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What does it mean to a Christian that Christ is the son of God? On the one hand, obviously, the normal biological meaning of son does not apply. On the other hand, "we are all children of God", but Jesus seems to be more so.

That God offered up His only son as a sacrifice for humanity's sins is often used as an argument to demonstrate God's love for humanity. This would imply that God loves Jesus more than His other children, that this sacrifice was particularly hard, indicating that Jesus has a filial relationship with God in a sense that we would understand. It implies that sending His son to his death was extremely painful to Him, more so than the deaths of His other children.

Now, these arguments seem to me to be a clear anthropomorphisation of God, Christians seem to be attributing human characteristics such as the love of a father --not metaphorically as when referring to humanity as God's children, but in a very literal way-- to God. This seems to clash with another central tenet of Christianity which states that God is beyond our understanding, that we cannot fathom His plan. If so, then any attribution of human emotion to Him would be wrong.

So, my question is how do Christians interpret Christ being the "Son of God"? What exactly does that mean? I realize the answer will depend on the particular denomination of Christianity whose views are being expressed. I am particularly interested in an overview of the more popular churches such as the Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox but welcome answers explaining the views of any group as long as the group in question is clearly stated.


I have read the posts below, but though related, none of them addresses the same question:

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"...central tenet of Christianity which states that we cannot know God for he is unknowable." I have to disagree with this; a central tenet of Christianity is that God is knowable -- He created us to know Him and He has revealed Himself to us. –  Ryan Frame Jul 7 '13 at 2:16
@RyanFrame thank you, I had a quick look through that question and some of the linked references and they are indeed relevant. However, my main question is about how Christians interpret the idea of God as the Father of Jesus. The T. Aquinas reference linked in the question you suggested is interesting but confuses more than helps: "and hence He is properly and not metaphorically called Son, and His principle is called Father." –  terdon Jul 7 '13 at 2:19
Why does "the normal biological meaning not apply"? –  Andrew Leach Jul 7 '13 at 7:54
@Narnian thanks for pointing that out but it is not a duplicate, I mention that question at the end of my own and explain how I am asking about a different angle. –  terdon Jul 8 '13 at 14:54

14 Answers 14

up vote 9 down vote accepted

I'll try to answer this from several different views - the main three (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox) and also the LDS view, since the LDS view is significantly different from the other three, and deserves a distinct treatment.

The mainstream Christian view (Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic) is covered by Apologetics Press in this article: What Does it Mean to Say Jesus is the "Son of God"?. The answer, for most Christians, has its roots in the Jewish understanding of the terms. Bear in mind that this refers to the title "Son of God", and doesn't negate the teaching that Jesus is God.

An excerpt from the article:




The link above is a fair Protestant understanding. The Catholic teaching is the same, and though I can't currently find a reference, i believe it is the same in Eastern Orthodoxy.

Also, in the mainstream Christian view, Jesus, in His human incarnation, was conceived supernaturally (without sex) in the womb of Mary, enabling her virgin birth. This would certainly set Him apart as different from the rest of us. In a sense, he is the Son of God because God was the one who caused Mary to conceive. (I'm probably saying that badly).

As for God having a unique love toward Jesus, in Gill's commentary on Matthew 3:17


Also from the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

  1. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is—Mark and Luke give it in the direct form, "Thou art." (Mr 1:11; Lu 3:22).


The LDS view is a bit different - LDS doctrine includes the idea that God is actively procreating in Heaven, and produces "spirit children". These spirit children choose the human lives they will lead, so all of us pre-existed in Heaven with our actual spiritual father. In LDS theology, Jesus was the first, and chose to be perfect and to suffer as he did to redeem man, as was God's plan. Lucifer was another child of God, who wanted to offer salvation by removing the penalties of the law, thus destroying our free agency.

See Pre-Mortal Life - Mormon Wiki

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Thank you, +1, that is very useful. However, the meanings you and the article you linked to offer do not explain why it would be a particularly great sacrifice for God to send Jesus to Earth. If, as that article concludes, "In summary, to identify Jesus as the Son of God is to acknowledge His genealogical connection to Israel, His right to the throne of David, and His unparalleled nearness to God.", that would mean that Jesus has a particularly close relationship to God but not necessarily the other way around. Could you comment on God's "feelings" towards Christ? –  terdon Jul 7 '13 at 14:00
+1 for a well-rounded answer. For more on the LDS perspective of Jesus being the literal Son of God, also see: According to LDS/Mormon teaching, what is the relationship between Jesus and Lucifer? and also this question about the LDS view of the Trinity and who God is. –  Matt Jul 7 '13 at 15:17
@Matt - thank you for the edit and correction. Feel free to edit your comment links into the answer if yoe like. –  David Jul 7 '13 at 15:30
@terdon Regarding your comment to David Stratton, doesn't, "Jehovah the Father took infinite delight and pleasure in him as his own Son," from the quote by Gill David gave, provide God's feelings toward Christ (at least as Gill sees it)? –  Chelonian Jul 7 '13 at 19:13
@Chelonian I added that in after he asked... –  David Jul 7 '13 at 19:14

I didn't see any set scope within "Christianity", so I will give my perspective from the viewpoint of a Jehovah's Witness.

