Warm hellos once again friends, brethren, fellow laborers, spiritual family, and scattered children of God from here on the Gulf Coast of lower Alabama. My wife and I pray and hope this finds you doing well, and that again your week has been blessed.
Rather than simply have answers to questions on our website, https://cogministries.org/category/events/bible-questions-and-answers/ as I know many of you use my weekly letters for additional study in God’s Word, I thought why not simply answer one of the questions that often comes up.
The question is “Why does Jesus refer to Himself both as the Son of Man and the Son of God?”
First, let’s examine how the Word of God became the Son of God.
We go to account of the angel Gabriel going to Nazareth and appearing to Mary who was then betrothed to Joseph. “Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest . . .” (Luke 1:30-32) Mary is told that she will have a human son and He will be called the “Son of the Highest” or you might rephrase it the “Son of God.” Mary was faithful to not have sexual relations during the betrothal period and sincerely wondered how this birth was to take place?! “And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (v.35)
Matthew’s gospel records that an angel, (probably Gabriel), appeared to Joseph after Mary became with child. “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20)
Matthew repeats this prophecy found in Isaiah 7. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) The Word of God will become the Son of God and the Son of Man.
Of course Jesus addressed the one who remained in the Elohim realm as his Father. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24)
Clearly the Father accomplished the miracle of the Incarnation by the power of the Holy Spirit which is the mechanism for directing the will of the Father.
Following the arrest of Jesus in the garden on the Mount of Olives, he was brought at night to the house of the high priest Caiaphas. He was mocked and mistreated there. Then when morning came he was taken before the Sanhedrin council. “As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will by no means believe.” (Luke 22:66-67)
Then Jesus riled them up with the next statement. “Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.” Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?” So He said to them, “You rightly say that I am.” (vv.69-70) Here Jesus refers to himself as both the Son of Man and the son of God.
Jesus referred to himself as the “Son of Man” many times during his earthly ministry and also referred many times to his future when he would come back to the earth to set up the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:28; 24:27, 30, 39; etc.)
The apostle Paul contrasts the first man Adam with Jesus. “And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” (1 Corinthians 15:45)
Luke records the genealogy of Jesus through his mother Mary. He goes back to Adam. “the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” (Luke 3:38) The words “the son” are in italics and were added by the translators and I’d say it’s a reasonable addition. Adam was a special son of God by being brought into existence and directly created in a miraculous way by Elohim. Jesus was a special son of God by having Mary being engendered by Jesus’ heavenly Father through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is also now the Son of God. He was resurrected from the dead and re-entered the Elohim family through the power of the resurrection from the dead. “God . . . concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1:1-4)
In the messages to the seven churches, the resurrected Jesus refers to himself as the Son of God. “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘These things says the Son of God . . .” (Revelation 2:18)
We see also in the book of Revelation the description of the resurrected Jesus called the Son of Man who was dead but is now living as a glorified God being. (Revelation 1:13, 18)
There’s such profound and deep meaning in both of these descriptions of our Savior and soon coming King and High Priest.
Arms up friends! Our sincere prayers and thoughts are with you daily. Thanks in advance for your heartfelt prayers for us.
