Jesus — God or Son of God?

Question from a Site Viewer
Is Jesus a God or a Son of God?

Tim’s Answer
You ask whether Jesus is “a God” or “a Son of God.” In Biblical terms, Jesus is “the God.” There are no other gods (Deuteronomy 4:35, 39; 6:4; 32:39; 1 Kings 8:60; Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6, 8; 45:5, 18, 21, 22; 46:9; Mark 12:29, 32; John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 8:4, 6; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19). Jesus is God precisely because He has always been the God who is. There is no one who existed before Him. He has no beginning and He has no end. He is eternal. As John 1:1 states, He was the Word who was in the beginning with God and who was God. He is referred to over and over in Scripture as God (Isaiah 9:6; Zechariah 12:10; John 1:1; 1:18; 20:28; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1; 1 John 5:20). Jesus is not “a god,” but He is the only true God (1 John 5:20).

But He also is the Son of God (Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35; John 20:31). How is this possible?

God has revealed Himself in the Bible as a Triune Being. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each of these three persons are called “God,” and each exists within the unity of the one God. If you want to explore more of what the Bible says about the Trinity, please read this article: The Trinity.

The three persons within the Trinity relate to one another as person to person. They talk to one another. They do things for each other. Each one takes on different roles from the other two. Though all three are equally God and possess all of the attributes and characteristics of the one God, they display themselves to us in different ways. The first person of the Trinity is revealed to us as “Father.” Jesus teaches us to pray to “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9). The first person is fully God and yet we know Him as “Father.”

In like manner, the second person of the Trinity is revealed to us as “the Son.” He also is fully God, and yet we know Him as “the Son of God.” He relates to the first person of the Trinity as a Son to a Father. But in no way is His deity diminished in relation to the Father. Both the Father and the Son are co-equally God, residing together within the Triune God of Scripture.

Likewise, the third person of the Trinity is revealed to us as “the Holy Spirit.” He also is fully God. He empowers us to live rightly before the Triune God. He is sent to us from the Father and the Son (John 14:26; 15:26), but He also is co-equal with the Father and the Son within the Trinity.

Accordingly, Scripture affirms that Jesus is both God and the Son of God.

I trust this helps.

May the Lord Jesus and His Spirit guide you into a deeper knowledge of Himself.

tim

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