Is Jesus Christ the Son of God or the servant of God per Acts 3:26?

by Matt Slick

Jesus is called the son of God in many places in the New Testament (Matthew 27:54; Mark 1:1; John 1:49; 3:18; 2 Corinthians 1:19, etc.). But Jesus is also called the servant of God in Acts 3:26, "For you first, God raised up His Servant, and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.” So how can Jesus be both the Son of God and the servant of God?

First of all, the term "son of God" when it is in reference to Jesus is a claim of equality with God. John 5:18 says that Jesus, "..was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God." Furthermore, Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, the word that was made flesh (John 1:1, 14).

Second, the term "servant" does not mean that Jesus, who is God in flesh (Col. 2:9), cannot serve the people whom God the Father sent him to redeem. Being a servant and being the "son of God" are different categories and are not mutually exclusive.

Jesus has two natures, both divine and human (Col. 2:9), was made under The Law (Gal. 4:4), and for a while was lower than the angels (Heb. 2:9). As such, under The Law he came to serve those who are lost by being an example to them and dying for them.

"just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many," (Matt. 20:28).