NAMES AND TITLES OF CHRIST
THE SON OF GOD
DR. JIM DIXON
MATTHEW 16:13-17, JOHN 11:17-27
NOVEMBER 16, 1977
In the ancient world, the title “the Son of God” was not so unusual. In Greek mythology, Hercules (or Heracles) was oftentimes called the son of god. In the fourth century in the Libyan desert, the Egyptians called Alexander the Great “the son of Ahman,” which means, “the son of God.” The Rosetta stone reveals that each of the Ptolemaic kings of Egypt were called the son of god. Octavian, the great nephew of Julius Caesar who ascended the throne in 27 BC and founded the Roman Empire, took the title “Theos filius,” “the son of God.” He also took the title “Divas filius,” “the son of the divine.” Octavian, who was also called Augustus Caesar, was on the throne when Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.
But in Bethlehem, in the Jewish world, the title “the Son of God” was unthinkable. It is true that the Jewish people referred sometimes to the children of Israel collectively as the children of God. It is also true that the Jewish people sometimes referred to the angelic host collectively as the sons of God, but no individual could be called the son of God—no man, no woman, no angel, no archangel. To call a person the son of God was to ascribe deity. The Jews were and are monotheistic. There is one God, and that God does not share His divinity.
We come to the Bible and clearly Jesus Christ is called the Son of God. This was the title announced at His birth. This was the title announced at His baptism in Jordan. This was the title announced at His transfiguration on the holy mountain. This was the title of Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi. This was the title of Martha’s confession at Bethany outside the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This morning we seek to understand the meaning of this title, and I have two teachings. The first is this: It is a title of deity. Make no mistake about that. To say that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is to say that He is deity.
When we look in the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament, we come to the third chapter, and we see that God appeared to Moses on Mount Horeb, which was also called Mount Sinai. God said, “I am the God of your fathers. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” God said, “Take the shoes off of your feet, for the ground on which you are standing is holy ground.” God appeared to Moses through the theophany of the burning bush. God said, “I have seen the affliction of My people, and you will go to Pharaoh and you will deliver My people from bondage in Egypt.”
Moses was 80 years old at the time and he had spent the last 40 years tending sheep. He was, the Bible tells us, “The meekest man in all the earth.” Moses said, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and deliver the children of Israel out of bondage?” God said, “I will go with you.” Moses said, “Well, what is Your name? Whom shall I say has sent me?” God said, “I Am that I Am. Tell them Yahweh has sent you.” And thus we see the name of God, Yahweh, which simply means, “I Am.”
This divine name is sometimes called the tetragrammaton because it contains tetra, or four, consonants, rendered into the English as Y-H-W-H, sometimes J-H-V-H. But Bible scholars agree that the name, the divine name, should be pronounced “Yahweh.” Now, there came a point in time when the Jewish people were afraid to say the divine name. They were afraid to say Yahweh and so they used circumlocutions. They said the name Yahweh without saying the name Yahweh. They took the vowels off of the Hebrew word Adonai, which means Lord, and they added those vowels to the tetragrammaton and they created the hybrid word Jehovah. Jehovah is not the name of God. Yahweh is the name of God and Yahweh means “I Am.”
We come to the New Testament. We come to John, chapter 8. Jesus is dialoguing with the scribes and the Pharisees. He tells them that they are not children of Abraham as they claim but they are rather children of Satan because they are following Satan and doing the will of Satan. He tells them that if they were really children of Abraham, they would believe in Him because Abraham longed to see His day and saw it and was glad. This was a mysterious statement, and the scribes and the Pharisees said, “Abraham lived 2,000 years ago and you are not yet 50 years old. Are you claiming that you have seen Abraham?” And Jesus said to them, perhaps the most amazing statement in the Bible, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham ever was, I Am.” Thus, He took the tetragrammaton—He took the divine name. He took the name Yahweh or its Greek equivalent, “ego eimi”—and He applied it to Himself. He called Himself God.
All Bible scholars agree on this. The Jewish people understood that and that’s why John 8:58 says, “They took up stones to kill Him.” Because He called Himself God. This is the consistent testimony of scripture. Jesus Christ is deity. That’s why in the prologue to John’s Gospel we read these words, that “Jesus Christ was in the beginning with God and is God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” That’s why in the first chapter in the book of Hebrews we see these words, “In many and various ways, God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, He has spoken through His Son whom He has appointed the heir of all things and through whom also He created the worlds. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of His nature, upholding the universe by His word of power.” Then the author of Hebrews writes, “Of the angels, he said, ‘who creates His angel’s spirits and His minister’s flames of fire.’” “But of the Son,” God says, “Thy throne, oh God, is forever and ever.” Isn’t that incredible? Even the Father calls the Son God.
In Colossians, chapter 1, the Bible says that “Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.” Jesus Christ is deity. And yet as Christians, we are monotheistic just as the Jews are monotheistic. So how can this be? How can Jesus Christ be God? This, of course, leads us to the doctrine of the Trinity.
