God loves us. Because He loves us He also made a plan so that we might be saved from sin. This we will deal with in lesson – Five: the salvation from sin is not by means of cross, but through one heavenly Man, who is (Hazrat Isa Mashee) Jesus Christ, who was anointed by the Holy Spirit and who is called the Word of God incarnated or Kalema-tullah.

Who is (Hazrat Isa Mashee) Jesus Christ in fact? Let us try to find answer to this question from the Quran and the Bible. It is described in both the books that Hazrat Isa is God’s word that is He is Kalema-tullah, who was sent to the world by the Holy Spirit.

It is a matter of great surprise that God did not send any special philosopher or any religious concept or many religious instructions, nor did He enjoyed upon man any ascetic life to be lived by avoiding this world for men’s salvation from the bondage of sin. But He sent only one Man about whom we are discussing this lesson.

Prophetic Books

Isaiah 61: 1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me – To preach good tidings to the poor; . . . . To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

Prophet Isaiah told about the coming of the Messiah (Mashee / Christ) in this verse.

Al- Zabur  (Psalm)

Chapter 107 verse 20 : He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.

God sent the Messiah or His word to heal us from sin, and He delivered us from the chastisement for sin.

Al-Injeel

John 1: 1 & 14 : In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

God’s Word was with Him from throughout eternity. He was able to speak always. He sent His Word in the form of a human being made of flesh and blood in order to save us from our sin.

Al-Quran

Surah 3. Al ‘Imran (The Family Of ‘Imran, The House Of ‘Imran) verse 45 : Behold! the angels said: “O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah.

Messiah is God’s Word. When we was in the world he was highly honored and he is now sitting nearest to God – According to the Al-Injeel he is at ‘God’s right hand’ (Hebrews 10:12).

Hazrat Gabriel, the Angel came to Mary and announced to her that she love God’s word – the Messiah in her womb. We know that no other Prophet was born of any Virgin. The Angel announced this kind of holy birth of the Messiah – the incarnation of God’s Word as a Man. God had made a promise of the Messiah right after Hazrat Adam and Hazrat Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden in the Torah (book of Genesis chapter 3 verses 15). God had told that the seed of the woman – He did not tell about the seed of the man here – crush the head of Satan.

When the Word was revealed from God it was not separated from Him. We are discussing here about God’s “Word”, what both the Quran and the Bible identified as Jesus Christ. He is the only mediator through whom God wants to communicate with us. He will never be different or be separated from God as He is part of God.

A man once asked his friend, “What came first, God or His Word?”

The friend replied, “of course, God came first.”

He said “oh! In the beginning God did not have the power of speech and as such He could not speak”!

His friend emphatically replied, “No not so. He was able to speak.”

Of course God was always holy and perfect. So he was not their without speech, that means He was never without His Word. This means that the Messiah, who is God’s Word, was and is always with God.

Many can say that Christians believe in their gods – God, Isa (Jesus) and Mary. Jesus Christ himself has this to say to this – God is only one (Al-Injeel: Mark 12: 29) and Al- Torah too has the same thing to say (Al-Torah; Deuteronomy 6: 4).

Let us try to know what the holy books have to say about the truth that Hazrat Isa Mashee (Jesus Christ) is God’s Word and His Spirit:

Prophetic Books

Micah 3 : 8  : But truly I (Christ) am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, And of justice and might, To declare to Jacob his transgression, And to Israel his sin.

Al-Injeel

Revelation 19 : 13  : He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

Acts 20 : 28  : Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God^[c] which He purchased with His own blood.

Here we see that God has purchased his believers. Can God give His blood? It can be understood that God, His Word and His Spirit all together are one God in fact.

Al-Quran

Surah 2. Al-Baqara (The Cow) verse 87 : ….. We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit. . . .  

In other words God gave Hazrat Isa (Jesus) His Word and guided Him always by His Holy Spirit.

Is Hazrat Isa (Jesus) God’s son? This is an important question. Before we answer this question let us discuss the three types of son discussed in the Quran and the Bible.

1. Son through physical relationship:

Al-Injeel

John 3: 6 – What is born of man is man.

