Son of God

'Son of God' is among the most significant Christological titles in the NT, expressing Jesus's unique relationship to God the Father. In Jewish usage, 'son of God' could refer to angels (Job 1:6; Ps. 82:6), the nation Israel (Ex. 4:22; Hos. 11:1), or the Davidic king (Ps. 2:7; 2 Sam. 7:14) — in each case expressing a relationship of special appointment or divine favor rather than ontological deity. The NT transforms the title: at his baptism and transfiguration the divine voice declares 'This is my Son, whom I love' (Matt. 3:17; 17:5) — combining Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1. The demon-possessed recognize him as 'Son of God' (Matt. 8:29), Peter confesses 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God' (Matt. 16:16), and the centurion declares it at the cross (Matt. 27:54).

The Johannine literature uses 'Son of God' in an ontological sense implying pre-existence and essential deity: the Son is 'in the bosom of the Father' (John 1:18), 'one with the Father' (John 10:30), sharing the Father's divine life and authority (John 5:19-29), and possessing glory 'with the Father before the world began' (John 17:5). Paul's declaration that God 'did not spare his own Son' (Rom. 8:32) and the designation 'his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh' (Rom. 8:3) distinguish Christ as Son in a category beyond adopted sonship. Hebrews opens by identifying the Son as the one through whom God made the universe who 'is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being' (Heb. 1:2-3). The doctrine of the eternal Sonship — the Son's relation to the Father as one of eternal origin within the Godhead — was definitively affirmed at Nicaea (325) against Arian subordinationism.