Jesus is the son of God, but maybe not of the conventional sort. Before the creation of earth the angels where created by God. the Archangel(that is singular!) Michael(Jesus) was the first angel that was made. Archangel is a designation to show Jesus's office in heaven. We can see that Jesus or the Lord was God's first creation from Revelation 3:14:

“To the angel of the congregation in La·o·di·ce′a write: These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God"

Jesus was the faithful and true witness in the scriptures and was created by God.

Michael was not really a co-creator with God, but rather the instrument that God's holy spirit used to create everything else.

Jesus never claimed the father's glory. Even his name shows his function. Jesus, Insight from the Scriptures

(Je′sus) [Lat. form of the Gr. I·e·sous′, which corresponds to the Heb. Ye·shu′aʽ or Yehoh·shu′aʽ and means “Jehovah Is Salvation”].

Another example is Jude 1:9


Through Jesus's own word's he refers to himself as being a separate entity from God. John 8:42&50&54-55


"But I am not seeking glory for myself; there is One who is seeking and judging."

"Jesus answered: “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, the one who you say is your God. Yet you have not known him, but I know him. And if I said I do not know him, I would be like you, a liar. But I do know him and am observing his word."

You can see from Jesus own words that he is the archangel Michael from John 6:54-57 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16

"Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life, and I will resurrect him on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in union with me, and I in union with him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will live because of me."


The Lord, Jesus, and the archangel Michael are 1 and the same.

Now that we know Jesus's origins and identity we can look at the aspect of him being a son. A son is usually very close to his father. He displays the same qualities and line of thinking that he grew up seeing. You can say then that the son mimics the father.

Jesus is the son of God in that he displays the same qualities of God in his actions. He always strives to please God. He glorifies his father and not himself.

Jesus is a unique son of God in that he was created solely by God. All the other angels or sons of God where created by both Jesus and God.

The function of Jesus as God's son was much like Moses and Aaron in Exodus 4:15-17

"So you must speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with you and him as you speak, and I will teach you men what to do. He will speak for you to the people, and he will be your spokesman, and you will serve as God to him. And you will take this rod in your hand and perform the signs with it."

Jesus is God's spokesmen. He represented him on earth. We know God's plan through his word the bible and through Jesus his representative.

Edit: Reworking this post. Be back later tonight to fix.

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Thanks for the answer but I really don't understand your point. I see nothing here that points to Michael and Jesus being the same and in any case that is not relevant to the question which asks how exactly is Jesus the son of God. There is also a huge difference between made and begotten. You seem to be saying that Jesus is God's son in the sense of being his representative. Therefore, not a son at all. Is that correct? –  terdon Dec 20 '13 at 15:39
No I mean that he is literally God's son. As he displays God's qualities perfectly he is a perfect representative or model for us on earch. –  Jeremy Dec 20 '13 at 17:04
I'll come back and edit it as my thoughts don't seem to be collected properly. It does have the general gist of how we view things. –  Jeremy Dec 20 '13 at 17:07

Basically the answer to your question is the Nicene Creed, but you have a collection of assumptions that are directly opposed to the reasoning of scripture.

First the Sonship of Christ:


This means that the Son of God is an eternal being who was loved by the Father before the creation, everything that happened in time is secondary to his role of Son. Therefore, to compare him to anyone else is like comparing infinite to finite, i.e. everything else is nothing to God comparatively. He can't love them in any way like he loves his only Son.

Love of God is spiritual and not like you imagine. The essential 'nature of God' is goodness and love, which means a love of that which is most excellent, i.e. himself. Everything God ultimately loves is within himself, for he alone is excellent beyond all measure. This is also why the only command is to love Him, which will manifest itself in love of our neighbor for his sake. His love for us is just an outworking of his higher love of Himself, being the only object deserving of devotion.

Your question smacks into the face of these primary building blocks of God's revelation of himself. First you very incorrectly assume 'we are all God's children'. The bible say's that nowhere, rather, as a good example taylor made for this question, Christ said in response to some Jews that said they were 'God's children':


This verse really ties both subjects you have so aptly confused together in your question. For first, Jesus shows how he is the 'only Son', for he came from before time began, from the Father in heaven, humbling himself into a human nature, but they were unable to comprehend him. They just knew how to babble about their own view of themselves as being God's children. They were not aware that not everyone is God's child, only those adopted as a children through the death and merits of Christ's death and resserected life - are sons.

