The Son in Biblical Terminology
We should consider the dual nature of Christ in the framework of biblical terminology. The term “Father” refers to God in all His deity. When we speak of the eternal Spirit of God, we mean God Himself, the Father. “God the Father,” therefore, is a perfectly acceptable and biblical phrase to use for God (Titus 1:4). On the other hand, the Bible does not use the phrase “God the Son” not even one time. It is not a correct term because the Son of God refers to the humanity of Jesus Christ. The Bible defines the Son of God as the child born of Mary, not as the eternal Spirit of God (Luke 1:35). “Son of God” may refer to the human nature or it may refer to God manifested in flesh—that is, deity in the human nature. “Son of God” in no way means the incorporeal Spirit alone. We can never use “Son” correctly apart from the humanity of Jesus Christ. The terms “Son of God,” “Son of man,” and “Son” are appropriate and biblical. However, the term “God the Son” is inappropriate because it equates the Son with deity alone, and therefore it is unscriptural. The Son of God is not a distinct person in the Godhead but the physical expression of the one God. The Son is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians1:13-15) and “the express image of his (God’s) person” (Hebrews 1:2-3). Just as a signature stamp leaves an exact likeness on paper, or just as a seal leaves an exact impression when pressed in wax, so the Son of God is the exact expression of the Spirit of God in flesh. Humans could not see the invisible God, so God made an exact likeness of Himself in flesh, impressed His very nature in flesh, came Himself in flesh, so that humans could see and know Him. Many other verses of Scripture reveal that we can only use the term “Son of God” correctly when it includes the humanity of Jesus. For example, the Son was made of a woman (Galatians 4:4), the Son was begotten (John 3:16), the Son was born (Matthew 1:21-23; Luke 1:35), the Son did not know the hour of the Second Coming (Mark 13:32), the Son could do nothing of Himself (John 5:19), the Son came eating and drinking (Matthew 11:19), the Son suffered (Matthew 17:12), a person can blaspheme against the Son but not the Spirit and be forgiven (Luke 12:10), the Son was crucified (John 3:14; 12:30-34), and the Son died (Matthew 27:40-54; Romans 5:10). The death of Jesus is a particularly good example. His divine Spirit did not die, but His human body did. We cannot say that God died, so we cannot say “God the Son” died. On the other hand, we can say that the Son of God died because “Son” refers to humanity.
Son of God
What is the significance of the title “Son of God”? It emphasizes the divine nature of Jesus and the fact of His virgin birth. He is the Son of God because He was conceived by the Spirit of God, making God literally His Father (Luke 1:35). When Peter confessed that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” he recognized the Messianic role and deity of Jesus (Matthew 16:16). The Jews understood what Jesus meant when He called Himself the Son of God and when He called God His Father, for they tried to kill Him for claiming to be God (John 5:18; 10:33). In short, the title “Son of God” recognizes the humanity while calling attention to the deity of Jesus. It means God has manifested Himself in flesh. We should note that the angels are called sons of God (Job 38:7) because God created them directly. Similarly, Adam was the son of God by creation (Luke 3:38). The saints (members of God’s church) are also sons of God or children of God because He has adopted us into that relationship (Romans 8:14-19). We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, having all the legal rights of sonship. However, Jesus is the Son of God in the sense that no other being is or can be, for Jesus is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16). He is the only One ever conceived or begotten by the Spirit of God. Thus, His unique Sonship attests to His deity.
(1) Redemption
According to God’s plan, the shedding of blood was necessary for the remission of human sins (Hebrews 9:22). The blood of animals could not take away human sin because animals are inferior to humans (Hebrews 10:4). No other human could purchase redemption for someone else because all had sinned and so deserved the penalty of death for themselves (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Only God was sinless, but He did not have flesh and blood. Therefore, God prepared a body for Himself (Hebrews 10:5), that He might live a sinless life in flesh and shed innocent blood to save humanity. He became flesh and blood so that He could through death defeat the devil and deliver humanity (Hebrews 2:14-15). Christ’s role as our kinsman-redeemer is also made possible by the Sonship. In the Old Testament, if a man sold his property or sold himself into slavery, a close relative had the right to buy back that man’s property or freedom for him (Leviticus 25:25, 47-49). By coming in flesh, Jesus became our brother (Hebrews 2:11-12). Thus, He qualified Himself to be our kinsman-redeemer. The Bible describes Him as our redeemer (Romans 3:24; Revelation 5:9).
(2) Mediator
Through His humanity, Jesus Christ is able to mediate, that is, to go between humanity and God and represent humanity to God. As a mediator, Jesus reconciles us to God; He brings us back into fellowship with God (II Corinthians 5:18-19). The break between a holy God and sinful humans was bridged by the sinless man Jesus Christ: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5). We should notice how carefully Paul maintained the oneness of God in this verse. There is no distinction in God, but a distinction between God and the man Christ Jesus. There are not two personalities in God; the duality is in Jesus as God and Jesus as man. It is not God who mediates between God and humans, nor is it “God the Son” who does so. Rather it is the man Jesus who mediates; only a sinless man could approach a holy God on behalf of humanity.