The word trinity was first coined by Tertullian, an early church father, but it was Theophilus of Antioch who first used the term to describe the godhead. The word trinity is not found in the Bible, but the concept of the trinity is all through the Bible. We see the concept of the trinity in 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 4 through 6, where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are joined. We see it in 2 Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 14, where again the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are linked. We see it in Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 4 through 6. We see it in Acts, chapter 2, verse 33. We see it in 1 Peter 1:2 and Revelation 1:4-5. We see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit linked time and again in the Bible as one. We see the Trinitarian baptismal formula in Matthew 28 where we are charged to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
So, the word trinity is not in the Bible, but the concept of the trinity is in the Bible. The word trinity means threefold, but it connotes a tri-unity where we are taught that there is one God eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share one essence. Jesus said as much when Philip said to Him, “Show us the Father and we will be satisfied.” What did Jesus say to Philip? Jesus said, “Have I been with you so long, Philip, and you do not know Me? How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me?” Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”
You may have noticed this last week that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who resides here in Denver, the Roman Catholic Archbishop, has just threatened to pull the Roman Catholic Church out of the Colorado Council of Churches. And why is that? It’s because the Colorado Council of Churches is discussing the possibility of dropping the doctrinal necessity of the trinity and the deity of Christ. The Colorado Council of Chaput is thinking of doing this because they want to be more inclusive. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput says if they want to be more inclusive, why don’t they just drop the name Christian? Why don’t they just call themselves religious pluralists? In fact, why don’t they just drop the name ‘church,’ he says. Why don’t they just call themselves social agencies.
The Archbishop points out that the Trinity and the deity of Christ are foundational to the Christian faith, and we need to stand on that foundation. Thank God for men like the Archbishop Charles J. Chaput. We need to stand on the truth of scripture. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and it is a title of deity.
It is also a title of authority, and this leads us to our second and final teaching this morning. This title, the Son of God, is a title of authority. There is no one who would deny that the Father has authority. We call Him the Lord God Almighty. And certainly the Father has authority in heaven and on earth, but we should understand that in the Jewish world, the son, and particularly the eldest son, shared authority with the father. Thus, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” “All authority in heaven and on earth,” Jesus said, “has been given to Me.” Who gave it to Him? His Father, because He is the Son of God. Church historians and Bible scholars have always understood the title the Son of God to be a title of authority. We recognize the fact that Jesus Christ as the Son of God has authority over the physical world and over the spiritual world. I want us to take a moment and look at each of these.
First of all, Christ has authority over the physical world. You may have noticed a month ago that NASA launched a 6-ton spacecraft called Cassini on a 7-year voyage to the planet Saturn. Two billion miles. On this journey, this spacecraft will harness the gravitational forces of Venus and then flip back around and shoot through our solar system, reaching speeds of 45,000 miles an hour. When it arrives on the planet Saturn, this spacecraft will conduct tests there for four years—tests on Saturn’s atmosphere, tests on Saturn’s famous rings, tests on the 18 known moons of Saturn.
Scientists and astrophysicists hope to discover something of the solar system’s foundations or formations. They hope to discover more about how this solar system was formed and even how the earth was formed because, you see, there is this great quest for knowledge. You know that and you share in that, and you share in that quest. We all have a quest for knowledge. There’s a quest for knowledge of the physical world and the physical universe.
Earlier this month, on November 3, Newsweek had a cover story called Galaxies. In here you read all about man’s quest for knowledge of the universe. Our knowledge of the universe is growing, is it not? Our knowledge of the earth has grown, and yet our knowledge pales when compared to the sum of knowledge that is out there. We know so little. Even though we are learning and we are knowing more, that knowledge does not give us authority. It does not give us power. As we grow in our knowledge of the physical universe, we do not really grow substantially in our control of the physical universe.
For instance, we know a great deal about earthquakes, but we have no authority over earthquakes. We know more and more about volcanic eruptions, but we have no authority over volcanic eruptions. We have no control. We know a great deal about the weather, more today than we have ever known before. Meteorologists are constantly prognosticating the weather, but we have no control. We have no true authority. We don’t have authority over a hurricane or over a tornado. We just don’t have authority over the physical universe.
Most scientists are humble enough to admit this, and that’s why the authority of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is so amazing. When He calmed the sea and He rebuked the wind and there was a great peace, the disciples marveled. They said, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” The answer is, this is The Son of God, and He has power over the physical universe.
In 1891, a train was moving across Europe, racing towards Paris. On that train there was an elderly man who was sitting in a compartment reading the Bible. A young man came into his compartment. This young man had recently graduated from the University in Paris, and he considered himself highly enlightened. He saw the elderly man reading. He said, “Sir, what are you reading?” The elderly man said, “I’m reading the Bible. I’m reading from the 6th chapter of Mark’s gospel.” The young man said, Well, what’s it all about?” The elderly man said, “Well, it’s about the feeding of the 5,000. Five thousand people have just surrounded Jesus Christ. He’s moved with compassion and He’s feeding them with five barley loaves and two fish.” The young man begins to laugh. He said, “Surely you don’t believe that!” The elderly man said, “I surely do.” The young man said, “Well, I’m highly educated, and I understand that this universe is governed by physical laws. It simply is not possible to feed 5,000 people with five barley loaves and two fish. You have been brainwashed by silly superstition.” The elderly man just smiled and continued reading.
