Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man
John 1:49; 51
Jesus of Nazareth is a historical figure, a man who changed the world by his
life and teaching about 2000 years ago. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is known as
"the Son of Man" (Jn. 1:51) as well as "the Son of God" (Jn. 1:49). What are the
distinct meanings of each, to help us understanding His saving nature and work
for mankind?
The Son of God
Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Lk. 2:10), as predicted by Micah 5:2, but "His
going forth is from eternity" (NASB). So, Jesus is more than just a man. He is
also "God" who "became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn. 1:1, 14). He is also
called God's "only begotten Son" (Jn. 3:16) and "the Son of God" (Jn. 20:31), in
whom there is eternal life "in His Name."
What is conveyed by the title "the Son of God" or "the only begotten Son"?
First, "son of" doesn't mean Jesus' person was created or sired by God the
Father, because Jesus is the eternal Word, who was God the Father's agent to
bring all created things into being (Jn. 1:1-3, Heb. 1:2-3, Col. 1:15-17, Rev.
3:14).
Second, "Son of God" in John is used to describe His being one in nature with
"God," and is used as an equivalent of being "God." This means He is in the
divine family with the Father (Jn. 10:30-36). "Son of" is a Hebraism that means
"partaker in the qualities of," which we see in the designation "son of
encouragement" (Acts 4:36) or "son of perdition" (Jn. 17:12). Hence, Barnabas
had the full qualities of (or a son of) "encouragement" and Judas had the full
qualities of one (or a son of) being lost in perdition. So, Jesus as "the Son of
God" claimed to be "one" in the fully divine nature with the Father, who is
Deity. Both Jesus and the Father should be accorded the same honor (Jn. 5:23),
hence Jesus is worthy of worship (Jn. 20:28, Matt. 28:17, Eph. 5:19). Nathaneal
confessed Jesus as "the Son of God" (Jn. 1:48), as did Peter (Matt. 16:16),
upon which fact the church is built upon the divine identity and saving power of
the risen Christ.
Jesus is often called "the only begotten Son" (cf. Jn. 1:14, 3:16, 18), which
points to his unique relationship with God. Those who are born again may be a
son of God through Christ our elder brother, but none of us are the unique "only
begotten Son." The underlying term translated "only begotten" (KJV) or "one and
only" (HCSB) is monogenes, which means, "unique, one of a kind, incomparable."
It does not specifically refer to the virgin birth, but the word itself refers
to Jesus' unique role in the scheme of redemption. For example, Isaac was called
Abraham's "only begotten son" (Heb. 11:17), although Abraham had sired other
sons, like Ishmael and two sons through Keturah (Gen. 25:1-4). Yet, Isaac was a
unique child of promise in the scheme of redemption, that no other son of
Abraham could fulfill.
So, I may be a son of God by obedient faith in Christ, but no human is in the
same category as Jesus as the only begotten Son of God. We must remember the
same words, like "son of God" or "elder" or "deacon/servant," can mean something
different depending on the context. Only Jesus as the Son of God, who is the
divine Savior, is full of "grace and truth" (Jn. 1:14) and can bring us back to
God the Father. "Whoever has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son of
God does not have life" (1 Jn. 5:14, cf. 5:20).
Third, "Son of God" also depicts in Scripture, Jesus' role of submission to God
the "Father." A son should obey or submit to his father's authority and
direction. This submissive role is thereby noted in John (5:26; 8:28,
10:36). "So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do
nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever
the Father does, that the Son does likewise" (Jn. 5:19). So, "the Son of God"
refers to Jesus being both fully divine as His Father but also but in submission
to His Father's leadership. Jesus is our example of perfect submission to divine
authority, without quibble or evasion.
The Son of Man
Jesus is unique, because He has a dual nature. "The Word became flesh and dwelt
among us, and dwelt among us" (Jn. 1:14). The title "the Son of Man" is the most
common self-designation of Jesus (Matt. 16:13, Mk. 10:45 et al). "Son of man" is
used in the Psalms as synonymous parallelism with being a "man," hence as such
it would be identifying Jesus as being fully human (Psa. 8:4, 80:17), because He
"became flesh" (Jn. 1:14). "Son of man" is a frequent title of Ezekiel, who is
the human prophet used to instruct the remnant of God's people in captivity.
Jesus certainly is God's prophetic instrumental to save a remnant from out of
this sinful world.
Also, referring to the coming Son of Man, Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 predicted the
Messiah's sufferings in his body as a man (cf. Heb. 10:5). "The Son of Man goes
as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is
betrayed!" (Matt. 26:24). "...How is it written of the Son of Man that he should
suffer many things and be treated with contempt?" (Mk. 9:12; cf. Lk. 9:22).
More importantly, the designation of a "son of man" in Daniel 7 prophecies of
the coming Messiah. This "son of man" would be a man who came from the eternal
God, designated in contrast as "the ancient of days" (Dan. 7:13-14). This human
representative of God, a "son of man", would receive an everlasting, worldwide
kingdom, which no earthly empire could destroy (Dan. 7:17-28). Jesus, who was
fully God from all eternity, took on flesh and came as a lowly servant and also
suffered to the uttermost, yet God highly exalted Him with highest name of Lord
of lords (Phil. 2:5-10) and gave Him the rule as "the Son of Man" over His
kingdom, the church (Matt. 16:28, Acts 7:56). Such a humble man, as God's
servant, would be elevated as "the Son of Man" to rule over this Messianic
kingdom forever (Matt. 19:28, 25:31; Jn. 5:27). He deserves our ultimate respect
of His authority to rule our lives today.
In summary, the Son of God became the Son of Man, in order to make the sons of
men the sons of God.
By
Frank Walton
From Expository Files 22.10; October 2015