Jesus the Son of God: A Christological Title Often Overlooked, Sometimes Misunderstood, and Currently Disputed
Overview
Although it is a foundational confession for all Christians, much of the theological significance of Jesus’s identity as “the Son of God” is often overlooked or misunderstood. Moreover, this Christological concept stands at the center of today’s Bible translation debates and increased ministry efforts to Muslims. New Testament scholar D. A. Carson sheds light on this important issue with his usual exegetical clarity and theological insight, first by broadly surveying Jesus’ biblical name as “the Son of God,” and then by focusing on two key texts that speak of Christ’s sonship. The book concludes with the implications of Jesus’ divine sonship for how modern Christians think and speak about Christ, especially in relation to Bible translation and missionary engagement with Muslims across the globe.
Top Highlights
“To put the matter differently, your father determined your identity, your training, your vocation. He generated you not only biologically, but, shall we say, functionally. You were derived from him, not only biologically, but functionally. Transparently, this father-son relationship works only one way: the son does not generate the father, biologically or functionally, nor does the son give his identity to the father.” (Page 20)
“Jesus is not the Son of God by virtue of being the ultimate Israel, nor is he the Son of God by virtue of being the Messiah, the ultimate Davidic king, nor is he the Son of God by virtue of being a perfect human being. Rather, he is the Son of God from eternity, simultaneously distinguishable from his heavenly Father yet one with him, the perfect Revealer of the living God.” (Page 41)
“This sort of background is what makes a number of other expressions in the Bible more readily comprehensible. Who are the sons of Abraham? The true sons of Abraham, Paul insists, are not those who carry Abraham’s genes, but those who act like him, who imitate the faith of Abraham (Gal. 3:7; cf. John 8:33, 39–40), the ‘man of faith’ (Gal. 3:9).” (Page 26)
“But what does it mean to confess Jesus as God’s only Son? What does it mean to say that the God of the Bible has a Son? It cannot possibly mean exactly the same thing that I mean when I tell people, ‘Yes, I have a son.’ Moreover, here and there in Scripture we learn (as we shall see) that Adam is God’s son, Israel is God’s son, King Solomon is God’s son, the Israelites are sons of God, the peacemakers shall be called sons of God, and angels can be referred to as God’s sons. So in what way is Jesus’s sonship like, or unlike, any of these? Why should we think of him as God’s only Son?” (Page 13)
- Title: Jesus the Son of God: A Christological Title Often Overlooked, Sometimes Misunderstood, and Currently Disputed
- Author: D. A. Carson
- Publisher: Crossway
- Print Publication Date: 2012
- Logos Release Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Jesus Christ › Divinity; Son of God
- ISBNs: 9781433537967, 9781433537974, 9781433537981, 9781433537998, 1433537966, 1433537974, 1433537982, 1433537990
- Resource ID: LLS:JSSSNVRLKDSMTMS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:58:36Z
D.A. Carson (b. 1946) is one of the most respected New Testament scholars in the world. A respected teacher, author, and speaker, he is currently research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and the president of The Gospel Coalition. He has served as pastor of Richmond Baptist Church and as the first dean of the seminary of Northwest Baptist Theological College, now known as Northwest Baptist Seminary. Logos has collected his sermons—including audio—in the D.A. Carson Sermon Archive.
Carson lectures in academic and church settings around the world, and is the author of more than 50 books, including Exegetical Fallacies, Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John, The Gagging of God, Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12–14 and the Intolerance of Tolerance. He is the editor of the Pillar New Testament Commentary series, and coedited of the Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament with G.K. Beale, and the Studies in New Testament Greek series with Stanley Porter. You can find more of Carson’s work in the Baker D.A. Carson Collection (15 vols.).
