“Fully God. Fully Son” - How can Jesus be both the Son of God and God?

One of the most commonly asked question concerning Jesus and our Christian faith is: How can Jesus be both the Son of God and God at the same time?

When you look at this question, it is important for you to ask yourself whether you can confidently respond to this question, without stumbling over the holy mystery of ‘God in the flesh’. Do you really know who Jesus is? Or is your Christian faith yet to be established on the solid rock - Jesus Christ?

Disclaimer: If you are genuinely seeking to know Jesus, then I would like you to know that It is ok to admit that your current understanding about Jesus is flawed. if you are leaning towards the assumption that there are biblical contradictions concerning the identity of Jesus Christ, then I will advise you to take this expression of your doubt as a sign that you need to seek the Lord with a whole heart and not just your mind.

There is no shame in seeking truth. Especially when you have the help of the Holy Spirit.

Now that this has been established, let us return to the question many people are trying to answer:Who is Jesus? Son of God? God? Or both?

Son of God? God? Or both?

When we think about the eternal Sonship of Jesus we should not think about it as God giving birth to Jesus in the same manner as a human would give birth to a child.

In the New Testament the term the‘ Son of God’ is a title that describes Jesus as being the eternal Son of God, who co- exists with God the Father, sharing the same divine essence and nature as him, whilst also being distinct in person. The title also affirms Jesus's humanity. Jesus was born a human and he lived a human life. The title also refers to Jesus ‘relationship’ with God the Father.

As the Son of God, Jesus plays a unique role in creation and redemption, acting as the Father's divine representative in these works.

For example he is the promised Messiah, suffering Saviour, risen Lord and coming judge and king, who scripture tells us was not created or adopted.

Now that we have briefly addressed the title ‘Son of God’ let us now look at the term God?

“God” — The Bible teaches us that God is one in essence (Deuteronomy 6:4). The word essence comes from the Latin esse which means “to be”. The Greek word for essence is ousia. Ousia means “being”. The divine essence of God refers to ‘who God is’ in his fundamental nature distinct from his actions or manifestations in the world. Scripture says that God has one divine essence and he exists in three Persons (Matthew 28:19).

Our Triune God.

One essence, Three persons:

“The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

One “essence” — The divine nature of God (Eternal, omnipotent, omniscience).

Three “Persons”

The Father — God, the ultimate source of all, who sent Jesus into the world to save us from our sins

The Son — God, who took on human flesh as Jesus.

The Holy Spirit — God, who indwells and empowers believers.

The essence of God and his attributes

In Christianity, the essence of God is His one, eternal, divine nature. His attributes (love (Psalm 103:11), faithfulness (1 Thessalonians 5:24), holiness (Psalm 99:9), justice (Deuteronomy 32:4), mercy (Isaiah 55:7), and omnipotence (Jeremiah 32:17, ESV), to name but a few, are not separate from His essence but are identical with it. God is. God’s attributes help us describe the infinite reality of God.

How do these attributes help us understand our triune God?

The three persons of the Godhead share one essence and they also share all the divine attributes equally.

This means that the Father is not more loving than the Son, nor is the Spirit more wise than the Father — all are equally holy, omnipotent, omniscient, merciful, faithful, just and loving.

This oneness between the three is possible because the divine attributes are the same as divine essence. If there’s only one essence, there must be only one set of attributes. Unlike humans where our attributes ( our kindness etc) are distinct from our essence (who we are). The essence and attributes of God, tells us about who God is, and not about what God has.

This simply means that God is holy (essence) - therefore the Father is holy, the Son is holy and the Spirit is holy — there are not three holy’s , but one holy shared fully and perfectly. You can apply this same understanding to love, faithfulness and so on. This is because it is possible to have ‘Distinction Without Division’. Here we see how Jesus can be the Son of God (a distinct Person) and fully God (sharing the divine essence).

I also want to add at this point that, we should not be deceived into believing the fallacy that we serve three different gods. We don’t . We serve one God ( Isaiah 44: 6/0. Even though there is a relational distinction between God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit, this is eternal and it does not imply inequality or division.

Let’s delve a bit deeper into this answer.

The persons of the godhead differ not by essence or attributes but by relations of origin:

•The Father is unbegotten ( he is eternal).

•The Son is begotten of the Father. John 1:14, John 3:16

•The Spirit proceeds from the Father and sent from the Son. John 14:26. John 15:26, Acts 2:33

This is an important point to consider because if attributes were really separate from the essence, you may err in thinking that each person of the Godhead has different “skill sets,” and that ideology would undermine monotheism.

Now let us return to the question of how can Jesus be both the Son of God and God?

When we look at this question both logically and scripturally, we see the following:

As a Son: Jesus is distinct from the Father — scripture shows him praying to the Father (John 17:1), and being sent by the Father (John 6:38). We see his person in the baptism formula “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), and in John 3:16 he is referred to as the ‘only begotten Son’ of God. Jesus God the Son has a relationship with God the Father. In Matthew 3:17, at Jesus’ baptism, God declared “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

As God: Jesus shares the same divine nature and attributes as the Father — “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). In Isaiah 9:6the divinity of Jesus was prophesied. In John 5:18, the Jews wanted to kill Jesus because “he was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” His equality with God the Father is also seen in John 1:1,14 and in Hebrews 1:8, he is also called God.

Finally, for you to understand the Sonship of Jesus and the divinity of Jesus, you must first consider the essence of God, and the relationship between Father and Son. God’s essence is one, His attributes are identical with his essence. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all fully and equally possess all divine attributes. What makes them distinguishable is their eternal relations, not the qualities they have or their divine existence. Jesus is both the Son of God and God incarnate.

Reflection Time: "If Jesus is both fully God and the Son sent for us, what does that tell you about the depth of God’s love and the lengths He’s gone to bring you near?"