1 John 4:14 And we have seen and witness that the Father sent the Son as the savior of the world.
καὶ ἡμεῖς τεθεάμεθα καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ ἀπέσταλκεν τὸν υἱὸν σωτῆρα τοῦ κόσμου.
This is the testimony of an eye witness to the events of Jesus. John had seen and been with Jesus (see 1 John 1:1-4). This statement adds power to all the other claims John has made in this letter. It is the briefest but most powerful of any resume. Obviously, today we cannot make this claim in a physical sense. We rely on the faithful witness of the original followers of Jesus. We trust that they faithfully recorded the words of and about Jesus in their writings collected in the Bible. What confirmation do we have that these words are true?
If people are looking for scientific proof, that will be difficult to come by. People have tried to prove historically that Jesus was a real person. That Jesus existed is not difficult to prove. But that he is the Son of God and Savior of the world cannot be proven scientifically. These claims are a matter of faith. Faith in Jesus as Son opens the door to accepting him as the Savior. To deny the divinity of Jesus is to deny the salvation that he brings, no matter how slick or convincing our theology may be. The ancient creeds of the church that are still professed expound upon this simple verse. It lies at the center of our confessions. In fact, our very eternity depends on it!
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