by Shannon Caughey

As a coach, you can learn a lot about an athlete when you find out who his or her parents are. If one or both of the athlete’s parents were outstanding athletes themselves, your hopes for their son or daughter are raised. If the parents are high-character people, you feel good about how their son or daughter will behave as a member of your team. Knowing that the athlete is the “son of so-and-so” or “daughter of so-and-so” is an important dimension of understanding who they are.

This is also the case with Jesus. In Scripture, he is frequently identified as the “Son of God.” We’re exploring various names and titles of Jesus in this series of devotions with the goal of knowing him more fully. The better our knowledge of who Jesus is, the deeper our motivation becomes to live and coach for him. In the last devotion, we looked at the name “Christ,” which is used of Jesus over 500 times in the New Testament. Now let’s consider how his “Son of God” name deepens our understanding of who Jesus is.

When the angel Gabriel appears to Mary to announce that she will give birth to Jesus, Mary asks, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” Gabriel responds, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:34, 35). Matthew 3:17 records that at the baptism of Jesus, God voice came from heaven saying, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Jesus also speaks of himself as the Son of God. For example, in Luke 10:22 Jesus explains, “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Even the demon-possessed man in Mark 5 knows who Jesus is when he shows up (v. 7): “With a shriek, he screamed, ‘Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?’”

We could look at many other passages in which Jesus is called the Son of God. What do we learn about Jesus from recognizing he is God’s Son? And what does knowing Jesus as the Son of God mean for our lives today?

What the name “Son of God” shows us about Jesus

The Bible is clear that Jesus is fully human—but he is no mere human. His “Son of God” name indicates that Jesus is also fully God. He is the eternal Son of the eternal Father. As God’s Son, his relationship with the Father is unique and unrivaled (see Luke 10:22 above). Because he is the Son of God, he reveals to us exactly the nature and character of God. Hebrews 1:3 proclaims, “The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God…” Jesus is the one and only eternal Son of God (John 3:16). Therefore, he is unrivaled and supreme. There is no one else like Jesus!

What knowing Jesus as the Son of God means for us

Mark begins his account of Jesus by explaining, “This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). John tells us his purpose for all that he recorded about Jesus: “But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name” (John 20:31). Knowing that Jesus is not just another teacher or prophet but the Son of God compels us to put our faith in him. We can trust his power and authority because he is fully God. When we believe in Jesus, we experience the good news that he saves us from our sin and gives us new life. This life now defines us. And this life is eternal because it is the eternal Son of God’s life in us.

Knowing Jesus is the Son of God gives us great confidence in him. It also gives us great confidence in pointing others to him. He is not just one religious figure among many equally-valid options. Jesus is God’s one and only Son through whom we can know the Father and experience life forever with God.

For reflection: Praise Jesus that he is the Son of God. He is the ultimate revelation of God to us. Pray that you would live with deep trust in him and confidently point others to him.