Barton's Bible Study Notes

Introduction

Because a believer’s sonship, their adoption as a child of God, is a direct application of the sonship of Jesus Christ through identification with him, one cannot properly understand what this sonship is or what it means until first correctly understanding the sonship of Jesus Christ the Lord.

Before proceeding any further into this study, the following must be stated: The Lord, Jesus the Messiah, is eternal God. He was so before time existed. He was through all the past ages from the creation of time onward. He is so now and will be such for all eternity. There has never been a point in time or outside time that he was not fully, perfectly God!

This is avowed here, lest a reader, not paying close attention, say, “This study denies the deity of the Lord!” It does not. The writer is fully persuaded of it. Let it be repeated. The Lord, Jesus the Messiah, is eternal God. He was so before time existed. He was through all the past ages from the creation of time onward. He is so now and will be such for all eternity. There has never been a point in time or outside time that he was not fully, perfectly God!

Today when someone states that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, they are almost always referring to his deity; that is, they are saying that Jesus Christ is divine, that he is God. The deity of the Lord is a fundamental doctrine of one’s faith; it cannot be denied. While this is what most speakers mean when they claim Jesus is the Son of God, this title is not saying he is divine; it is saying he is the Messiah! In stating this, it is not a denial of his deity. On the contrary, the scriptures definitely teach it. The writers of the New Testament, when they used this title, simply were not referring to it. When they used the title, the Son of God, they were saying he is the Messiah! According to the scriptures, if he is the promised Messiah, he is from everlasting. He is divine. Isaiah 9:6 states,

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.¹Quotations are from the New American Standard Version,1995, unless otherwise noted.

This child born, the Messiah, is Mighty God; he is divine! Again Micah 5:2 states,

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.

The Messiah would be from Bethlehem, but he did not begin there! His goings forth, his activity, was from long ago, from the days of eternity. He was much more than just a man from Bethlehem; he was and is eternal God. If he is the Messiah, then he is divine.

This study of the Lord’s sonship and a believer’s adoption as a child of God is a five-part study. It begins by looking at how this phrase, the Son of God, is used of the Lord in the New Testament. It will be evident that it makes much more sense to understand it as a title for the Messiah than an expression of his deity. The second part of the study continues this examination of the phrase in the New Testament by examining the central passage declaring the Lord’s sonship, Romans 1:3–4, which states he was appointed to this position. He cannot be appointed to divinity, but he could and was appointed to be Messiah.

In the third part of the study, three key passages in the Old Testament relating to the Lord’s being the Son of God are studied: 2 Samuel 7:8–17, the David Covenant, which is the basis of his sonship and a believer’s adoption as a child of God; Psalm 2, which is sometimes misused to teach the doctrine of eternal generation; and Psalm 89, a lament psalm looking for the establishment of the Messianic kingdom.

In part four of this study, the believer's sonship, his adoption as a child of God is considered. It is revealed to be an extension of the Lord’s Sonship. A believer is a child of God because Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and, having placed their faith in him, they are identified with him. Much of this study is in the book of Romans, especially chapter 8. The last part of this study looks again at the Davidic Covenant, focusing on how it applies to believers as children of God, how the promises apply, and what responsibilities it imparts in light of this exalted position in Christ.

The Use of the Phrase “The Son Of God” in the Temptation of the Lord

The question with the words, the Son of God, is not how they are to be translated but to what they refer. All authorities agree that these words should be translated as the Son of God. For a large portion of church history, this phrase has been taken to refer to the deity of the second person of the Godhead. Dr. Charles Hodge, one of the great commentators on the Book of Romans, says in his commentary, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, for example,

…the word Son designates the divine nature of Christ. In all cases, however, it is a designation implying participation of the divine nature. Christ is called the Son of God because He is consubstantial with the Father, and therefore equal to him in power and glory. The term expresses the relationship of the second to the first person in the Trinity, as it exists from eternity. It is, therefore, as applied to Christ, not a term of office, nor expressive of any relation assumed in time. He was and is the Eternal Son.²Charles Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1886), 18.

This understanding of the phrase, the Son of God, is an instance where one’s theology determined the meaning of the scripture instead of the scripture determining one’s theology. The phrase had a definite meaning to the Jewish believers and writers of scripture. It was a designation for Messiah. Arndt and Gingrich, compilers of a definitive Greek English lexicon, state, “in Judaism this was at least not a frequently used honorary title for the Messiah.”³William F. Arndt and Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 4th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), 842. However, as time went on and the church became more Gentile in character and thinking, the emphasis placed by the Jewish writers was lost.

Gentile believers did not view Christ as the Messiah coming to rule over a Jewish kingdom on earth. This truth lost its importance, and with the abandonment of a literal interpretation of scripture, the literal millennial reign was denied. Thus the meaning of the phrase, the Son of God, was shifted away from his office of Messiah to another idea, his divinity.

Having made this the meaning of the phrase, the church then had to cope with the problem of generation. The concept of a son implies a beginning, being generated by another. Since Christ as God did not and could not have a beginning, the theology of eternal generation was developed. It was declared that Christ was the eternal Son, although the scriptures themselves do not declare this. Furthermore, it was declared that Christ was eternally generated, whatever that means. This meaning was then applied to the phrase, the Son of God, whenever found in the scriptures dealing with the second person of the Trinity.

