A common understanding of the expression Son of God is that it refers to the deity of Christ. That is widely held, particularly among laymen. However, among NT scholars, that is not a common view regarding the expression Son of God in either the Synoptics or the Gospel of John.
Most NT scholars understand the expression Son of God to be a Messianic title.
While I do not often agree with the majority of NT scholars, I do in this case. The evidence supports what the NT scholars say about the title Son of God. There is plenty of evidence to prove the point.
First, consider the Davidic Seed promise in 2 Sam 7:14-16:
I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.
David’s son Solomon was God’s son. So was his son, Rehoboam. Every Davidic king was God’s son. Of course, the ultimate Son of God would be David’s greatest Son, the Messiah. His throne would be established forever.
Second, look at Ps 2:7, a royal enthronement psalm. Every time a Davidic king was coronated, the words, “You are My son, today I have begotten You” (Ps 2:7; Acts 13:33; Heb 1:5; 5:5) were recited.
Third, examine the words of Nathanael in John 1:49: “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” He understood the expression the Son of God to refer to the Messiah King. We know that no one prior to Jesus’ resurrection believed that Jesus was God in the flesh. It wasn’t until John 20:28 that Thomas calls the Risen Lord “my God.” When Jesus stilled the storm, they could not understand why the wind and the waves obeyed Him.
Blum comments, “This does not mean that Nathanael at this early date fully understood the Trinity or the Incarnation. Rather He understood Jesus to be the Son of God in the messianic sense (cf. Ps. 2:6–7)” (“John” in BKC, p. 276).
Carson agrees: “Clearly, Nathanael was acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, the Promised One to whom the ancient Scriptures had borne witness” (John, p. 161).
Fourth, compare what the Lord Jesus said in John 11:25-26 with what Martha said in John 11:27. Jesus said that He guaranteed glorification and irrevocable life to all who believe in Him. Then He asked, “Do you believe this?” Martha did not simply repeat what Jesus had said. Instead, she explained why she believed it: “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” The Messiah guarantees glorification and irrevocable life to all who believe in Him.
Newman and Nida comment, “For Jesus as the Son of God, see 1:49” (John, p. 368). Concerning Son of God in John 1:49 they said,
King of Israel is definitely used as a Messianic title. In 2 Samuel 7:14 and Psalm 2:7 God addresses the Messianic king as “my son.” Since both these terms are equally Messianic titles, there is no anticlimax in the present passage which places King of Israel after Son of God. The order is perfectly logical and reflects a definite temporal sequence, for it is only as Jesus is designated the Son of God that he can become the King of Israel in this Messianic sense (John, p. 50).
Fifth, note that John 1:1 does not call Jesus the Son of God, but God: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The same is true in John 20:28. When Scripture wants to refer to Jesus’ deity, it calls Him God.
Why does this matter?
It changes the saving message!
I recently heard someone say that John 20:31 means that one must believe in the deity of Christ in order to be born again. If so, how could the disciples have been born again before they believed in the deity of Christ? And why didn’t Jesus tell people that He was God when He evangelized?
We need to believe that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of God” according to John 20:31 in order to have everlasting life. That expression is explained in John 11:25-27. To believe in Jesus for everlasting life is to believe that He guarantees glorification (John 11:25) and irrevocable life (John 11:26) to all who simply believe in Him.
The expression Son of God is a Messianic title. So is the expression Son of Man, but that is a blog for another day.
Keep grace in focus and you will continue to rejoice that Jesus is the Son of God who will soon return to establish His righteous kingdom.