It is meant here that children of flesh and blood are born of parents of flesh and blood. Hazrar Marium (Mary) was a mother with flesh and blood in whose womb was born Hazrat Isa (Jesus). She was a Godly person and a virgin. That’s how Hazrat Isa too was sinless. What is taught about this in the Quran and the Injeel is :

Al-Quran

Surah 19. Maryam (Mary) verse 19 : He (Angel) said: “Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son.

Al-Injeel

Hebrews 4 : 15  : For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Al-Quran

Surah 112. Al-Ikhlas (The Unity, Sincerity, Oneness Of Allah) verses 1 – 3 : Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;  Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;

Phrase “God’s Son” is not to refer to any physical relationship between the Messiah and God. God has no physical body. Certainly the material body of Messiah is not God’s body.

2. Symbolic Son:

The word “son” can be used in another meaning according to the actual language of the Quran and the Bible. This is in the sense of “right” – as for example-

Al-Quran

Surah 2. Al-Baqara (The Cow) verses 177 & 215 : It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah.fearing. They ask thee what they should spend (In charity). Say: Whatever ye spend that is good, is for parents and kindred and orphans and those in want and for wayfarers. And whatever ye do that is good, -(Allah) knoweth it well.

“The son of wayfarer” means a traveler, Tourist or stranger.

Al-Injeel

Luke 16 : 8  : So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

 Al- Zabur  (Psalm)

Chapter 89 verse 22 : The enemy shall not outwit him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

We know that in the literal sense or in fact way, light and wickedness do not have any son. The Quran and the Bible have used many symbolic words to help us to understand about God. Some verses are quoted below:

Al-Quran

Surah 36. Ya Sin (Ya-sin) verse 83 : So glory to Him in Whose hands is the dominion of all things: and to Him will ye be all brought back.

Surah 20. Ta Ha (Ta-ha) verse 5  : ((Allah)) Most Gracious is firmly established on the throne (of authority).

Prophetic Books

2 Chronicles 16 : 9  : For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”

In the above-mentioned verses the words – “hand” “to sit” and “eyes” are used to help us to understand God although we know that God does not have any body.

3. Spiritual son:

Al-Injeel

John 3 : 6 : That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

In this verse the difference between physical and spiritual son-ship is shown.

Al-Quran

Surah 4. An-Nisa’ (Women) verse 171 : O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His apostles. Say not “Trinity” : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah. Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.

That Hazrat Isa Masihee (Jesus Christ) came to the world as a direct intervention of God is meant here. It can be easily understood from this verse that Hazrat Isa is God’s Word come from very God and at the same time he is also His Spirit – implying that he is the spirit of Him from whom he has come.

As from the human point of view, He was son of Mary, he was also a man.

Al-Injeel

Hebrews 4 : 15  : For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but (Jesus) was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Therefore, it can be understood from the above quoted verses in the Quran and the Bible that God had a Spiritual Son and He and the Son had intimate spiritual relationship.

Prophetic Books

Daniel 3 : 25  : “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

According to this verse Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego of the children of God – the Israelites were unjustly thrown into the furnace as per the king’s command and there was a fourth person with those three in the furnace who protected them. This fourth person is none other than the Messiah who was already there in human form.

Proverbs 30 : 4  : Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? . . . . What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know?

Al- Zabur  (Psalm)

Chapter 2 verses 7 –  8 : “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me (Christ), ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You. The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

Al-Injeel

Matthew 3 : 16 – 17 : When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He^[c] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ¹⁷ And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Romans 1 : 3 – 4 : concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

 There are many more verses in the Injeel apart from the ones quoted above where Hazrat Isa is shown as God’s Son.

Al-Quran

Surah 21. Al-Anbiya’ (The Prophets) verse 91 : And (remember) her (Mary) who guarded her chastity: We (God) breathed into her of Our (God) spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for all peoples.

Surah 2. Al-Baqara (The Cow) verse 253 : Those apostles We endowed with gifts, some above others: . . . others He raised to degrees (of honour); to Jesus the son of Mary We gave clear (Signs), and strengthened him with the holy spirit. …

From these verses it is understood that Hazrat Isa (Jesus) received altogether distinct and especial gifts from any gifts that all other Prophets received because he had received in all his life God’s Spirit and His miracle performing power.

