As Christians we always talk about Jesus being the “Son of God” but I don’t think that we do a good job of helping others understand what this means, in fact, I have known many Christians who struggle to articulate the truth that Jesus is the “Son of God”. For this reason, I want to take a moment and clarify this concept in order to add a layer of depth to our faith. I will do so very quickly so as not to complicate an already difficult topic.
The short and sweet of it is this: The phrase “Son of God” or “God’s One and Only Son” is not referring to Jesus being a child of God as a result of his sexual interaction with a spiritual female in heaven. It is important to know that our Mormon friends believe this to be case, which is different from Evangelical Christianity and its belief that Jesus Christ is completely equal with the Father and that they have always existed together as One. Jesus may have (certainly was) been born on earth from a human woman, but he was never born in heaven–He just was. The truth is that it means Jesus is the perfect mirror reflection of God the Father. When we see Jesus we see God the Father and we see the Holy Spirit. This is the relationship that is described. The verse that does the best job in clarifying the topic is this:
Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
When you read the Gospel of John it becomes very evident that the Jews, who stated that they believed in God the Father, truly did not believe in the One true God because they did not believe that Jesus was equal with Him. When they saw Jesus they did not see God; they saw only a man (The Son of Man). But those who believe in the One true God see the Father when they see Jesus.
We see the conflict in John 10:31-33, which reads:
Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. Which of these works are you stoning Me for?” “We aren’t stoning You for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because You–being a man–make Yourself God.”
What they refused to believe was that they were looking at the image of Father God when they looked upon the person of Jesus of Christ. It would have been OK for Jesus to claim to be a prophet, or even a perfect human being perhaps, but not God in Flesh. Or some religions are OK if you believe that Jesus is literally a son of God, one of many gods, but not equal with God in every way.
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