So now about his love. While you and I stood blaspheming God, boasting of our selves, yet fully deserving of his eternal anger, while fools, while wicked, while stubborn, while unteachable, while full of jealousy, anger, lust and every other filth, -- while we were in this state, and this alone, did God sent his only Son to die for us. One really must use the word 'I' to understand it. God sent his holy eternal Son to leave the glory of heaven, to suffer into the inexpressibly lower life of a human, let alone an infant in swaddling clothes, to live among sinners, all in order to save 'me' or in this case, 'you'. He took 'your' endless perverse and foolish thoughts, your monstrous evil deeds, and all things from your life unworthy of the eternal being and smashed his own eternally beloved Son into death for your immeasurable wretchedness. Then he counted up all the righteousness that Christ lived in the flesh under all his holy Laws for man, and collected them all into a 'perfect righteousness' and hammered that absolute perfection onto 'you' (I am using a future sense on your behalf) - making you perfect under his holy eyes, while yet never yet ever doing anything good.

So, how is it that God loves sinners? He suffered to watch his dear beloved eternal Son, who he has infinite filial and Fatherly emotions towards (which is neither comprehensible nor explained by scripture yet declared to be true and accepted by all Christians)- he suffered that 'one and only' to pay for your eternal offense to all that is good and praiseworthy. Not only so but to declare you righteous as a gift, with nothing required of you accept receiving that love by faith, you are granted tamper-proof eternally life, which no man, devil, or sin can steel away.

Obviously the assumptions of scripture, what is declares to be obvious and what it declares to be nonsense is basically an inversion your question. In other words the scripture forcefully opposes you and it also opposes me in equal manner whenever I ponder my own foolish thoughts that are not worthy of his majesty and care. This is really a matter of life, wisdom, knowledge, and glory, verses death, folly, ignorance and sin. It really about choosing faith in God, or following the Devil, at least from the view ported to us in the Bible. It always calls for a decided response.

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Thank you and +1 for this thorough answer. I'd like to ask for a few clarifications. First, if I understand your first point correctly, that He is the Son means that He was created directly from God, unlike the rest of us who were created from the Earth. Is that correct? I don't understand your position on comparing. It seems to be self-contradictory since you yourself are comparing His love by saying that "everything else is nothing to God comparatively. He can't love them in any way like he loves his only Son." –  terdon Jul 8 '13 at 15:14
cont. As for us all being God's children, the Bible does indeed say so in various places (though it also states the opposite, as in the passage you have quoted). Jesus himself quoted one of those passages to defend his statement that "I and the Father are one". Finally, could you please explain your last paragraph? What assumptions are you talking about here and how are they an inversion of my question? How does scripture oppose you or myself? When we do what? –  terdon Jul 8 '13 at 15:16
For your first note. No. The Son of God was not created - that's the Nicene Creed part - he has no beginning being God. For your second note, when the Bible says 'Ye are the children...' it obviously assumes believers. No offense but your reference looks like it was written from a child's crayon. The last para means the Bible assumes Christ is not created and only some are God's children, making your question fit the 'Why is my language not clear to you?'. Finally, how does scripture oppose us? Easy. It opposes the foolish assumptions of you question and many of my equally foolish assumptions. –  Mike Jul 8 '13 at 16:21
OK, I understand that the Nicene creed means that Christ is eternal and of God which gives an answer to my question. The link I posted was simply one of the first hits for "bible we are God's children", whether you consider it childish is your own opinion, the fact remains that it gives 6 separate quotes from the Bible supporting the "we are all children of God". You say the Bible "obviously assumes believers" and that is not obvious at all. Especially since many of the quotes predate the New Testament and are, perforce, addressed to non Christians. –  terdon Jul 8 '13 at 16:41
cont. I am sure I am making many silly assumptions but since you don't point them out to me I do not know what they are. I don't see why the Bible "assumes" that only some are God's children, indeed that seems to go against the idea that we are all sons of Adam, we should be God's children irrespective of whether we have been fortunate enough to be exposed to His words. I am truly not trying to be difficult and I appreciate your taking the time to explain but I just don't understand that last paragraph. –  terdon Jul 8 '13 at 16:45


You identify yourself as a secular humanist raised in a deeply religious society. Therefore I will answer your question with that understanding. I am a Christian with no denominational leanings. I do however believe the Bible is God’s word to His children, therefore my response will be non-denominational yet Bible based.