However, this is not the meaning of the phrase as used by the New Testament writers. They used it as a title for the Messiah. It referred to and emphasized his office. While he is indeed divine and has always been such, this phrase does not concern his deity. It may well be that the eternal relationship between the Father and the second person of the Trinity is in some way to be likened to that between a son and a father, but it is not the central significance of this title. As applied to Christ, it is a definite term of office expressive of a special relationship assumed in time. It was a title he took at a definite point in history.

A study of the use of this phrase in the New Testament will clearly show that it refers to the Lord’s messianic office and not to his divinity. In the temptation of the Lord as found in Matthew 4:1–11. In two of the three temptations, Satan states, “If you are the Son of God…”

Should the phrase, the Son of God refer primarily to the Lord’s divinity, then Satan is saying in the first temptation, “If you are divine, command these stones to be bread.” While this seems to make sense initially, one has only to look at the Lord’s reply in verse 4, where he says, “…man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” His reply indicates that he is answering it as a man, not God. It indicates that he was tempted, not on the basis of his deity but on the basis of his humanity.

However, when the phrase, the Son of God, is taken to refer to his being the Messiah, the temptation makes far better sense. As Messiah, he would exercise the power of God his Father and could command stones to become bread. Satan is saying, “If you really are the Messiah, then prove it! You must be hungry; command these stones to be bread!” Jesus rebuffs Satan by using God’s Word. As Messiah, as a man, many things are much more important than satisfying physical hunger. God’s entire word must be taken into account, not just the promise of daily nourishment.

The emphasis of the phrase, the Son of God, meaning his Messiahship rather than his deity, is seen even more clearly in the next temptation in which Satan challenges the Lord to cast himself off the pinnacle of the Temple. Satan says, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down.” Again initially, if one read no further, this might seem to concern his deity. It makes sense to say, “If you are God, cast yourself down. You’ll be safe.” However, one should notice the reason Satan offers as a justification for this action. He quotes from Psalm 91, “For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you…” Now, the assumption that the phrase, the Son of God, refers to his deity makes less sense when coupled with the reason Satan gives. If Satan were referring to Christ’s deity, he would not have quoted Psalm 91, which says that God the Father would protect him. Christ, as God, could do quite well himself!

Yet if Satan’s temptation is directed at the Lord’s Messiahship, the temptation and Satan’s justification fall into place. Satan now would be saying, “If you are the Messiah, throw yourself off the ledge, for God has promised to protect the Messiah just as it is written.” Christ’s reply is not that Satan should not tempt him because he is God, but that he, the Messiah, should not (and would not!) tempt God by casting himself off the pinnacle. Satan is not questioning the Lord’s deity; he is questioning his being the Messiah. Being perfect God, Christ could not be tempted (James 1:3), but being fully human, he was tempted in all points even as we are (Hebrews 4:15). Satan’s temptations had to be directed toward his humanity, not his deity.

The Use of the Phrase "The Son of God" in Other Passages

One should also consider other instances where this phrase, the Son of God, is used to identify the Lord. In Matthew 16:16, Peter called the Lord “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” The phrase, the Son of the living God, is in apposition to the term Christ. They are equivalent to each other and refer to the same office, that of Messiah. In Matthew 26:63 or Mark 14:61, the high priest asked the Lord if he is “the Christ, the Son of God” or “the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One.” Again the phrases, the Son of God and the Son of the Blessed One, are set in apposition to the words, the Christ, and are equivalent titles. In Luke 22:66–71, the question was asked once, “If you are the Christ, tell us!” (22:67) and then again as “Are you the Son of God then?” (22:70).

In John 1:49, Nathanael identified the Lord as the Messiah, saying, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!” Martha also identified him as, “You are the Christ, the Son of God, even he who comes into the world!” (John 11:27), recognizing him as the Messiah. In Acts 9:20, when Saul, later known as Paul, began to proclaim to the Jews that Jesus is the Son of God, he was referring to his being Messiah. This is evident because two verses later, it states he was saying that “Jesus is the Christ.” (Acts 9:22).

In chapter 5:1–4 of his first epistle, the apostle John states that whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and overcomes the world. In verse 5, he says that the one who overcomes the world is he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God. One sees then that the phrase, the Son of God, in these passages and many others strongly indicates it is a title referring to Jesus as Messiah and not primarily referencing his deity.

Other passages using this title include: Matthew 2:15, 3:17, 8:29, 14:33, 17:5, 27:40, 43, 54; Mark 1:1, 11, 3:11, 5:7, 9:7, 15:39; Luke 1:32, 35, 3:22, 4:41, 8:28, 9:35; John 1:34, 3:18, 35 (see context 3:28), 5:25, 10:36, 11:4, 19:7, 20:31; 2 Corinthians 1:19; Galatians 21:20; Ephesians 4:13; Hebrews 4:14, 6:6, 7:3, 10:29; 2 Peter 1:17; 1 John 2:22, 3:8, 4:15, 5:10, 12, 13, 20 and there are many more.

Conclusion

The author is convinced that the Lord, Jesus the Messiah, is eternal God. He was so before time existed. He was through all the past ages from the creation of time onward. He is so now and will be such for all eternity. There has never been a point in time or outside time that he was not fully, perfectly God! The scriptures teach this. This author is also convinced that when the writers of scripture called Jesus the Son of God, they were stating that he was the Messiah, the fulfillment of the promises made to David known as the Davidic Covenant. The Lord’s sonship is not something he possesses in his divinity but something he obtains in his humanity. That this is so is seen in the use of the phrase in the New Testament. It is further developed by the apostle Paul in the central passage, which declares the Lord’s sonship, Romans 1:3–4. This passage is examined in the following chapter.