Creator, Father, King #9

The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

FATHER, SON, AND HOLY Spirit—this is the Trinity.

But people have been debating the exact relationship between God the Father and God the Son for thousands of years. At the root of this confusion is the phrase “Son of God,” which the Bible consistently applies to Jesus. The Bible also clearly presents Jesus as God.

Is there a dilemma here? Can Jesus be both God and the Son of God? It’s a valid question—and one that’s so important to understand. Entire false religions have been built on misunderstandings about this question.

So which is it? Is Jesus God, or is he the Son of God?

Actually, he’s both. To explain, we can look to God’s inerrant Word.

What’s It Mean?

As we discussed in the January 6 devotion, there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), consisting of three distinct persons—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (1 Peter 1:2). All are equal in their divine natures yet separate in their roles.

When the Bible refers to Jesus as the “Son of God,” it’s always a title used to emphasize Jesus’ full deity (John 10:22-39; Hebrews 1). It is never meant to imply Jesus is the offspring of God the Father. As fully God, Jesus was never created. He is eternal (John 1:1; Revelation 21:6).

The title “Son of God” also speaks to Jesus’ humble obedience to God the Father in the Incarnation. Like a wise human son obeys his earthly father, Jesus willingly submitted to the Father’s plan of salvation, came to earth as a man, and paid the indescribably high redemption price—dying on the cross—for sinners like us. The apostle Paul beautifully details this in Philippians 2:5-8:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (ESV).

Aren’t you glad that the eternal Son obeyed the Father for your sake? The Father was pleased with the Son, and you should be forever grateful!

Now What?

Check out the following passages on Jesus’ divinity: John 1:1-18; Colossians 1:15-19; Titus 2:13; and 2 Peter 1:1.

Did You Know?

Jesus’ favorite title for himself was “Son of Man,” a reference to Daniel’s vision of the pre-incarnate Christ in Daniel 7:13-14.