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One of the most fundamental things the Bible teaches is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.    When Jesus stated that those who “believe and are baptized shall be saved”, those who believe are those who have come to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God and changed their lives because of it.  The Gospel of John states that certain things were written in order to prove that exact point: Jesus is the Messiah, the Promised One, the Son of God.¹ 

If one must believe these things, then naturally there are some other questions that follow.  What does that phrase mean?  What proof is there that Jesus actually is the Son of God?  The Bible has the answer to these questions.

One of the first things to note is that the phrase “son of God” can be used in a very generic way.  In Luke’s gospel, he traces the lineage of Jesus back through history until he gets to Adam, the very first man.  In his genealogical record, Luke calls Adam “the son of God.”²  By the very nature of the fact that God created Adam, Adam is God’s son.  Adam is the progeny, the offspring of the Lord and God is the sire, the father of the man.  In this respect, because everyone can draw their lineage back to Adam, everyone is a son (child) of God.  

 There is another general sense in which the phrase is used; often “son of God” will refer to a group of faithful angels or faithful people.  Galatians 3.26 clearly states that, in Christ, all who have faith are sons of God.  In Job 1.6, it seems as though the phrase is used to refer to an assemblage of the angels in the heavenly places.  Satan, being faithless to God, is mentioned separately as one among the faithful sons of God.

Even though these general definitions are accurate, when we talk about Jesus being the Son of God  we are not using the phrase in a general or generic way that can be applied to other people.  We are making a special claim about Jesus and his relationship to God that no one else in history.  We can see this peculiar use of the phrase when we look as some passages from the Old Testament which prophesy about the coming Messiah.  Each passage will have a physical fulfillment or meaning and then a second spiritual layer of significance.  When we are considering the prophecies about the Christ,  we almost entirely concerned with the spiritual level of understanding.

In Psalm 2, we read about a decree that issues from the mouth of God, “You are my son, today I have become your father.”³   Physically, this is God setting apart the king of Israel as a father would a son.  Spiritually, we find here the moment when the Lord announces to the world the identity of the Messiah.⁴    

       The prophet Hosea recorded God’s dealings with Israel in Egypt from the Lord’s perspective.  God, because of his great love for Israel, viewed these people as his own son and called them out of Egypt.⁵    Spiritually, we can see that this refers to the time when Jesus’ family was forced to flee to Egypt to escape King Herod.  When Herod died, Joseph saw an angel in a dream calling Jesus out of Egypt.⁶  

When passages from the Old Testament are examined, it becomes clear that Jesus is different from other people in his relationship with God.  He is the Firstborn of the Father, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Prince of Peace.  Is this testimony repeated in the New Testament?  Did people living with Jesus understand him to be the Son of God?  Did they understand what the phrase meant?

Satan knew that Jesus was the Son of God and that this made him special from other people.  Satan made it a point to tempt Jesus directly at least three different times, each time calling into question his role as the Son of God.⁷   The demons followed suit with their master.  When Jesus would cast evil spirits from their habitation, they would often cry out that Jesus was the Son of God.  The text actually says that the demons “knew that he was the Christ.”  The greatest testimony anyone can receive is good testimony from their enemies.  Jesus had exactly that.⁸  

Additionally, Jesus’ disciples came to know that he was the Son of God.  In one instance, Jesus came walking on water to his disciples while they were sailing across the Sea of Galilee.  At first, when they saw Jesus they thought it was a spirit or a ghost.  Jesus calmed them by speaking to them, and Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water himself for a short time.  When Jesus entered the boat with his disciples, they fell on their faces and worshipped him as the Son of God.⁹  

It can be firmly established that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and that others believed he was the Son of God, but what does this mean?  Why is it significant?

 In John 19.7, a crowd led by the religious leaders knew the implications of claiming to be the Son of God.  The Jews understood that to claim to be God’s Son made Jesus equal with God.¹⁰  Every child has the same nature as their parents.  No human mother throughout all of history has ever naturally given birth to anything but other humans.  All children share the exact nature of their parents. 

The same is true for Jesus in his claim to be the Son of God.  He was not claiming to be a descendant from Adam, he was claiming to have the same nature as God.  He was claiming to be God.  The Gospel of John starts with these words:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created...The Word became flesh and took up residence among us.  We observed his glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.¹¹

Jesus was God on earth, incarnate in human flesh.  He showed us God’s character, God’s nature, God’s love.  Jesus is the Son of God.