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by
Doug Ward |
Speaking about Jesus the Messiah, John 3:16 declares, "For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only Son ... " Jesus is often identified in
the Bible as God's son-by the angel Gabriel (Lk 1:32, 35), a heavenly voice (Mt
17:5), Jesus himself (Jn 14:13), and the apostles (Ac 9:20; Ro 1:9). What is
meant by the statement that Jesus is God's "only son"?
An
initial step toward an answer is the observation that in the Bible, something
or someone is a "son of X" if that thing or person has some kind of
relationship with X.1 For
example, people who suffer are "sons of affliction" (Pr 31:5, YLT), and those who have been anointed are
literally "sons of oil" (Zec 4:14). If X is a person, a "son of
X" is one who is like X in a certain way. So, in Galatians 3:7, those who
follow Abraham's example of faith are "sons of Abraham."
The
Bible uses this kind of idiom in several cases where X is God. Adam, whom God
fashioned in his image, is "the son of God" (Lk 3:38). The nation of
Israel, redeemed to share God's ways with the world, is God's "firstborn
son" (Ex 4:22). Angelic beings, created to carry out God's directives and
reflect his character, are "sons of God" (Job 38:7; Ps 89:6). So are
people who exemplify qualities of God, like peacemakers (Mt 5:9) and those who
love their enemies (Lk 6:35).
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Jesus'
Unique Divine Sonship |
With so many sons of God, we then might ask how Jesus is the "only
son" of God. The answer lies in the fact that Jesus' sonship is unique in
at least three ways.
First,
Jesus is a special representative of God's firstborn son Israel. God brings him
out of Egypt (Mt 2:15) to lead Israel on a new Exodus. As the Israelites
crossed the Red Sea in a kind of baptism (1 Co 10:1-2), Jesus is immersed as
their representative and proclaimed to be God's son by a voice from heaven (Mt
3:13-17). In the wilderness his divine sonship is challenged by the devil (Mt
4:3, 6), but he passes the test as a forerunner for a renewed Israel.
Second,
Jesus is the ultimate king from the line of David. David was promised that his
descendants on the throne would be considered sons of God (2 Sa 7:14). Their
reigns were to reflect God's reign, characterized by justice, concern for the
oppressed, commitment to the covenant, and hatred of idolatry (Dt 17:18-20; Ps
72:2, 4, 12-14).
God's
covenant with David included the promise that "your throne shall be
established forever" (2 Sa 7:16; cf. Ps 89:29-37), suggesting either that
there would be an endless number of rulers in the dynasty, or that a final
member of the dynasty would rule forever. Other scriptures point to the latter
possibility. Psalm 2 describes an "anointed one" (Messiah) and son of
God (vv 2, 7) whose rule extends to "the ends of
the earth"(v 8) and who is closely identified with God (vv. 10-12).
Similarly, Isaiah 9:6-7 predicts the birth of a king who will rule on David's
throne "from this time forth and forevermore."
In
the first century many were awaiting the coming of this final Davidic king. The
Gospels affirm that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God (Mt 16:16; Jn 1:49;
20:31). The author of Hebrews quotes 2 Samuel 7:14 and Psalm 2:7 in his
argument that Jesus is superior to the angels (Heb 1:4-5). He goes on to cite
Psalm 45, a song for a royal wedding with extravagant language pointing to the
Messiah. He applies Psalm 45:6-7 to Jesus in Hebrews 1:8-9, asserting that God the
Father is speaking to Jesus in saying, "Your throne, O God, is forever and
ever." The Messiah thus has a divine status that sets him apart from all
previous royal sons of God.
Third,
Jesus is the son of God who has always existed and has an especially close
relationship and resemblance to God. As God's "beloved Son" (Col
1:13,) he is "the image of the invisible God" (v 15), the one through
whom "all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible" (v 16). While Christians become adopted sons of God (Ro 8:15,
23; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5), Jesus "was in the beginning with God" (Jn 1:2)
and has "glory as of the only Son from the Father" (v 14). He is the
son who "is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his
nature" and "upholds the universe by the word of his power" (Heb
1:2-3).
Upholding
the universe is a full-time job, requiring Jesus to be on duty even on the
Sabbath to carry out important tasks like healing the sick. When Jesus asserts
such a divine prerogative in healing a lame man on the Sabbath (Jn 5:17), some
leaders object, thinking that he is claiming to be a second God. Jesus offers
clarification, explaining that he acts only in imitation of his Father; he does
not constitute a second, separate authority. On the other hand, he does share all
the Father's attributes and prerogatives, including
granting life and judging the world (vv 19-30). He is
God, but not a God separate from the Father.
Jesus,
then, is the only-i.e., the unique-Son of God. He is unique as the special
representative of Israel; the final eternal King from the line of David; and
the preexistent Creator, Life-giver, and Judge of the world. He is the only Son
of God who is also God the Son. "To him be glory and dominion forever and
ever. Amen" (Rev 1:6).
1See
D. A. Carson, Jesus the Son of God, Crossway, 2012, Chapter 1.
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