Surah 27. An-Naml (The Ant, The Ants) verses 8 – 9 : But when he [Hazrat Musa (Moses)] came to the (fire), a voice was heard: “Blessed are those in the fire (Light) and those around: and glory to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. “O Moses! verily, I am Allah, the exalted in might, the wise!….

Many hold that God cannot take human form as this would be too mean a thing for Him to do. But this verse says God was in fire (Hazrat Musa saw the burning bush). If God could live in a bush could He also not live in a human person?

Neither the life of Hazrat Isa (Jesus) nor His miraculous activities can save us from our sins. But only His death and resurrection can do that. Many say that Hazrat Isa never died nor He got resurrected from the dead. Rather they believe that He wants back to God straight away and that He will return to the earth.

Surah 43. Az-Zukhruf (Ornaments Of Gold, Luxury) verse 61 : And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment):

Many even believe that when He will come back to the world He will marry and will beget children and He will also reign for 40 years and will die and be buried. He will come out back to life from the grave on the last of judgment.

Following are some questions from the Quran, which give detailed description of the death and the resurrection of the Christ:

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

Surah 5. Al-Ma’ida (The Table, The Table Spread) verse 117 : . . .  and I (Jesus) was a witness over them whilst I dwelt amongst them (mankind); when Thou didst take me up Thou wast the Watcher over them, and Thou art a witness to all things.

Surah 19. Maryam (Mary) verses 33 – 34 : “So peace is on me (Jesus) the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)”! Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute.

Surah 3. Al ‘Imran (The Family Of ‘Imran, The House Of ‘Imran) verse 55 : 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.

Here the words “up to” mean “until this time” or “of former days”. These mean those events will take place before the last judgment. Till today the followers of the Hazrat Isa (Jesus) have believed this.

But many interpret Surah 4. An-Nisa’ (Women) verse 157 to mean that Hazrat Isa (Jesus) did not die. It is said there – That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.;- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, ….

However, we need to discuss the topic of entire Sura An-Nisa before we threadbare discuss any portion of this verse. It can be understood from this Sura that the Jews and the Christians argued against one another. The Jews boastfully said, “We have killed your Prophet Isa! In saying this perhaps they meant to Hazrat Mohammad that they tried to mean that there (the Jews) way was right while the way of the Christians was not right. But Hazrat Muhammad used Sura An-Nisa 157 verse to stop the Jews and told them, “Don’t say that you killed Him; you did not kill Him. That was your illusion that you killed him.” To be sure the Jewish people did not have the right or authority to kill anyone; those who killed Hazrat Isa (Jesus) were the Roman rulers. But the blame of killing Hazrat Isa (Jesus) on the cross was thrown upon the Jews.

Surah 31. Luqman (Luqman) verse 28 : And your creation or your resurrection is in no wise but as an individual soul: for Allah is He Who hears and sees (all things).

According to this verse the resurrection of mankind would be like the one, who has already been resurrected. From this we can understand that one has already died also been resurrected. Who is that one? The scriptures discuss only about the death and resurrection of only Hazrat Isa (Jesus). Now it is easily understood that Hazrat Isa (Jesus) had died and also risen again from the death.

And the claim that the Jews had was not tenable even according to their law. This is because they would give capital punishment to any one only by means of stoning. That would mean that Hazrat Isa (Jesus) would get the status of a martyr, which they never wanted to give Him. So they induced the Roman authority to kill Hazrat Isa (Jesus) according to the Roman way. During those days the Roman way of executing someone was by crucifixion. According to the Jewish law this was done to one, who was cursed by God: “He who is hanged on a tree is cursed by God.” (Al Torah; Deuteronomy 21: 23). As according to the Jews Hazrat Isa (Jesus) was a man cursed by God the Jewish people took recourse to the Roman way.

God surely had the power to save Hazrat Isa (Jeus) from such a death. But He permitted this to happen. This event has some semblance to the victory of the Muslims in the battle of Badr. It is said in the Quran : Surah 8. Al-Anfal (Spoils Of War, Booty) verse 17, “It is not ye who slew them; it was Allah. when thou threwest (a handful of dust), it was not thy act, but Allah’s: in order that He might test the Believers by a gracious trial from Himself: for Allah is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things).  In other words God fulfilled His purpose by killing them with the arrows. In the same way God allowed this to happen that the Romans would kill Hazrat Isa (Jesus) by crucifying him and thus pay the ransom price for our redemption from sin through this great sacrifice.

