Romans 1:3-4 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (KJV).
As stated in part one of The Positions of Jesus, Jesus holds three positions: The Son of man, The Son of God, and God the Son. Of course, these are not the only positions or titles that He holds; nonetheless, these are the primary focus of this series. In this installment, we now turn our focus to Jesus as the Son of God. In our opening text, we can see two of the positions: “Made of the seed of David according to the flesh” shows His position as the Son of man. What declares or defines Jesus, as the Son of God is the fact that He rose from the dead as He and the scriptures declared. If Jesus had not risen, then He would have been a fraud, and our faith would be in vain (see also 1Corinthians 15:12-19). But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:20-22, KJV).
Chapter five of the book of John is a very important chapter in terms of defining the Son of God. It would behoove the reader to take time to read this chapter slowly, especially verses 17-65. John 5:21-26 says,
“For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself” (KJV).
One aspect of the Son of God is that He not only raises the dead, but determines who will be in the first Resurrection which is unto life, and who will be in the second death, which includes those who are cast into the lake of fire (see also Revelation 20:4-15). We can see this confirmed in Romans 2:16, “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel” (KJV). In John chapter eleven, as the Son of God, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus Himself declared, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26, emphasis added, KJV). If we are going to truly honor the Father, we need to also honor the Son, which begins by believing in Him. If a person wants to be included in the First Resurrection, he or she needs to put his or her trust in Him.
His resurrection confirms that we too are able to be sons and daughters of God. Simply put, because He rose, we will rise also. As it is written, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29, emphasis added, KJV). John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (emphasis added, KJV). The term, “born again,” actually means to be born from above, which means that we need to have a spiritual birth in order to see the Kingdom of God, just as we had a natural birth in order to live on the earth. The new birth came through the Holy Spirit Who was sent after the Ascension of Jesus to the Father, for those who put their trust in Jesus (see John 14-16). Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” He goes on to say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me . . . And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray (petition) the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:13-17, emphasis added, KJV).
The Resurrection gives us hope, and with that hope comes our adoption as sons and daughters of God. Because Jesus is the Son of God, we are able to have a close intimate relationship with the Father as His children. So we will end with Romans 8:14-17: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together (KJV). Smile, God really does love you!
