Son of God

Is Jesus really fully human and fully divine (God)?

Symbolism

"A picture is worth a thousand words." What is the point of a phrase like that? As an example, it can be very difficult to explain a complex machine to someone using only words, but if you can show them a photo of the machine or, better yet, show them the machine itself, they will have a much better understanding of it.

Another common phrase is "word picture". What is a word picture? We experience this when we read a novel and the author describes a scene in such a way that we can close our eyes and picture that scene in detail in our minds. And that contributes to our understanding and enjoyment of the novel.

God, as our creator, understands that we human beings think in terms of "word pictures", and that if a spiritual concept is described in that way we will be better able to understand and retain it. Therefore, God often uses symbolism or "word pictures" when he speaks to us through prophets in the Bible. Another example is Jesus' use of parables, which are really word pictures, to illustrate spiritual truths.

Heavenly Scene

Daniel chapter 7 is an example of God's use of symbolic language, "word pictures", to speak to us. He sends an angel to describe to Daniel some events that will take place on the earth and in Heaven in Daniel's future. He uses the symbolism of four large beasts, which are described in some detail, to describe four kingdoms and several rulers that will arise on the earth over time. Then the angel's message turns toward Heaven and he describes something that will happen there (verses 9-10):

While I was watching, thrones were set up,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His attire was white like snow;
the hair of his head was like lamb’s wool.
His throne was ablaze with fire
and its wheels were all aflame.
A river of fire was streaming forth
and proceeding from his presence.
Many thousands were ministering to him;
many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him.
The court convened
and the books were opened.

Then in verses 13-14 the description continues:

I was watching in the night visions,
And with the clouds of the sky
one like a son of man was approaching.
He went up to the Ancient of Days
and was escorted before him.
To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty.
All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving him.
His authority is eternal and will not pass away.
His kingdom will not be destroyed.

Son of Man

Who are these two that are described here: the "Ancient of Days" and "one like a son of man"? I don't think there is any doubt that the "Ancient of Days" is Jehovah God, the creator.  Other English Bibles have translated it "the Ancient one", "One who has been living forever", and "the Eternal God". In our modern vernacular you might say "the one who has been around longer than anyone else".

But who is "one like a son of man"? In the Old Testament the phrase "son of man" is used over 100 times. It is used 93 times in the book of Ezekiel, and in every instance it is the title God uses to describe Ezekiel. So we have God speaking to a human being, the prophet Ezekiel, and calling him "son of man". In the few places the phrase is used other than Daniel and Ezekiel, it is in reference to human beings.¹

In the New Testament the phrase "son of man" is used 85 times. In all but five of those instances, Jesus uses the phrase to describe himself. I want to site two example in particular. In the first example Jesus is responding to his disciples who are arguing about who will be greatest in the coming kingdom. He says:

It must not be this way among you! Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”²

Here Jesus seems to use the phrase to demonstrate the human connection between himself and the other human beings around him. Then when Jesus is on trial before the Sanhedrin, the High Priest asks him, "I charge you under oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus' answer connects his position as the Son of God with the Son of Man title:

“You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”³

By his response, "You have said it yourself", Jesus is acknowledging under oath that he is the Son of God. In our modern time, the equivalent phrase would be, "You said it!" Further, by alluding to phrases from Daniel 7:13, Jesus is identifying himself with the divine Son of Man ruling at the right hand of God.The phrase "Son of God" emphasizes his divine nature and the phrase "Son of Man" emphasizes his human nature, first as a suffering servant and then as a sovereign ruler.

Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, emphasizes how Christianity is different from all other "religions". The one and only God who created us was willing to come down and live among us as one of us, serving us, sacrificing for us, so that he could identify with us and communicate with us on our level, and save us from our own failures.

The apostle Paul put it this way in Philippians 2:5-11:

You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,
who though he existed in the form of God
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
but emptied himself
by taking on the form of a slave,
by looking like other men,
and by sharing in human nature.
He humbled himself,
by becoming obedient to the point of death
—even death on a cross!
As a result God highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow
—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.

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1. Examples would be Numbers 23:19, Job 25:6, and Job 35:8.

2. Matthew 20:26-28

3. Matthew 26:63-64

Scripture quoted by permission. All scripture quotations are taken from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2016 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

This post is the result of my studies based on the book by Mark E. Moore, Core 52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Building your Bible IQ in a Year, published by WaterBook (Penguin Random House)

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