12 Jesus has the authority to
forgives sins
His authority is above Gods law Lord of
the Sabbath (Mark 2:27) and In saying
this, Jesus declared all foods clean
(Mark 7:19)
John 14:9 Anyone who has seen me
has seen the Father.

Called God - Rom 9:5; Phil 2:6; Col 1:15;
Titus 2:13; Hebrew 1:8; 2 Pet 1:1




You must make your choice.
Either this man was, and is, the
Son of God: or else a madman or
something worse. You can shut
Him up for a fool, you can spit at
Him and kill him as a demon or
you can fall at his feet and call
Him Lord and God.
But let us not come with any
patronizing nonsense about His
being a great human teacher. He
has not left that open to us.
He did not intend to.
Mad, Bad or GOD?