What does it mean to say that Jesus is the Son of God? This is one of those terms where we kind of know, sort of get it, but are not precisely or fully sure. Ask five different Christians what “Son of God” means and you are likely to receive six different answers. Ask five different religions and you will receive even more. Jesus as Son of God is central to our understanding of His nature and work, and even our confession of Him. This reality, although not completely graspable, is biblically understandable and significant for our faith, lives, and preaching of the Gospel.

Biblical Usage of Son

To begin, it must be noted that “son” can be used in various ways. Son can be used biologically (Numb. 1:5–15), nationally to speak of Israel (Exod. 4:22–23) and metaphorically. Scripture speaks of “sons of light” (John 12:36) and “sons of the devil” (Acts 13:10). This is a picture of those who walk in the light (metaphor for good) and those who walk after the behavior of the devil. Son can be used in a discipleship sense, as when Peter refers to Mark as his son (1 Peter 5:13). Jesus speaks to His mother and John from the cross and says in an adoptive sense, “Behold your son (John 19:26).”

Therefore, when we speak of Jesus as the Son of God, we must be careful not to confine ourselves to biological thinking only, as if the term only refers to being created. Scripture is clear that Jesus is God (John 1:1), and there are no other gods (Isaiah 44:6).

Son of God as Applied to Jesus

When we speak of Jesus as the Son of God we are referring to two things: His identity and His functions.

In regard to His identity, we are to think of (a) His divinity and (b) His unique relationship with the Father. As Son, He is fully divine (John 1:1), distinctly the Son in His divinity (John 1:18), and yet not a separate God (John 5:19–30.). He is the exact imprint of God’s nature (Heb. 1:3) and even called God by the Father (Heb. 1:8). Ontologically Jesus is God, yet more precisely the Son of God.

Furthermore, His relationship with the Father is one of a kind. The Son and the Father have exclusive mutual knowledge of one another that no other created being has. Jesus said (Matt. 11:27), “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” Moreover, the Son and the Father have a unique mutual love (John 3:35; 14:31).

In regard to the Son’s functions, He is the full and final revelation of the Father. Since He is the Son—divine and in unique relationship with the Father—He narrates God the Father perfectly to this world. The world has never seen God, but God the one and only (the Son) who is with the Father has made Him known (John 1:18). The Son tells Philip that on seeing Him, he sees the Father (John 14:9). And God the Father says in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son (Heb. 1:1–2).

Additionally, Son refers to His Messianic Kingship. The angel said that Jesus will be called the Son of the Most High and God will give Him the throne of his father David (Luke 1:32). Son here is a picture of the Son ruling in the place of the Father and being His approved representative to do so. The Old Testament uses this same language in regard to Solomon (2 Samuel 7:12–15) and the king in Psalm 2:7. Jesus will be called the Son throughout His life; at His birth (Luke 1:32), His baptism (Mark 1:11), His transfiguration (Mark 9:7), and His death (Mark 15:39).

In summary, when we call Jesus the Son of God, we are referring to either one aspect of or all of the following:

Life Under the Son of God

Jesus as the Son of God gives us confidence that we have true knowledge of God, that we are saved and ruled by God, and that we have fellowship with God. Our response includes: faith (John 30:31), worship (Matt. 14:32–33), honor (John 5:23), fellowship (1 John 1:3–4), obedience (Matt. 28:19–20), and proclamation (Acts 9:20) of Jesus the Son of God. Paul sums up life under the Son of God well when he says…

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 (ESV)