What is "The Son of God"?

It may seem absurd to ask such a question, but if we are to continue on the journey I believe the Lord is taking us on, then it is imperative that these type of questions be asked.

Too often I find that we in Christendom miss a lot that God is trying to portray to us. I believe this is due to the tendency we have to over literalize scripture in areas where it was not intended to be literalized. One such area, I believe, is in the phrase “Son of God”. To properly understand and learn we must ask ourselves the following questions:

Why did God use that phrase, what was His purpose?

What did that phrase mean to the people and culture of that day to which He spoke?

Was it something that was literal or did it have a greater metaphorical meaning?

As a student of scripture I have come to discover over the years that God’s intention when He speaks or expresses Himself is for the purpose of revealing to us a greater reality of Himself and our purpose in Him.

With this in mind, let us look into the following verses in scripture to discover what is meant by the term “Son of God”.

Exodus 4:22,23 “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Israel is My son, My firstborn. “So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.

Who is the Son of God in these passages of scripture? Is not the Son of God depicted here Israel?

Acts 17:28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’

Ephesians 4:6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

Here we see that God is Father of all, not just the father of believers. In Acts 17:28 Paul was speaking to the Greek non-believers. Does this not make all of us sons of God?

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Here we see that Jesus Christ is referred to as the Son of God.

Let us look at another metaphor:

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

Who is the light of the world? In this passage is not Jesus speaking to the nation of Israel?

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 9:5 “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

Now Jesus says that He is the light of the world and furthermore He unveils to them that He is only the light while He is in the world…….interesting thought!

Let me help you a little. God’s purpose for Israel (His Son) was that they would be light to the whole world. Jesus Christ was the physical embodiment of the nation Israel. Jesus was God’s light in Israel manifest.

We can now see that the term “Son of God” is a metaphor for God manifest or God purpose manifest.

You see God tried to manifest Himself through Israel but they were not willing. Then He decided to manifest Himself through Himself in the form of Jesus Christ. Today He manifests Himself through us who are willing to let go of our own lives and take hold of His life and allow God to manifest through Himself (Christ) in us. Through this we fulfill the purpose of God in being the light of the world. Christ (God) in us manifest to represent the Father and His love to the world.

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