The Jews had many names for God but “Father” was not predominantly one of them. The Jews identified themselves as “Children of Abraham” not the children of God. So when Jesus identified Himself as the “only begotten of the Father” this was revolutionary and the Pharisees understood the claim to be blasphemous. John 5:18 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.

When Christ stood before Pilate he did not recant this perspective. He could have very easily said, “Hey, I just meant that God is like a father to me and I am like a son to him”, but he did not, Christ went to the cross claiming to be the “only begotten of the Father”.

A phrase search in the KJV of “I can do nothing” yields three matches, all three are quotes from Christ. In two verses Christ is speaking of Himself in relationship to his Father and in the third (John 15:5) Christ is speaking in regard to His followers in relationship with himself.


When Jesus is told that His biological family was waiting for Him He said: “whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:50). Son-ship to Christ centered on the “will” of God the Father being made manifest.

Christ instructs us to pray “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth”.



Jesus is the manifest-will of God the Father born of the Holy Spirit. This is evident in the role of Christ in creation: Ephesians 3:9 And to make all [men] see what [is] the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ; Colossians 1:16 For by him (Jesus Christ) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

So Jesus is the first-fruit, the image of the invisible God, and the offspring of the will of God the Father. Jesus is the “only begotten of the Father” the eternal reproduction of the will of God the Father.

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Thanks for the edit DJ –  Rick Jul 27 '13 at 13:09

This is more of a quick answer [not anymore]. And, to preface a bit more, I didn't closely [not necessarily anymore] read all of the above statements, because they seemed too preachy or missed the point.

Jesus referred to himself as both the "Son of God" and "Son of Man." The first was used to express deity, and the other humanity. And, if we accept that Jesus was man, than He certainly experienced all of the things we experience now. That's why Jesus makes the perfect mediator! More on this contradiction after a few rabbits.

I think its an incorrect assumption to say God loves more (a) than he loves (b). Since, it doesn't appear to me anywhere that God's love is based upon degrees (though this does not negate uniqueness/specialness). There is certainly a dualism with God, such as light/dark, love/hate, life/death, righteous/unrighteous. This also applies to God's love for Jesus, which God certainly does, and involves more of uniqueness/specialness than degrees of love. @Mike, I'd leave a comment but I can't so I'll say it here. God's love is not simply spiritual. There are also practical/physical considerations too! Such as common grace, i.e. we are knit together in our mothers womb and, tend not to die immediately when we commit sin, which are practical considerations of God's love. And, @Mike again, the essential attributes of God is not only "goodness and love," what about justice and wrath and hatred? Didn't God punish Israel all of the time for their sin? Did God not love Jacob and hate Esau? Just a thought, not trolling here.

One other footnote before I go back to the Son-God-Man. God's will is certainly revealed to man and can be known--Rom 12:1, 1 Thess 4:something and 1 Thess 5:something.

Anyways, @RyanFrame the argument from Aquinas' Summa Theologica is great! To call Jesus the son of God => that Jesus is a created being/Jesus is a lessor form of God. To maybe clarify, if you go back to the early fourth century, and look at Arianism/Council of Nicaea (and, @mike, it was this reason that the Nicene creed was created!--"God from God, light from light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father..."), which dealt with the substance/essence of Jesus, and whether He was 'of the same substance' or 'of like substance.' All of this was solved in Nicaea. This is the greatest determination that makes orthodox (not Orthodox e.g. Eastern O, Greek O, Russian O, etc--though they are infact orthodox) Christianity distinct from other non-orthodox/heretical Christians (e.g. LDS, Jehovah's Witness, UUC, etc.).

A rather short answer to "how do Christians interpret Christ being the 'Son of God'?" Answer: because the bible tells us! A good explanation is John 1, and it is certainly foundational to the Nicene argument. It's definitely circular--but, authority, inspiration, trustworthiness, etc, of the bible is a different animal to consider.

And, last thought: @terdon, everyone is not certainly children of God in the sense that we are all going to heaven (whatever that may be), however, we are all children (not-God's) in the sense that we are creatures rather than creator. So, I can see the confusion.

Last thought, great question. Very thought provoking.

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Contrary to your assertion that a normal understanding of being a son does not apply to Jesus as the son of God the Bible explicitly tells us that that particular relationship does indeed exist.

Luke 1:30 through 35 KJV







Notice what it says in the bold italics that is why Jesus is the son of God, both Spiritually and physically.

So therefore Jesus was conceived utilizing both the seed of Mary and the seed of God. Certainly you are correct in saying that Jesus was not conceived in the normal manner in which children are conceived, since Mary remained a virgin until Jesus was born.

