Christology II
Son of Man & Son of God
Son of Man and Son of God
Both of these are titles of Jesus that
appear in the New Testament.
They have multiple meanings in the both
the Old Testament and the New Testament
Interpreting these titles are very important
in understanding who is Jesus Christ
Son of Man in the Old Testament
Originally emphasizing someone’s humanity, this
title is later also used for a powerful heavenly figure.
OT: Used 93 times in Ezekiel and only 13 times in
the rest of the OT (translated “mortal” in NRSV), it
usually refers to human beings in contrast to God or
angels, but it could also highlight the prophet’s role
as a special representative of the people.
Daniel 7:13 is the only OT text where this phrase
describes a heavenly figure nearly equivalent to
God in power and authority; in later Jewish
apocalyptic literature, the “Son of Man” is a figure of
divine judgment.
Daniel 7:13-14
13
I saw in the night visions, and behold, with
the clouds of heaven there came one like a
son of man, and he came to the Ancient of
Days and was presented before him.
14
And to him was given dominion
and glory and kingdom, that all peoples,
nations, and languages should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his
kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Son of Man – New Testament Three Meanings
NT: Used 85 times, mostly in the four
Gospels (14 Mk, 30 Mt, 25 Lk, 13 Jn) and
almost always by Jesus referring to himself,
but with various meanings.
Some references to the “Son of Man”
sayings refer to the human activity of Jesus
(as in Ezekiel like a human prophet).
Son of Man – Second Meaning
Others refer to His future role in divine
judgment (as in Daniel 7; cf. Rev 1:13).
Mark 14:24 -26
but in those days, after that tribulation, the
sun will be darkened and the moon will
not give its light, and the stars will be
falling from heaven, and the powers that
are in the heavens will be shaken. “then
they will see the son of man coming in
clouds with great power and glory
Son of Man –Third Meaning
Brand new is Jesus’ use of “Son of Man”
when he is telling his disciples about his
upcoming suffering and death (esp. Mark
8:31, 9:31, 10:33). as the Messiah.
Mark 8:31 - He then began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer many things
and be rejected by the elders, the chief
priests and the teachers of the law, and that
he must be killed and after three days rise
again
Son of God
Also has multiple meanings in the both
the Old Testament as well as the New
Testament
Son of God – Old Testament
In the singular or plural, God’s “son” or “sons”
can refer to:
Angels (Gen 6:2),
Kings (Ps 2:7),
Good people (Wis 2:18),
or the people of Israel overall (Exod 4:22),
but it did not refer to a messianic figure until
the 1st century BC, nor did it imply divinity
Son of God - Old Testament
Exodus 4:22
22
And you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel
is my first-born son,
Genesis 6:2
2
the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair;
and they took to wife such of them as they chose.
Wisdom 2:18
18
for if the righteous man is God’s son, he will help him, and
will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
Son of God – New Testament
Mark 5:7 “and shouting with a loud voice,
said, “What business do we have with
each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High
God? I implore You by God, do not
torment me”
Son of God – New Testament
Luke 9:35 Then a voice came out of the
cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen
One; listen to Him!”
Son of God – New Testament
Referring to Adam in Jesus’ Genealogy
Luke 3:38
the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son
of Adam, the son of God.
Son of God – New Testament
Referring to Jesus Christ
Romans 1:4 “who was declared the Son
of God with power by the resurrection from
the dead, according to the Spirit of
holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Alpha and Omega
The first and last letters of the
Greek alphabet, used to designate the
comprehensiveness of God, implying that
God includes all that can be.
In the New Testament Revelation to John,
the term is used as the self-designation of
God and of Jesus Christ.
Alpha and Omega
The reference in Revelation had a Jewish
origin, based on such Old Testament
passages : Isa. 44:6 (“I am the first and the
last”), and
Ps. 90:2 (“from everlasting to everlasting
thou art God
Alpha and Omega
In rabbinic literature, the
word emet (“truth”), composed of the first
and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet,
is “the seal of God,” and in Judaic tradition
it carries somewhat the same connotation
as Alpha and Omega
The Circumcisers (1st Century)
The Circumcision heresy
may be summed up in the
words of Acts 15:1: “But
some men came down from
Judea and were teaching the
brethren, ‘Unless you are
circumcised according to the
custom of Moses, you cannot
be saved.’”
The Circumcisers (1st Century)
God revealed to Peter in Acts 10 that
Gentiles (Cornelius) are also called by
God and may be baptized and become
Christians without circumcision.
This teaching was defended by Paul in his
letters to the Romans and Galatians—to
areas where the Circumcision heresy had
spread.
Declared at the Council of Jerusalem
The Incarnation
A Christian teaching that God became
flesh, that God took on human nature and
became man in Jesus of Nazareth, the
Son of God
Christ was truly God and truly man.
The Incarnation
Belief in the preexistence of Christ is
indicated in the New Testament
In the Letter of Paul to the Philippians, the
Incarnation is presented as the emptying
of Christ Jesus, who was by nature God
and equal to God (i.e., the Father) but who
took on the nature of a slave (onto death)
and was later glorified by God.
The Incarnation
Nature – Human and Divine
The divine nature and human nature of
Jesus Christ -Hypostatic union
Here we consider this union :
Divine nature was really and truly united
with the human nature of Jesus,
i.e., that one and the same Person,
Jesus Christ, was God and man
The divine nature and human nature of
Jesus Christ -Hypostatic union
This is not a union in a figurative sense of
the word;
This is a union that is physical, a union of
two natures that make One Person,
a union which means that God is Man and
Man is God in the Person of Jesus Christ.
The divine nature and human nature of
Jesus Christ -Hypostatic union
John (1: 14), "The Word was made flesh"
that is, He Who was God in the Beginning
(1:2), and by Whom all things were
created (1:3), became Man.
The divine nature and human nature of
Jesus Christ -Hypostatic union
According to St. Paul, the very same
Person, Jesus Christ, "being in the form of
God emptied himself, taking the form of a
servant " (Philippians 2:6-7).
Incarnation – God becomes man
Before the Resurrection, the Body of
Christ was subject to all the bodily
weaknesses of human nature; such as
hunger, thirst, pain, death. Jesus hungered
(Matthew 4:2), thirsted (John 19:28), was
fatigued (John 4:6), suffered pain and
death.
Incarnation – God becomes man
"We have not a high priest, who cannot
have compassion on our infirmities: but
one tempted in all things like as we are,
without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).
Divine nature & Human nature
In Christ there were two natural wills and
two natural activities, the Divine and the
human, and that the human will was not at
all contrary to the Divine, but rather
perfectly subject to cooperation.
Nestorianism
Nestorius called the union of the two
natures a mystery and inseparable joining
but would admit no unity in the strict sense
of the word to be the result of this joining.
The union of the two natures is not physical
but moral, the Word indwells in Jesus like
as God indwells in the just man
Edict of Milan
proclamation that permanently established
religious toleration for Christianity within the
Roman Empire.
It was the outcome of a political agreement
concluded in Mediolanum (modern Milan)
between the Roman emperors Constantine I
and Licinius in February 313.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Edict-of-
Milan
Edict of Milan
The proclamation, made for the East by
Licinius in June 313, granted all persons
freedom to worship whatever deity they
pleased, assured Christians of legal rights
(including the right to organize churches),
and directed the prompt return to
Christians of confiscated property.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Edict-of-
Milan
Edict of Milan
Previous edicts of toleration had been as
short-lived as the regimes that sanctioned
them, but this time the edict effectively
established religious toleration.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Edict-of-
Milan
