What is meant when it says Jesus is the son of God?

by Matt Slick

The term "son of God" occurs more than 40 times in the Bible, all of them in the New Testament. The phrase is found in the KJV in Dan. 3:25, but the Hebrew word of God is actually in the plural so it should read, “son of the gods.” So, what do we find when we examine the phrase in the New Testament?

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, (Matt. 26:63; Mark 1:1; John 20:31; Heb. 4:14).
Unclean spirits would fall down before Jesus and say, “You are the Son of God,” (Mark 3:11).
“…the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God,” (Luke 1:35).
Adam is said to be the son of God (Luke 3:38).
Those who hear the voice of the Son of God shall live (John 5:25).
Paul had faith in the Son of God (Gal. 2:20).
Son of God has no beginning or end (Heb. 7:3).
The Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).
Believing in the Son of God so that you may have eternal life (1 John 5:13).

We can see that the term refers to the majesty, position, and power of Jesus who is holy (Luke 1:35), associated with salvation (John 5:25), that we are to have faith in the Son of God (Gal. 2:20), so as to have eternal life (1 John 5:13), and that he has no beginning or end (Heb. 7:3).

The only exception to this flow of exultation is Luke 3:38 when it says Adam was the “Son of God,” but here the context is a genealogy and we know that Adam was the first man created by God.

Furthermore, in reference to Jesus, the term “Son of God” does not mean that Jesus is the literal offspring of God as if God had some form of sexual relations with Mary to produce Jesus. God is spirit (John 4:24) and spirit does not have flesh and bones (Luke 24:39), so God the Father is not the literal father of Jesus.

Jesus is The Son Of God

At Jesus’ baptism, the Father spoke out of heaven and said,

“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased,” (Matt. 3:17).

The writer of Hebrews quotes the Old Testament in reference to Christ and says,

“FOR TO WHICH OF THE ANGELS DID HE EVER SAY, ‘YOU ARE MY SON. TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”? And again, “I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME”? 6 And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, “AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.” 7 And of the angels He says, “WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.” 8 But of the Son He says, “YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,” (Psalm 2:7-9).

We can clearly see that in this context, Jesus being called the Son of God means that Jesus is God. Of course, this is reflective of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So, the term Son of God means that Jesus is God in flesh.