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Mary remained a virgin all her life unless you are referring to apocrypha I have not read. Having a child does not negate virginity, having sex does. Now, unless you believe in a corporeal God who has seed in the same way you have a liver, the "seed" referred to in this passage cannot be taken literally (oh, and Mary had no seed but that's just semantics). God has no physical presence, so no DNA and by extension cannot sire children in the biological sense. Theologically speaking is a different matter, hence the question. –  terdon Dec 18 '13 at 0:31
@ terdon your assertion is based on the Catholic doctrine, and not the Protestant. According to the King James version of the Bible Jesus had both half brothers and half sisters. Two of his half Brothers are the authors of the books of James and Jude, according to My Baptist upbringing, and I cannot vouch for any other Protestant Denominations, but if they are based on any Protestant Bible I know of they all agree on that. As far as Mary not having a seed and the Holy Spirit not providing any seed HOW COULD JESUS BE A MAN? He had to get his physical being from somewhere. –  BYE Dec 18 '13 at 0:45
Actually, it was based on my Orthodox upbringing and my ample ignorance. I had never heard of any siblings, thanks. As for the rest, Mary certainly had ova, (seed refers to sperm exclusively), however God does not. Not unless He also has a body. That is the whole point of my question. If pressed, I would posit that God created the necessary seed on the spot and that His divinity is not connected to His body in any way (something which I consider demonstrated by the resurrection). An interesting point is that the quote in your answer only says (twice) that he will be called the Son of God. –  terdon Dec 18 '13 at 14:09

Your question: What does it mean to a Christian that Christ is the son of God?, could be restated as: Why Jesus is called Son of God and not simply God which He is?

The doctrine of the Trinity states that there is one God, who exists in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

When the time came for an invisible God to reveal Himself as saviour for the salvation of fallen mankind, the true nature of One Almighty God was also revealed through Jesus Christ as saviour. God alone can reveal God hence Jesus is Son of God, same as God. To be the Son of God is to be of the same nature as God. It takes God to reveal Himself to mankind.

The Son of God is “of God.” The claim to be of the same nature as God—to in fact be God—was blasphemy to the Jewish leaders; therefore, they demanded Jesus’ death

The Jewish leaders understood exactly what it meant by the phrase “Son of God and precisely this understanding of the phrase led the Jews to ask for Jesus’ death sentence.


There are many verses in Bible where we see that in Jesus, the invisible God is revealed. Jesus was with the Father before the world began. Jesus, as God the Son, is the Creator of all things. God in all His fullness dwelt in Christ, reconciling the world. We see that Christ, as the Son of God - God's representation, is God manifest and revealed to the world.

So the Second person of Trinity was revealed by arrival of Jesus and the Third person was revealed after Jesus was glorified. God the father was revealed in OT (We though find references to Trinity in OT as well in amorphous manner).

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What makes you believe that the doctrine of the Trinity is correct? There was a lot of argument about it in the first and second century churches. How do you know there aren't thirty persons in the Godhead and you just don't know about the others? How do you know there is a Godhead at all and not just one God as it says "Hear, O Israel, The Lord is our God, The Lord is One?" –  Gregory Magarshak May 13 '14 at 15:18

For Jesus to be "the Son of God" means that he has the very same nature of his Father. How is this so? John himself elucidated it in his gospel. He wrote that before the Word became flesh i.e. Jesus Christ, the Word is already "the only offspring of the Father" and more explicitly, "the only offspring who is God as to his nature"(John 1:14,John 1:18).

In Luke 1:35 , we are told by Luke that the "holy one" to be born will be called " God's Son" because of his incarnation.Noticing the futurity of the prophecy ( will be called), we discover that the incarnate Word, the "holy one" born of the Virgin, was declared or made known as "God's Son" at his resurrection per Romans 1:4.

Now Jesus as the Word was not merely declared to be "God's Son" but in fact, he was declared to be "God's birthed Son" and this status he has was the one proclaimed by the Father per se at his resurrection( Hebrews 1:5,5:5, Acts 13:35).

The genetic metaphor of "birth" denotes that the Word is equally sharing the same nature of his Father.This is the reason why in Romans 1:4, Paul did not write "God's begotten Son" but simply "God's Son" for he already explained in the text what it means " ...declared to be God's Son with power according to his spirit of holiness i.e. divine nature ( not the Third person of the Trinity)but in Hebrews 1:5,5:5,Acts 13:35, being a quotation of Ps. 2:7, Paul found it suffice to use it as proof text for the "eternal Sonship" of Jesus because he already knew in mind that Jesus was proven to be God in nature at his resurrection via his Sonship.

The understanding of the New Testament writers about the Sonship of Christ is primarily about his Sonship as the Word, Wisdom and Power of the Father ( Hebrews 1:3, 1 Cor. 1:24, Joihn 1:1,14,18,3:16,18,1 John 4:9).

