One of the most common offerings on the discussion boards from folks who hold Jesus to a low Christology is that he never claimed to be God; he said he was God’s Son! This response in itself has its own problems, but we’ll get to that below. For now we need to see the Scriptures used to show how these folks point out that Jesus is the Son of God, but not God.
I believe the main one-liner comes from John 10:36 where Jesus says: (Why do you say) “‘Thou blaspheme;’ because I said, I am the Son of God?” Another comes from Psalm 2:7 where God speaks through David saying: “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” These two Scriptures are related through Psalm 82, but they are taken way out of context by using each one as a testimony by itself to claim Jesus is not God. Context, as always, is not taken into consideration. Why? The reasons no doubt vary from one end of the pendulum to the other. Nevertheless, if folks would take the time to discover the context, people may arrive at a different conclusion. I am not accusing these folks of working evil, but I am saying they are quick to draw their conclusions but slow to build their foundations.
First of all, I mentioned above that there are problems with drawing the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God but not God. If God had a Son, what species would his Son be? Would he be the same species as his Father (God) or would he be something else? Genesis 1 seems to conclude that like produces like. If we draw our conclusions from this Scripture, we must conclude that, if God has a Son, he must also be God. I am not concluding Jesus is not eternal, I am merely pointing out the flaw in the argument used to disclaim Jesus is God.
Another problem arises from exactly how Jesus would be the Son of God. Did he become God’s Son at his birth through Mary? If this is so, why is sexual activity under the Old Covenant deemed to be ceremonially unclean? It is my understanding that God intended to show that he was quite unlike the gods of the nations around Israel who often practiced sexual activity with women and among themselves. God is an asexual Being. If he has a Son, it is not the result of sexual activity, so what occurred at Jesus’ birth through Mary has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus being the Son of the Father. So, how is Jesus the Son of God? Do the Scriptures tell us? The Scriptures don’t have a lot to say, that I have found, but they do leave us with the conclusion that the One who became Jesus was certainly living before he became a man, and that he was equal with the Father (Philippians 2:5-7).
According to John 10:36, Jesus claimed to be God’s Son, and this when the Jewish authorities were about to stone him. Earlier Jesus claimed that he and the Father were one (John 10:30). The Jewish leaders took this to mean Jesus was claiming to be God, and they wanted to kill him at that time. He was claiming to be God, and he took up his defense by using the Scriptures to show that he, the Messiah, is God. Jesus pointed to Psalm 82 where the word of God claims all men in authority are called gods. If one is a king, he is called a god by virtue of his sharing in the authority of God by ruling men. This reveals to us that the term god is not a name, but a reference to one in authority. The God of Israel is the Supreme Authority. But, notice Jesus’ defense. By pointing to Psalm 82 he intends for us to read the whole Psalm. The first and final verses in the Psalm are important to the context. “God stands in the congregation of the mighty, and judges among the gods” (Psalm 82:1).Who stands in the congregation of the mighty? God! I know of no scholar who would deny that this Psalm is speaking of the God of Israel. In this Psalm God considers the works of those in authority and judges how they have used their high offices. The problem is they took bribes and corrupted their judgment, so the people had no helper. The people of Israel cry out saying, “Arise, O God, and judge the earth, for you will inherit all nations” (Psalm 82:8). Indeed, the Psalm is speaking of God, but who inherits the nations?
Psalm 82:8 points us to Psalm 2. In Psalm 2:1-2 we see that the Jewish authorities and kings of the world set themselves against the LORD and against his Messiah, because they don’t want to be in subjection to the Messiah (Psalm 2:3). Nevertheless, the LORD says that he has set his King in Zion and declares the decree—“You are my Son, this day have I begotten you!” (Psalm 2:6-7). Then in verse-8 the LORD says, “Ask of me and I will give you the heathen for an inheritance…” Who inherits all nations (cp. Psalm 82:8)?
Taken in context, Jesus is claiming to be God whether he says “I and the Father are one!” or by saying “I am God’s Son!” Both the second Psalm and Psalm 82 show that the one who inherits all nations is both the Son of God and God—the Messiah.
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