Son of God and Son of Man Pastor A. W. Weckeman – December 2014
The Lord Jesus Christ, the God-Man
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
God became a man to die like a man in man’s place.
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Heb.2:9).
The Lord Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man. It is essential to sound doctrine that we maintain a balance between the two realities; believers all too often over-emphasize the deity of Christ, overlooking the necessity and importance of His humanity. Imbalance means out of proportion; an unbalanced view of scripture is a sure recipe for misinterpretation and false doctrine.
The goodness and severity of God.
Equality is essential regarding God’s attributes and nature. The common error of the day is to overemphasize the love of God; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16): while neglecting to warn the lost of God’s certain judgment on all who reject His love and mercy:
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).
“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power…” (2 Thess. 1:7-9).
God is a perfectly balanced Being, His love, grace, and mercy are precisely balanced by His holiness, righteousness, and justice. The same can be said concerning the harmony of Jesus’ deity and humanity.
The Deity of the Son of God
“…the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The doctrine of the deity of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the most fundamental doctrine of all; as such it is consistently challenged and denied by the false religions of the world i.e. Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Muslims, Buddhists and other antichrists.
The Christian’s very salvation and eternal security depend upon believing on Jesus Christ as the Son of God, consider:
“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God.” hath not life.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:12-13)
The Apostles understood who Jesus was:
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt.16:13-16)
“From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” (John 6:66-69).
“Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” (Matt.14:33)
“Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” (John 1:49)
Ethiopian Eunuch
“And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:37).
The Devils knew who Jesus was
“And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.” (Luke 4:41). Also, (Mark 3:11 & Matt.8:29).
The Roman Soldier
“And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.” (Mark 15:39)
Equal with God
To state that Jesus was the “Son of God” was to confer deity…making Him equal with God:
“Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:18).
“I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30).
Additional evidence for the deity of Christ is found in the following verses:
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (Ex 3:14).
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. (John 8:58).
The seven I AMs in the Gospel of John:
“I am the bread of life…” (John 6:35)
“I am the light of the world…” (John 8:12)
“I am the door of the sheep…” (John 10:7)
“I am the good shepherd…” (John 10:11)
“I am the resurrection and the life…” (John 11:25)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6)
“I AM the true vine…” (John 15:1)
Immanuel
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isa.7:14).
Compare
“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matt.1:23).
The Everlasting Father
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isa.9:6). Notice Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be BOTH God and man: “child is born”, “a son is given”, “the mighty God”, “The everlasting Father…”
Only God can read the heart
“Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou [God] only knowest the hearts of the children of men…” (2 Chron.6:30)
As God, Jesus has the supernatural ability to see into man’s heart and read his mind:
“And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, why think ye evil in your hearts? (Matt.9:3-4).
The spirit of antichrist is exposed by its denial that Jesus Christ is the “Son of God”
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
And every spirit that confesseth NOT that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3) [Emphasis mine].
The “spirit of antichrist” will always deny that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh; that He is the Son of God and therefore equal with God. “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30 cf. John 5:18).
“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22).
All that deny the deity of Jesus Christ are controlled by the spirit of antichrist, liars, and deceivers.
“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 John 5:5-7).
The Humanity of Jesus Christ
In the previous section, we looked at the verses which speak to the deity of Jesus Christ, his position as coequal with the Father. This segment deals with the other side of the same coin…the humanity of Jesus Christ, willingly “made a little lower than the angels” subservient to the will of God the Father.
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John 5:30).
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1 Tim.3:16).
The Bible not only teaches that Jesus Christ was very God but also completely human…the God–Man. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14).
The second Person of the Godhead, He who had existed for all eternity voluntarily humbled Himself, temporarily taking a lower position, a place of subordination to God the Father.
The “mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh”…the intangible became tangible, the infinite became finite.
“The incarnation doesn’t mean that God dwelt in a man, but that God became a Man. He became what He was not previously, though He never ceased to be all that He was before.”
Jesus had a human body, (John 1:14), He had a soul, (Matt.26:38), He had a spirit (Luke 23:46), He hungered, (Matt.4:2), He thirsted, (John 4:7), He grew weary (John 4:6), He got angry, (Mark 3:5) He wept (John 11:35) and above all He died as a man for all mankind!
Jesus’ essential humanness
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” (Heb. 2:9-10).
God became a man to die like a man in the place of man. Jesus Christ was not only the Alpha and Omega, the Lord of Glory, but also a perfect sinless man who bled, suffered and died as a human being to redeem fallen humanity, “…to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil…” (Heb. 2:14).
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” (Luke 2:52). God doesn’t grow in stature and wisdom; there is absolutely nothing for Him to learn. Yet we read:
“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him…” (Heb. 5:7-9), these verses speak to Jesus’ humanity NOT His deity. In His humanity He “feared”,“learned obedience” and was “made perfect”…as a man, He was tried and perfected, confirmed a sinless human being!
Can God be tempted?
The word of God declares in James 1:13 that “…God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” Yet Jesus most definitely was tempted in (Luke 4:1-13). If Jesus wasn’t an actual man how can we explain His temptation?
“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15). Jesus, as a man, was subject to every experience of humanity, including temptation (except the influence of Adam’s sinful flesh).
“Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
“For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” (Heb. 2:17-18).
It was essential to God’s plan of salvation that Jesus Christ, the God-Man, would be subject to fear, pain, temptation and “taste death for every man” in order to fully empathize and intercede on behalf of humanity.
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16)
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil.2:5-8).
A thorough understanding of the dual nature of the Lord Jesus Christ as “the Son of God” and “the Son of man” provide the crucial insight necessary to arrive at sound interpretation, without which, various portions of scripture will appear contradictory. There are no contradictions in God’s word only alleged contradictions; when the scriptures appear contradictory pray for additional Light and dig deeper, “For God is not the author of confusion…” (1 Cor. 14:33).