The Greek word translated "only begotten" (monogenes) is a compound word of monos (one/only) and genos (offspring/kind) and means "only offspring" in every occurrence in the New Testament, and does not prove Christ's begottenness but only his being the "sole offspring" of the Father.

The Word is the "only offspring" of the Father (John 1:14) but all humans collectively are also "offspring" of the Father (Acts 17:28), so is this a contradiction? No. John explains why. It is because the Word is "the only offspring who is God as to his nature" (John 1:18).

It is really important to know and have faith with the Sonship of Christ as taught and revealed in the Scriptures because this concerns our salvation from hell per se ( John 3:16,18; 20:31, 1 John 5:11-13).

The Sonship of Christ is literal in sense and on the other hand, metaphorical in essence. The Word was not literally birthed by the Father. This is only an anthropomorphic imagery used so that we might understand that the Word is the Son, of one nature with the Father.

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Let me try to put it as simply as possible, for it is a huge subject.

  1. The first Adam (Son of God - Luke 3:38) who was made in the image and likeness of God sinned against Him and fell. The image and likeness of God in Adam became corrupted. Genesis 5 tells us Adam begat Seth in his own image and likeness - which was corrupted of course. That is why, the Bible says, we are ALL born in sin - that is we are all born with the old Adam's corrupted image.

  2. So God came up with a simple plan to rescue and save man. He decided to come as the Last Adam, Son of God, to beget us for Himself (john 1:12,13). As the Lamb of God to become our Sacrifice and the Son of man to stand in the breach for us as our High Priest, Intercessor and Advocate. 1 John 2:1 tells us Christians that should we fall into sin we have an advocate with the Father.For sin is sin no matter who commits it.

  3. So the Word of God clothed Himself in flesh to execute this three point, fail proof Plan of God.

So was Christ the Son of God in reality. John 1:1 introduces us to His true identity - the Word of God. That's who was. He came as the -

  3. SON OF MAN - this is the Salvation Plan to save us.

Christ is GOD (Titus 2:13). He loved us so much that though we were sinners and enemies of God He died and rose again for us. The Bible tells us He is without partiality - He loves all of us impartially.

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Welcome to the site! Salutations and greetings are really not suited to this site, as the questions may be asked by one person, but they are read by many. Also, accusing people of being wrong is out of place here. We should "gently instruct". Also, while I agree that we should look to the Bible alone, this contradicts some traditions. No need to offend people. Just present your case. –  Narnian Jan 2 '14 at 15:29

If this is still open for discussion then.. (Disclaimer..I am a human being that also has questions and we just do the best we can to understand, where personally metaphors are a great way of achieving this as I would not understand theological concepts too complex to chew on without them)

how do Christians interpret Christ being the "Son of God and what does that mean? First of all great question, secondly I'll try to make this brief and hopefully understandable.

  1. Jesus, the father and the Spirit are God (Trinity)- so how can Jesus be the son? In a human perspective, he is NOT. for how can the son "live" the same years as the father- (as Jesus has always existed along with God the father and the Spirit..John 1)

  2. I guess that Jesus is pictured as the SON of God (the father) as a way for US (Humans)to better understand the whole concept of salvation..what do I mean? well:

    • lets quickly say that we sinned=death (as determined by God BEFORE the act)
    • perfect creation all of a sudden a "failure"
    • God (Trinity) tries to quickly fix this but can only do so much..what do I mean?, well since humans were deemed to perish God SUBSTITUDES animals for them (so the animal dies and not the human) yet this is still fallible..we can see this in the O.T. when people offer animals to God for their sins..(but it was also for other things, thankfulness, ties...) --Anyway all this to prove why we were doomed, lets not forget that God despite his help is a JUST God and hence will do what is rightful, by whose laws? well the ones HE created and established --Now coming back to your question. How is this relevant? very, actually, why? because in order to understand the concept of Jesus and the son, and the one who sent Him and so on it is important to understand the reason behind all this.

