08/04/2024
"Son of Man" and "Son of God"-Meaning(s)
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Again,my younger brother asked me a question last week. This time he asked,"Please,can you clarify me on the differences or similarities between "Son of God" and "Son of man"? This is part of my Bible Study Class tomorrow. I learnt from studies that Jesus is both known as "Son of God"- I mean as a creator, deity or divine being, and "Son of man" in terms of human being respectively when He came to the earth."
I examined his question and saw that he appeared to have answered it himself.But I did a little more digging to expound this truth.
I answered him thus:
"The expression "Son of Man" has the double meaning of human being and, according to Daniel 7, "exalted heavenly one"(John Piper,in "The Person of Christ(https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/why-is-jesus-called-son-of-man)". Jesus fits into these two categories.
"Son of Man" simply means that Jesus is a man."Son of God" simply means that Jesus is God.
There are elsewhere in the Bible where expressions with plural forms have been used,i.e "sons of God" referring to "descendants of Seth" and "angels".
Genesis 6:2 - "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
Job 1:6- "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them
Job 38:7 - "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
We are not referring to those Scriptures above. The son of a lion is a cub and will eventually become a lion.The son of a dog is a puppy and will eventually become a dog.So,is it with any other animal.The son of an elephant,though a calf,will eventually become an elephant.A fish's offspring is a fish at adult stage,even though it is called "fingerlings" at young age.Like begets like.Like things will eventually give birth to like things. The young mango tree produces mangoes;not oranges.The young tree of a coconut tree bears coconut and is a coconut tree.A coconut tree will never produce apples,naturally,unless advanced agricultural methods are used.Enough of illustrations.
Jesus was begotten by God the Father.So,He is God.Jesus was also born of a virgin named Mary and and a man called Joseph in an immaculate conception.He was born by humans.So,he was a human being. Piper writes: "So that's the common understanding.He is both divine and He is human;two natures,one person."
Now,let us go find out how the expression "Son of Man" made its way into the Bible.
Biblegateway.org mentions that "The Son of Man" was used by Matthew 32 times; Mark 14; Luke 26; John 12; Acts 7; Heb 1 and Rev 2.Hence a total of 94 times was it used in New Testament and was always used by Christ Himself,except in John 12:34;Acts 7:56; Heb 2:6, and Rev 1:13; 14:14).Traditionally,according to that website,the appellation,"Son of Man" has been assumed to designate the lowly humanity of Christ in distinction from His divine nature and that certainly that meaning is involved, but a much deeper significance emerges from a closer examination of its usage.
The Old Testament(OT) sources of the appelation,"Son of Man" include Ezekiel 2:1-3:
"He said to me,“Son of man,stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.As he spoke,the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet,and I heard him speaking to me.He said: “Son of man,I am sending you to the Israelites,to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me;they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day."
Therefore,"Son of Man" clearly designates “a child of Adam by descent” as elsewhere in this prophecy where it occurs 57 times.
In Psalm 8:4, it appears to be applicable to both mortal man and Christ in His incarnate human identification with man: "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him(Psalm 8:4).Psalm 80:17,where this appelation appears was an appeal,during the national decline,for a hero to appear and redeem Israel,may well have influenced Jesus’ Messianic consciousness.
Biblegateway.org states that the most important occurrence of the phrase “Son of man” is found in Daniel 7:13: "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him."
This,according to the source,may allude primarily to a personification of the ideal Israel or the saints of the Most High.However,it opines that the deeper meaning appears to suggest a Messianic figure.
John Piper writes again:"The term "Son of Man" occurs in Matthew 32 times, Mark 15 times, Luke 26 times, and John 12 times. In the first three Gospels, the title is always recorded as having been used by Christ of Himself and never by angel, by man, or by a demon. Of the 12 occasions in John, 10 are from the lips of Christ; only twice was the expression used by men, and then only for criticism and unbelief: "We have heard out of the law that the Christ lives forever: and why do you say, The Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Those are the only two occasions in all the Gospels where the term is found upon the lips of any but Christ. It is Christ's own description of Himself, and it is the term that links Him to humanity and shows His intimate and positive relationship to the human race.
Christ Addresses Himself/Addressed by Others as "The Son of Man"
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Mark 10:45-"The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 14:21-"The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born."
Luke 26:7- "..The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
John 12:23- "And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified."
Acts 7:56- "And said,Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."
Christ Is Addressed As "Son of God"
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Hebrews 1:2- "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Hebrews 1:5- "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
Hebrews 1:8- "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Hebrews 2:6- "But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?"
Revelation 1:13- "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle."
Revelation 14:14 -"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle."
