When did Jesus know he is Son of God?

[Jesus_is_Saint]

The Scriptures say that Jesus is God incarnate, he is the Word of God and is God.
When Jesus was born into human body, he grew as a normal human being.

When he was a baby, was he as innocent as other babies?
When he was a kid, was he as playful as other kids?

When did Jesus know that he is the Son of God?
Age 1,3,5,10,15,20?
At what age did he probably know that?

Was he informed by an angel and knew that?
Did the Father in heaven reveal to him and so he knew?
What probably is the correct answer?

 

[St_Worm2]

Hi JiS, here's about all we know of the young Jesus.

Visit to Jerusalem​

41 Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
42 And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast;
43 and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it,
44 but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.
45 When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him.
46 Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
48 When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.”
49 And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
50 But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.
51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. ~Luke 2
​

This passage as a whole, and in particular, verses 49-50, helps us understand that at least by age 12, the Lord knew that He was the only begotten Son of God.

Yours and His,
David

 

[RC1970]

He knew long before he was even born.

 

[98cwitr]

He knew long before he was even born.

This

 

[Greg J.]

On earth Jesus was not as he had been as "God is spirit" (from John 4:24)

He was changing:

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:52, 1984 NASB)

Loving, good parents don't wait until their child is a certain age before parenting them. Without the hindrance of sin, God would have been actively parenting Jesus from conception.

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. (John 3:6, 1984 NIV)

 

[Jesus_is_Saint]

Did Jesus wake up from sleep one day and suddenly knew that he is Son of God?

 

[RC1970]

Did Jesus wake up from sleep one day and suddenly knew that he is Son of God?

For what we know about what Jesus knew, according to His human nature, see post #2 above.

For what we know about what Jesus knew, according to His Divine nature, see post #3 above.

 

[Greg J.]

Did Jesus wake up from sleep one day and suddenly knew that he is Son of God?

What caused you to learn that you were you?

 

[AnticipateHisComing]

On earth Jesus was not as he had been as "God is spirit" (from John 4:24)

He was changing:

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:52, 1984 NASB)

Loving, good parents don't wait until their child is a certain age before parenting them. Without the hindrance of sin, God would have been actively parenting Jesus from conception.

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. (John 3:6, 1984 NIV)

This.

Along with:
Hebrews 2:9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil

What is difficult to comprehend is that Jesus was both God and man. His flesh was his humanity, conceived in Mary. His spirit is eternally God. Since the mind is flesh, Jesus had to learn scripture just like we do. Now I am sure that he had the greatest mind of any man and his spirit guided his understanding of the texts and the words he spoke.

 

[ViaCrucis]

For what we know about what Jesus knew, according to His human nature, see post #2 above.

For what we know about what Jesus knew, according to His Divine nature, see post #3 above.

This is an important point. The reality is that since Jesus was--and is--both God and man then there remains a paradox. As God, did the Lord know everything? Absolutely. And yet He says to us, "Of that day and hour no one knows ... not even the Son". How can He be at once unlimited and limited? How can He be at once both passible and impassible? How can He at once be incapable of dying, and yet die? He is God and man, at once. Without confusion and without separation.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[AnticipateHisComing]

This is an important point. The reality is that since Jesus was--and is--both God and man then there remains a paradox. As God, did the Lord know everything? Absolutely. And yet He says to us, "Of that day and hour no one knows ... not even the Son". How can He be at once unlimited and limited? How can He be at once both passible and impassible? How can He at once be incapable of dying, and yet die? He is God and man, at once. Without confusion and without separation.

There is zero scripture that says Jesus has flesh and blood today in heaven. He certainly did not have it 3000 years ago when he was in heaven in his spiritual "body".

John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

 

[St_Worm2]

There is zero scripture that says Jesus has flesh and blood today in heaven. He certainly did not have it 3000 years ago when he was in heaven in his spiritual "body".

John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Hi AHC, the pre-INCARNATE Son of God took on humanity at His conception/Incarnation, which also meant coming "in the flesh" (John 1:14; cf 2 John 7). He rose from the grave "bodily" (the tomb was empty, yes ), as well ascended into Heaven, "bodily", and so He remains to this day. That He rose and ascended bodily, IOW, in the flesh is, in fact, the important point of His Resurrection (cf 1 Corinthians 15:17), as it teaches that we too will rise from the dead in like manner

35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”
36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
38 But God gives it a body as He has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ~1 Cor 15​

We, as the Lord Jesus has now, will have resurrection bodies in the age to come

Yours in Christ,
David

"Our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory" ~Phil 3:20-21​

 

[St_Worm2]

John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

One last thing, while contextually, John 4:24 refers specifically to God the Father (see John 4:21-24), I believe that, "God is spirit", is also true of the 2nd Member of the Godhead in His Divinity, and that even as He walked among us in His humanity/"in the flesh". The Lord Jesus is one Person with two natures, Divine and human.

