The Names and Nature of Messiah, Part 2: Son of God

Romans 1:1-4 begins, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”

In the past, I have had a hard time understanding this passage. I knew that in eternity, before time began, Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father. That is to say that He and the Father have had an unbroken relationship from eternity past and will continue to share in that divine communion forever (the same goes for the Holy Spirit). There is no point at which Jesus became the Son of God. He has always existed; and He has never existed as anything or anyone but the Son of God.

What I did not know was how Jesus, the divine Son of God, could be “appointed” to be the Son of God. Were there other candidates? Who, or what, was He before this appointment? It didn’t line up with what I already knew to be true about Jesus, that is, not until I read about a promise God made to King David almost 1,000 years before Jesus took on a human nature and was born into this world.

David was known as perhaps Israel’s greatest king. At one point, he had decided to he wanted to make a temple for God, a place where the Ark of the Covenant (where God’s presence rested) could be housed and where sacrificial offerings could be made on behalf of the people. But God, through the prophet Nathan, told David that He had a different plan. Instead of David building a house for God, God would build a house (royal dynasty) for David. The promise is in 2 Samuel 7:11-16.

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by human beings, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

First of all, this prophecy is about David’s son, Solomon, and subsequent heirs to the throne. Notice the phrase, “I will be his father, and he will be my son.” God is telling David that he is going to adopt Solomon (and those decedents who would sit on David’s throne) as sons and that He would have a relationship with them as their Father. In other words, whoever sits on the throne of David would be called a “son of God,” especially and ultimately the Messiah.

In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews applies this prophecy to Jesus as the divine messiah (1:5-9), who was a descendant of David, and who’s throne will last forever. When we put our faith in Him, we can participate in the relationship that He has with the Father. That is, God will be our Father too, and we His sons and daughters. But this prophecy is also about the future. And when Jesus comes back to establish His throne forever, we will reign with Him. Therefore, the Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 6:18, feels warranted in extending the prophecy to us as Christians.

So, now that I understand that “son of God” is a title applied to those who sit on the throne of David, I can reason that Jesus never began to be the divine Son of God; He always was. But He was appointed to the office of the “son of God.” In other words, He was appointed to sit on David’s throne as king. Not only that, but this appointment was “through the Spirit of holiness,” which means Jesus was consecrated by the anointing of the Holy Spirit to be the Messiah. Moreover, by His resurrection He was shown to be both God and Messiah Who would deliver us from the bondage of sin.

There’s even more to say about Jesus as Messiah. For those of you who heard the message on Friday, you know I’m adding much more here in writing than I could share with you in just one evening. So please check back soon to read the next installment of “The Names and Nature of Messiah.” Finally, as children of God who will reign with Christ one day, let me challenge you to rule over your own affairs well. Consider reading a chapter a day through Proverbs starting October 1 so that you can acquire practical wisdom for daily life.