When they came into Paris, the young man went to leave the cabin and, as he said goodbye, he asked the elderly man his name. And the elderly man introduced himself as Dr. Louis Pasteur. If you know anything about science and if you know anything about history, you know that Louis Pasteur was one of the greatest chemists and microbiologists in history. The whole process of pasteurization is named after him. He gave us the procedure of vaccinations and he discovered the link between bacteria and disease. He was a scientist. He understood physical laws, but he believed that the power of Jesus Christ transcended those laws and that Jesus Christ, as Son of God, has authority over the physical world.
If you’re a Christian, you believe that too. You believe that Jesus Christ has authority over the physical world. This is not easy because we all have physical needs. They might be financial, they might be health related. Knowing that Jesus Christ, as Son of God, has power and authority over the physical universe, we ask ourselves, “Why doesn’t He intervene more often?” There is a mystery to that and we’re going to be dealing with that next week when we deal with the title the Great Physician. But I do want us to understand (God wants us to understand) that He doesn’t want our faith to reside in the physical realm. He wants our faith to reside in the spiritual realm. Certainly, Jesus Christ does at times intervene in the physical realm and He does at times heal us physically. He does certainly provide because He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord Who Provides. But He wants our faith to reside primarily in the spiritual realm.
This leads us to the second meaning of the Son of God as a title of authority, and this is His authority over the spiritual world. Christ has authority not only over the physical world but over the spiritual world.
I know this is a tough concept for many of us. The Bible teaches that as surely as there is a physical world, there is a spiritual world. The Bible teaches that there are angels both holy and fallen and they are at war. The Bible tells us that we are not passive observers in that war. The Bible tells us that “we do not battle against flesh and blood but against the principalities and against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavens.” Jesus Christ as Son of God has authority over the spiritual world.
I talked with a friend this past week who woke up in the middle of the night and felt an evil presence in the room. It was kind of scary and it felt oppressive, I guess. He began to pray. He began to pray in the name of Jesus. He began to pray again and again in the name of Jesus, right in the middle of the night in the dark of his bedroom. Finally, he felt the peace that passes understanding and he fell back asleep.
I do not treat such circumstances as psychological. Satan is real. He seeks to harass us. I think many people in this world suspect that there is a spiritual realm and there’s a warfare going on.
It was a curious thing in the newspaper yesterday. In The Rocky Mountain News, in the Spotlight Section… I found this rather incredible. The cover story is entitled “Bless this House. Ceremonies Aimed to Give Negative Energy the Boot!” In here are ceremonies that you can use to kick negative energy out of your house. Sounds kind of bizarre doesn’t it? They have Native American Indian ceremonies, they have New Age ceremonies, and they have Roman Catholic ceremonies.
This really isn’t about negative energy but it’s about spiritual warfare and it’s about powers of darkness. God wants you to understand, the only power that you can trust is the power of the Son of God. Any ceremony that isn’t rooted in Christ is impotent. Certainly, Satan is not primarily concerned with your physical house and to focus on poltergeists and the indwelling of houses is to major in minutia. Satan is primarily concerned with the soul. He seeks the souls of men and women the world over. This is what spiritual warfare is all about. This is why Satan has seized citadels of power in our culture and in nations all over the world. This is why Satan seeks to infiltrate the media. This is why Satan seeks to infiltrate the world of entertainment. This is why Satan seeks to infiltrate academia. Because he wants to use those citadels of power to affect the souls of people. It’s all about the soul. This is why Satan seeks to thwart the gospel the world over. It’s all about the soul. This is why Christians are persecuted in nations all over this world. It’s not really a physical struggle. At its depths, it’s a spiritual one. Satan does not want the gospel to go forth in power.
As we close this morning, Christ wants us to understand that we’ve been called into this spiritual warfare. We’ve been called as salt and light in a world of decay and darkness. We’ve been called to infiltrate the culture with love and light. We’ve been called to take the gospel to the nations. We’ve been called to struggle for righteousness, personally and socially. In all of this, we will feel the restraints of the enemy. The Bible says, “Behold, the adversary prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that this same experience of suffering is required of your brothers and sisters the world over. When you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus will Himself restore, establish, and strengthen you.” So, we have this promise through the Son of God, the promise of His protection.
And He sends us forth. You’re all familiar with the Great Commission in Matthew 28. Are you aware of the fact that the Great Commission begins with the promise of Christ’s authority? Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the close of the age.” He is the Son of God, and He will triumph. He wants to triumph in and through you. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.