Surah 37. As-Saffat (Those Who Set The Ranks, Drawn Up In Ranks) verse 107 : And We (God) ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice:

Many believe that it is possible to get salvation from sins by means of sacrificing a lamb, or a camel or hundreds of animals. But that was not God’s way. Instead, He wrought our salvation through His very Word.

After the death of Hazrat Isa (Jesus) the Jews leaders duly buried his body and rested assured enough after tightly sealing the tomb. They confided that they were immune from any criticism from their opponents, from any self-stigma or any kind of fear of being exposed before the public for the bloody act that they committed. But this satisfaction did not last long.

Surah 4. An-Nisa’ (Women) verse 158 : Nay, Allah raised him (Hazrat Isa) up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;-

The main thesis of our discussion was “how could we receive pardon for our sins?” For the answer to this we need to concentrate our thoughts not on what we could do for this, but on what God has done in Hazrat Isa (Jesus) for this. It would be easier for us to understand this matter from the following verses from the Quran and the Bible :

Prophetic Books

Isaiah 63 : 4 – 5 : For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, And I wondered That there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me.

Ezekiel 36 : 25 – 26 : Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Isaiah 53 : 12  : Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

Al- Zabur  (Psalm)

Chapter 106 verse 8 : Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, That He might make His mighty power known.

 Chapter 41 verse 4 : I said, “LORD, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

 Chapter 103 verses 2 – 4 : Bless the LORD, O my soul, . . . Who forgives all your iniquities, . . . Who redeems your life from destruction,

Al-Injeel

 Hebrews 9 : 22  : And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

 1 Timothy 2 : 5 – 6 : For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself a ransom for all. . . .

1 Corinthians 15 : 3 – 4 : For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

Hebrews 2 : 3  : how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

Luke 9 : 25 : For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?

Al-Quran

Surah 6. Al-An’am (Cattle, Livestock) verse 12 : Say: “To Allah. He hath inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy.

Surah 11. Hud (Hud) verse 43 : Noah said: “This day nothing can save, from the command of Allah, any but those on whom He hath mercy!

Surah 23. Al-Muminun (The Believers) verse 109 : “A part of My servants there was, who used to pray ‘our Lord! we believe; then do Thou forgive us, and have mercy upon us: For Thou art the Best of those who show mercy!”

God in His grace let His Word, His Spirit die for our sake. What was His great mercy in this final sacrifice?

Surah 22. Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage) verses 36 – 37 : The sacrificial camels we have made for you as among the symbols from Allah. . . .  It is not their meat nor their blood, that reaches Allah. it is your piety that reaches Him: He has thus made them subject to you, that ye may glorify Allah for His Guidance to you and proclaim the good news to all who do right.

Hazrat Isa (Jesus) took himself the place of the sacrifice that was there according to the ancient law or practice. Many people still today carry on that obsolete animal sacrifice. In olden days people used to sacrifice / slaughter animals for cleansing their hearts. But man cannot receive forgiveness for his sin by sacrificing any animal. Some people even want to present their good works as a “sacrifice”. But there is no value of any of these in God’s eye for salvation. He wants our devotion and obedience. What is then true devotion? God wants us that we submit ourselves to His will. And His will is that we put our trust in what He has done for our salvation. In one word we need to accept His free gift of salvation.

In word “devotion” means loving God and accepting what He has done for our salvation. We will be able to receive His righteousness in our lives if we believe in the truth that the Hazrat Isa (Jesus) sacrificially died on the cross according to God’s plan and will.

If we acknowledge and also believe in our hearts the significance of what God has done for our lives then we will also need to learn what would be our next step. This is discussed in Lesson – Six and it is ‘Taking God in our lives.’ Before we do that please fill up the annexed Questionnaire and then send it back by clicking Submit button after answering the questions.

You have successfully completed lesson-Five. We believe you have followed this lesson attentively. If you think that you have not clearly understood any point please write that on to us about. We will do our best to help you, in turn, to get that cleared.

We hope that you will patiently be with us in studying the next lesson. No effort at learning about God and gaining wisdom from the holy books will be without any good result. Amen.