Yours and His,
David

 

[JackRT]

I think that the historical person of Jesus would have been appalled to learn that his followers were speaking of him as divine.

 

[Jesus_is_Saint]

Jesus must be divine in nature.
When he took the body of a man, he must live like a man.
He can sweat and bleed.
I believe when Jesus was 3 year-old, he did not fully know he is Son of God.
Probably until he had learned all the OT scriptures at the age of 12, God the Father restored his divine nature onto him fully.
And when he was baptized by John the Baptist, Heaven opened, God the Father and Holy Spirit testified that Jesus is the Son of God - and he is God, the Messiah.

 

[RC1970]

There is zero scripture that says Jesus has flesh and blood today in heaven. He certainly did not have it 3000 years ago when he was in heaven in his spiritual "body".

John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

”And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” ~ Acts 1:9-11

 

[St_Worm2]

I think that the historical person of Jesus would have been appalled to learn that his followers were speaking of him as divine.

Hi Jack, that is certainly an interesting position to take for someone who claims the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity!

That said, why do you believe that Jesus would be appalled at us today for "speaking of Him as divine", since the opposite appears to be the case for many who spoke about Him (or even with Him face to face) in the 1st Century. For instance:

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ. ~Matthew 16


26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” ~John 20


11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. ~Titus 2​

Any questions about who Jesus really is were revealed forever at the Cross and at His empty tomb over two millennia ago, so why would Jesus be "appalled" at His present-day followers for simply speaking the truth about Him

Rather, I think He is saddened whenever we do not!!

Yours and His,
David
p.s. - for that matter, people were talking about Jesus' Deity hundreds of years before He was even born

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
And the government shall be upon His shoulder:
And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The Mighty God,
The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end,
Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,
To order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice
From henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. ~Isaiah 9​

 

[JackRT]

That said, why do you believe that Jesus would be appalled at us today for "speaking of Him as divine", since the opposite appears to be the case for many who spoke about Him

I am not orthodox in my Christianity at all. I do not accept the Trinity or the doctrine of Original Sin in a traditional way. I regard the Gospels as interpretive narratives rather than as literal histories. I also agree with the Jesus Seminar that very few of the word or acts attributed to Jesus were actually said or done by the historical person of Jesus. What the Apostles and Disciples encountered in Jesus was so extraordinary that they were unable to speak of him in the ordinary language of humans. They fell back on Jewish prophesy and literary traditions to convey their thoughts and very early in church history Greek Philosophy entered the mix.

 

[St_Worm2]

I am not orthodox in my Christianity at all. I do not accept the Trinity or the doctrine of Original Sin in a traditional way. I regard the Gospels as interpretive narratives rather than as literal histories. I also agree with the Jesus Seminar that very few of the word or acts attributed to Jesus were actually said or done by the historical person of Jesus. What the Apostles and Disciples encountered in Jesus was so extraordinary that they were unable to speak of him in the ordinary language of humans. They fell back on Jewish prophesy and literary traditions to convey their thoughts and very early in church history Greek Philosophy entered the mix.

Or ... the Bible is exactly what it claims to be, the very breathed words of God Himself (and it says what it does because that's what God wanted it to say).

The positions you take are far from those of orthodox Christianity (as stated in the Creeds/believed by the church for millennia). This is GT, not the CT Forum (where much of this can be discussed), but even on the CT board, the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity is not up for debate.

Yours in Christ,
David

 

[JackRT]

Or ... the Bible is exactly what it claims to be, the very breathed words of God Himself (and it says what it does because that's what God wanted it to say).

I understand that point of view because it used to be my own.

The positions you take are far from those of orthodox Christianity (as stated in the Creeds/believed by the church for millennia). This is GT, not the CT Forum (where much of this can be discussed), but even on the CT board, the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity is not up for debate.

Yours in Christ,
David

I fully understand that my POV is far from orthodox. I was not debating, just answering your question.

Go with God my friend.