The Son or Son of Man after the resurrection continued to be distinct from the immutable Spirit called: God the Father. A prophecy from the book of Psalms reveals that the “Son” was begotten on a certain day:

“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. (Psalm 2:6-8)

This passage is not a prediction of the virgin birth, but of the resurrection, for this is how the apostles interpreted this Psalm in the New Testament. In the book of Acts, we read:

“And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” (Acts 13:32-35)

The Son was begotten on a certain day— when He was raised from the dead. When Paul interpreted this Psalm in the book of Acts, he applied it to the resurrection and glorification of Christ’s physical body. This was the Jewish interpretation of the Psalm. In the book of Colossians, Paul repeated this assertion. He wrote that Jesus was the “first born of all creatures” and “first born from the dead”:

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:14-18)

Both the phrases “begotten” and “born” are used symbolically of the resurrection of Christ. The language of the second Psalm does not mean that God literally said to the Messiah “You are my Son.” Jesus did not need God to inform Him that He was the Son, or that He had been begotten on that certain day.

Many times in the Bible, God’s “speech” is used as a metaphor for God’s action. God is Spirit, without vocal chords or substance. God raised the Messiah from the dead; therefore, the Psalmist wrote that God had told Him “today you are begotten."

In the book of Hebrews, we discover that the Son, who was “begotten from the dead” is called “God”:

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Hebrews 1:1-9)

In this passage, the human Christ (God incarnate in human flesh) is called “God.” We also read: “thy God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above your fellows.” Of course, God is Spirit, and needs no anointing—He is the anointing! Only in the form of a man could God be “anointed.”

Therefore, the one God calls “God” is God incarnate in human flesh, not Deity apart from the incarnation. We read:

“ I will [future tense] be unto Him a Father, and He shall [future tense] be unto me a Son…”

If the term “Son” means “Deity apart from the incarnation” (i.e. an eternal, timeless God named “Son”) God could never have spoken these words. If the “Son” were the “Son” from eternity, he would ALWAYS have been called the "Son."

In this passage, both “beginnings” of the Son are present. When we read, “I will be unto Him a Father…” these words are prophetic of the incarnation, for AFTER Jesus became a man, God was called His “Father” and He was called “the Son.”

Hebrews proves that the “Son” is the human being--God incarnate in human flesh. He can personally be called “the God,” yet at the same time, God anointed Him, because He is God in a lesser form.

Next Page: The Son DIED

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