Jesus, the Son of God

Matthew 16:13-17; 17:1-8

GOLDEN TEXT: “Whosoever, therefore, shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven.”—Matthew 10:32

THE Apostle John emphasized particularly that Jesus was the Son of God, while Matthew sees Him as the foretold King of Israel. Nevertheless, Matthew does not fail to record some of the incidents in the Master’s ministry which stress the fact of His Sonship. None of the writers of the Bible were specialists in the sense that they failed to appreciate features of truth other than those which they felt particularly impressed to present. This is a good example for all the Lord’s people. We may lose the full value of the truth by paying too much attention to only one part of it to the exclusion of the other features of the divine plan.

Both incidents brought to our attention in today’s lesson serve to substantiate the fact that Jesus was the Son of God. Peter said to Jesus, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus was pleased with this declaration of Peter’s conviction, but told him, nevertheless, that he could not have stated such a profound truth except that it had been given to him by the Father. In the second incident, a voice was heard from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Thus we are furnished with a double testimony of this fundamental truth of the Gospel—both from the Heavenly Father Himself: one directly, and the other through Peter’s declaration.

Today, nominal Christianity takes a very liberal viewpoint of what it means to be a son of God. People speak of the universal Fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man. In view of this, a confession of faith that goes no further than to acknowledge that Jesus was a Son of God, would not indicate a very deep understanding of the Gospel, nor constitute a very satisfactory test of Christian fellowship.

But it was different at the time of Jesus’ first advent. It was so different that one of the complaints against Jesus which contributed to His crucifixion was that He claimed to be a Son of God. To the Jewish people of His day this claim was construed as blasphemy. Hence, for anyone to confess his belief that Jesus was the Son of God would make him a partner in blasphemy. No wonder Jesus said that those who professed such a conviction of the truth He would confess before His Father in heaven! Many of the early church were put to death on account of this profession of faith.

To discern the real truth on this point is still an indication of deep, spiritual discernment. Millions have uttered the various Scriptural expressions concerning the Sonship of Jesus, yet have not understood the real meaning of what they were saying. Many of these have tried to believe that Jesus was both the Son and the Father: that as the Son, He was His own Father; and as Father, He was His own Son. Mixed with this confusion of ideas has been the additional distortion of truth concerning the Holy Spirit—that it also is a personality, equal and the same in substance as the Father and the Son. No wonder many thinking men and women have turned away from these unreasonable and inexplicable “mysteries.”

The Scriptural truth on the subject is understandable and beautiful. A good outline of it is presented in the first chapter of the Gospel according to John. There Jesus, in His pre-human state is described as the “Word” of God (Greek, Logos, meaning mouthpiece, or representative). Unfortunately the King James translation of this chapter fails to bring out the real point made by the apostle. According to the Greek text the “Word” or “Logos,” was “a” god, while the Heavenly Father is referred to as “the” God. The Logos, as a god, or mighty one, was the active agent of the Father in the creative work. Later, it was the same Logos who was “made flesh.”

It was necessary for the Logos to be made flesh in order for Him to redeem the dying and sin-cursed race. (Heb. 2:9,14) It was His flesh which He gave for the life of the world. (John 6:51) In His resurrection, Jesus experienced another change of nature, being highly exalted above angels, principalities and powers and every name that is named.

The Logos was the Son of God, the “only [directly] begotten” of the Father. (Rev. 1:5) When He became the man Christ Jesus, He was still the Son of God. And now that He is so highly exalted by the Father, a partaker of the divine nature, He continues to be the Son of God. It is the church’s hope to be like Him. John declares, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.”—I John 3:2

A true confession that Jesus is the Son of God calls for a full devotion of ourselves to do God’s will, which is to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. His steps were those of sacrifice, even unto death. So it is true, even now, that a true confession that Jesus is the Son of God leads to death. As the world knew Him not, it knows us not. But Jesus said, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Jesus over came the world by going contrary to its selfish cause, and refusing to join in its evil ways.

QUESTIONS:

Why was the confession that Jesus was the Son of God a true test of devotion to God at the time of the first advent?

Explain the truth concerning Jesus’ Sonship.

Are the true followers of Jesus to be sons of God in the same sense that Jesus is now the Son of God?

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