Having that said- the metaphor given by God pictures this: Generally all mothers/Fathers love their children to the point of sacrificing, killing, fighting, you name it- or ask your mom what wouldn't she do for you(or someone who loves you greatly) - The picture traced allows us to grasp that if God the Father has a UNIQUE son and is willing to giving him up "allow for his death"- to his one and only son, whom he cherishes and loves, whose blood and genes you transmitted, who you aided to grow by fulfilling its every needs and then to put him to DEATH; for the exchange of what?! a loving parent wouldn't do that. Now that you have the humanly picture in your head understand this: I have not yet met any parent that will give up a son or daughter for the benefit of a burning building where say 500 people's lives depended upon it- and if the parent is willing, boy he either didn't cherish the relationship with his son enough or he loves the 500 people more than its unique son. Well this parent is God (and I'm not saying God didn't love Jesus (as he was later going to reward Him..), whose son (metaphorically speaking as this allows us to comprehend up to what extent his love is) was willing to give up(or give in to his death). Now this is a bit more profound than just a metaphor as Jesus was and IS required as a ransom from "death/hell/devil" as he is a "HUMAN" yet sinless (this kind of represents Him as the LAST and perfect sacrifice that will cover or take away our sins so that we can be right in the eyes of God (Jesus the lamb (animal sacrificed) of (to) God)

ok so I made it longer than what I thought, but this is because is a very complex concept where is easy to understand yet SO hard anyway I hope this answers your question about the perception that is given to Jesus as the son of God.. where many passages arise from" For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that anyone who believes in Him may not perish but have everlasting life) -P.S. Jesus also did claimed to be God (because He is, according to Christians)

  1. Are we considered to be children of God? well I would believe so because we are his creation. something you create, you become its creator/ parent and they become your creation/son...

-too many brackets I know (I notices that too)


A Christian. definitely under Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox (I don't like denominations, I believe we have the main concept then we just manage to disagree in other things; but I believe the main concept is the most important and relevant one- so yeah Jesus)

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So, this is what you believe, but this isn't really well-sourced as to what established traditions believe. Secondly, if the Trinity is only metaphor, as you seem to suggest, then you do not technically fall under Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox creeds. That's fine, it's just not any named or recognized form of Christianity, and is therefore not really what we do here. –  Affable Geek Mar 3 '14 at 14:45

To understand it, let us break it down into the form of a verb: to make, create and beget.

You make dinner, or a dress, or a house. All have a form or structure, but take nothing from the cook, the dressmaker or contractor. They only take from the ingredients or materials they are made from.

Now if you create something as in art, it will take an essence from the creator as in a painted masterpiece or musical work.

But to beget something takes the very nature of the one who has begotten it. Your children take their physical looks and being from your genes. As we see in John 1:1. From again the Nicene Creed: "the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made."

What you are missing is the difference between the man, Jesus the Christ, and his mission here on earth with His divine nature through the Davidic immaculate conception handed down in scripture through the ages as God's promise in the Old Testament as the one who comes to reconcile all people to Him, The Creator.

This is Theology 101 Dude. Come hang out with an old Lutheran and drink beer while we talk about God's Grace sometime... It is good for the soul noless.

"To him that has ears, let them hear."

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Grab a cup...sorry, this one's going to skip around a bit!

All the above answers make sense...what's missing is contextual reference. Let's examine a few in an effort to understand the concept of son(s) of God: "beney elohim, beney ha'elohim, & beney 'elim).

We first find the sons of God in Genesis 6:1 as "the sons of God saw the daughters of men" - clearly we have a distinction between the metaphorical 'we are all sons of God' and the literal sons of God. If we go outside the core bible (passed by decree of church fathers by about 5 votes 300 years after the death of Christ), we can reference the Pseudepigrapha: Josephus (book 1, chapter 3); Enoch (6:1); Jubilees (5:1); & The Genesis Apocrypha (part of Dead Sea Scrolls).

Next we have Deuteronomy 32:8 & the discussion of inheritance, though some may counter that this refers to mankind. So, let's go to Job 1:6 - "now there was a day when the sons of God (beney ha'elohim) came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came among them". Next, Job 2:1 - "again there was a day when the sons of God (beney ha'elohim) came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also cam among them to present himself before the Lord".

In Job 38:4, we read "when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God (beney 'elohim) shouted for joy. Next, in Psalm 29:1; "o give the Lord you sons of God (beney 'elim), give the Lord glory and power, give the Lord the glory of His name. Adore the lord in his holy court."

Finally, in Psalm 89:6 we read "for who in the skies can compare with the Lord or who is like the Lord among the sons of God (beney 'elim)".

The Lord Bless and Keep you! (Numbers 6:24-26)

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Thanks for your answer but while your quotes are interesting, none of them addresses my actual question which is about Jesus being the son of God. –  terdon Dec 27 '13 at 16:59

Let me start by saying that there is only one God: it is the Father (1 Corinthians 8:6). God is immortal, eternal, all powerful and all knowing. God begot a Son in such a remote past that finite human minds like mine cannot fathom. This Son is the Christ (anointed one). Since the Christ was born of the Father who is God, He also inherited all the prerogatives and attributes of His Father, including life eternal. When God begot Christ He put in Him the seed of all the creation, seen or unseen. Christ was born to carry forward the will of His Father and to do so with perfection. Christ created everything according to His Father's will, us included. Christ became the Creator by being the active agent speaking everything into existence but it was His Father's will that he was putting his delight to execute. This is why we read in the 1st chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews that God created everything by Christ. Christ is God. But he is God because he was born of God Himself. Christ was begotten but not created. Christ is the Son of the living God.