(3) High Priest
Closely associated with Christ’s role as mediator is His role as high priest (Hebrews 2:16-18; 4:14-16). In His humanity, Jesus was tempted just as we are; it is because of His human experience that He can help us as a compassionate high priest. In typology, He entered the Tabernacle, went behind the veil into the Most Holy Place, and there offered His own blood (Hebrews 6:19; 9:11-12). Through His sacrifice and atonement, we have direct access to the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16; 6:20). The Son is our high priest through whom we can boldly approach God.
(4) Last Adam
Through His humanity Jesus is the last Adam (I Corinthians 15:45-47). He came to conquer and condemn sin in the flesh and to defeat death itself (Romans 8:3; I Corinthians 15:55-57). He came as a man so that He could replace Adam as the representative of the human race. By so doing, He reversed all the consequences of Adam’s fall for those who believe on Him (Romans 5:12-21). Everything that humanity lost because of Adam’s sin, Jesus won it back as the last Adam, the new representative of the human race.
(5) Example
There is another aspect of Christ’s victory over sin in the flesh. Not only did Jesus come in the flesh to die, but He also came to give us an example of an overcoming life so that we could follow in His footsteps (I Peter 2:21). He showed us how to live victoriously over sin in the flesh. He became the Word of God enacted in flesh (John 1:1). He became the living Word so that we could understand clearly what God wanted us to be like. Of course, He also gives us power to follow His example. Just as we are reconciled by His death, we are saved by His life (Romans 5:10). His Spirit gives us the power to live the righteous life that He wants us to live (Acts 1:8; Romans 8:4). When Jesus began His own ministry, He proved that to “fulfill all righteousness” it was very essential to be baptized, and by so doing He submitted Himself unto John to be baptized. It is useless to believe that Jesus, our “example,” would have been baptized in water had it not been essential. It is useless, too, to try to prove that He was not “buried” in baptism. “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water” (Matthew 3:16).
(6) Millennial Kingdom
Another purpose of the Son is to provide a fulfillment of many promises in the Old Testament to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the nation of Israel, and David. Jesus Christ will completely fulfill the promises relating to the descendants of these men, and He will do it in the millennial kingdom on earth (Revelation 20:4). He will be literally the King of Israel and of all the earth (Zechariah 14:16-17; John 1:49). God promised David that his house and throne would be established forever (II Samuel 7:16). Jesus will fulfill this literally in Himself, being of the actual bloodline of David through Mary (Luke 3) and being the heir to the throne of David through His legal father, Joseph (Matthew 1).
(7) The Judge of Humanity
The Sonship also allows God to judge humanity. God is just and fair. He is also merciful. In His justice and mercy He decided not to judge humans until He actually had experienced all the temptations and problems of humanity and until He had demonstrated that it is possible to live righteously in the flesh (with divine power, of course, but with the same power He has made available to us). The Bible specifically states that the Father will judge no one; only the Son will judge (John 5:22, 27). God will judge through Jesus Christ (Romans 2:16). In other words, God (Jesus) will judge the world in the role of One who lived in the flesh, who overcame sin in the flesh, and who made the same overcoming power available to all humanity.
After the Millennial
After the millennial reign and the last judgment, the purposes for the Sonship will be fulfilled and the reign of the Son will end. When we view the purposes for the Son, we can understand that the Sonship is temporary and not eternal; in the Bible we are told when the Sonship began and when the ministry of the Sonship will end.
What part of Jesus was the Son?
The angel told Mary, “That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Paul wrote, “God sent forth his Son, made of a woman” (Galatians 4:4). The Son is the flesh or humanity. The Father is the great eternal Spirit who indwelt the Son, and thus the great mystery is solved. Joseph was not the father of Jesus. He was the reputed father only. It was the eternal Spirit who performed the miracle act of paternity upon the virgin womb. The Holy Ghost was a Father to Jesus, and that Holy Ghost (the eternal God who fathered Him) indwelt Him. That is why He could say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” There were not two persons but two natures—human and divine, Son and Father—all in Jesus Christ.
The key
The key to an understanding of the Godhead teaching is the dual nature of Jesus. Jesus was: A man (John 8:40)—and also God (John 20:28; I Corinthians 8:6). Not fifty years old (John 8:57)—and also eternal (Micah 5:2). A babe (Luke 2:16)—and also the mighty God (Isaiah 9:6). Learning (Hebrews 5:8)—and also knew all things (John 21:17). Weak and weary (II Corinthians 13:4; John 4:6)—and also the Almighty (Revelation 1:8). On earth (Mark 2:10)—and also in heaven (John 3:13). The Son (Isaiah 9:6)—and also the Father (Isaiah 9:6). One who prayed (Luke 22:41)—and also the One who answers prayer (John 14:14). These verses of Scriptures do not present two divine persons but rather two natures—human and divine.
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