IN WHAT SENSE IS JESUS THE SON OF GOD?
This question comes from the expectation that for one to be called a son, there must be a process of conception; i.e the process of becoming physically pregnant and child birth. Therefore, they say, since God has no wife, Jesus could not have been the Son of God.
So we ask the question, in what sense then is Jesus the Son of God? Is He the Son of God the same way Adam was called the son of God in the book of Luke?
(Luke 3:38 KJV) Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
The answer is NO. In writing about the genealogy of Jesus, Luke assigned Adam as the son of God since he did not have a human father or mother. Adam was the son of God because God created him directly and most significantly because God put His spirit in him. This spirit in him is the life-giving breath of God. This spirit in Adam is not God, Himself, rather it is the spirit God formed in him. Adam is not personally divine.
(Genesis 2:7 KJV) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
(Zechariah 12:1 KJV) The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
The term "son" simply signified that he came from God and bore His image. Here, the term is not used because God physically gave birth to him through child birth.
(Genesis 1:27 KJV) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
So we ask again, is Jesus the Son of God the way angels are called sons of God in the book of Job?
(Job 2:1 KJV) Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
The answer is NO. Angels are called the "sons of God" in the sense that they were created by and came from God. They are spirit beings, created to do the work of the Lord.
(Hebrews 1:14 KJV) Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Men perceived them as being like God or having the image of God; hence they call them sons of God. For instance, the name of Michael, the Archangel is of Hebrew origin and means “who is like God?”
Is Jesus the Son of God the same way God called Israel His son or the way Christians are called sons of God?
(Hosea 11:1 KJV) When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
(John 1:12 KJV) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
Again, the answer is NO. Israel was symbolically called God's son, as the one(s) chosen by God. It is obvious Israel is not personally divine; yet it is described as God’s son. The use of the term "son" for Israel or the children of Israel is used to depict the relationship God has with them which is Father-Son relationship. Also, Christians are called sons of God by faith, when they receive the spirit of Christ.
Jesus on the other hand is called the Son of God in the sense that He is God in the flesh. He is the Incarnation. He is called the Son of God because He was physically conceived by (the Spirit of) God through Mary. The angel specifically told Mary that Jesus would be called Son of God because the most High God will cause the conception of the baby.
(Luke 1:35 KJV) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
The angel in that verse simply gave us the reason why we call Him and believe He is the Son of God. Of course God, Himself confirmed this status in the following verses:
(Luke 3:22 KJV) And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
(Luke 9:35 KJV) And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
In summary, Jesus is called the Son of God for two main reasons:
He is the Son of God by reason of His humanity or Incarnation as highlighted above in Luke 1:35. In eternity He is God; He is "the Word that is with God" in the book of John:
(John 1:1 KJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John said, this Word which is God became flesh (human) and they beheld Him as the Son of God. In other words, it was when He became flesh that they saw Him as the Son of God. The Word became the Son.
(John 1:14 NKJV) 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.
Before then He is the visible God that is in heaven. No one has ever seen God the Father at any time. Only the visible God (which is Jesus) shows His image.
So, Jesus is also called the Son of God by reason that He is the only one that declares/ shows the image of the invisible God. Here, the term "Son" means image.
(John 1:18 NIV) No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
(Hebrews 1:3 KJV) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
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