Jesus was a human being. He partook of flesh and blood just like you and I. Jesus is Christ (the Son of God) incarnated. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God in the flesh. Jesus is divinity manifested in humanity. Jesus needed no human father because Christ had God for His Father. By the wonderful miracle of the incarnation wrought by the omnipresent Spirit of God, Christ became the Son of man while still being the Son of God. This is who Jesus was and is. He is the gift of God to fallen humanity. Christ, the Son of God, became the Son of man in the person of Jesus.

Humanity needed a savior after Adam and Eve sinned. They sinned here on earth and handed the Lord's latest creation to Satan. In order to overcome Satan and redeem humanity and planet earth, God sent his Son in mortal flesh to win that battle against the adversary on the battle ground that Satan claimed falsely to be his. God the Father didn't incarnate. He sent his Son (John 3:16). And if his word declares that God sent his Son to the rescue of humanity and the earth, I believe that he had a Son to send and that he did not send another God co-equal, co-eternal to play a mere role of Son.

What we did learn thus far is that:

1- there is one God who has no origin at all. The true eternal and living God, the Father, who cannot die and who is invisible to human sight. Everything comes from Him, even Christ came from the Father.

2- Christ is the pre-existing Son of God, begotten in ages too remote for us to fathom. He forever clothed his divinity with humanity, became Jesus-Christ to save humanity. He is the only Lord.

3- the Holy Spirit is the eternal spirit of God and Christ. It is God's omnipresence. God gave it to His Son. Christ is willing to give it to all those who really are his disciples in this world to overcome evil as he overcame.

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Which group of Christian does this answer represent? –  curiousdannii Sep 8 '14 at 6:35
While unlike the other place you posted this content it's potentially in-scope here, it does not seem to represent the views of any established Christian groups. Whether you are ultimately right or not is irrelevant here as the only thing that matters for the purpose of this site is that we're representing what extant Christian groups teach. Can you edit to identify who you speak for here? –  Caleb Sep 8 '14 at 7:09

Simply put, the Father and the Son existed as an all-invisible Spirit, one in unity, not one in person in a universe that was an empty void. In order for anything to be created, one had to step down from being fully and all-spirit God. The Fathers form has never changed, nor has anyone ever heard his voice. Proverbs 8:22-31. Initial sacrifice in order for us to exist. Christ was brought forth from the Father. . Existing as both God and man. As scripture often refers to water and blood. Water being Holy Spirit, blood being man. In the Old Testament, Christ was shown in many names, angel of the Lord, Michael, etc. Christ was the God of the Old Testament. Entire time. OUR God and Lord. Came from the same essence as the Father, just in a form we can commune with without getting consumed by the Fathers all spirit purity. New Testament, Christ, our God takes a step further. Comes fully in the flesh as a man, suffering all feeling and temptations we have experienced, only he didn't sin. He had his Fathers spirit to conquer the flesh. Came to do his Fathers will, not his own. An example of dying to oneself. Dies on the cross, all of him, fully. If not, he sacrificed nothing. He gave up his spirit. The Holy Spirit. When he was stabbed, water and blood poured out. Now that Holy Spirit (Christs spirit) is in his Fathers control, and Christ pleads on our behalf. Those of us who obey the Lords commands, and seek Christ, and have an earnest desire to stop sinning and do repent... Receive the Holy Spirit. Why everything has always been through Christ. Christ is our Father, our God, our Lord. Just in a form we can recognize and have communion with. When we worship Christ, we are worshipping God the Father, the spirit who no one has ever seen or heard. Christ is the radiant image and perfect glory of God the Father just in a form we can recognize. Like Father like Son, only Christ was brought forth from the Father in order for anything to be created in the form of both God and man. We have seen and heard Christ. Moses used to speak to God face to face, we read about The finger of God, God's back, he has form. This is Christ. The Father has always been all invisible spirit form. The Holy Spirit has always connected The Father and the Son(Christ- our God, Lord, Father) now upon christs sacrifice, we are able to be connected in unity with The Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit which Christ sacrificed for us. The Holy Spirit is Christs spirit. The Father and the Son are separate. Christ is and has always been our only mediator to God the Father.

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This answer is really hard to read and follow, and is not a very good fit for the format of this site. –  ShemSeger Nov 1 '14 at 4:49
That isn't very simply put at all. –  Flimzy Nov 1 '14 at 18:47

protected by David Nov 4 '14 at 5:55


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