Son of God and of Man

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Chapter VI.
The Lord in respect to the Divine Human is called the Son of God;
and in respect to the Word, the Son of Man

L 19. In the church, the Son of God is supposed to be the second Person of the Godhead, distinct from the Person of the Father, whence comes the belief about the Son of God born from eternity. As this belief has been universally received, and as it relates to God, no one has had any opportunity or permission to think about it from any understanding; not even as to what it is to be born from eternity; for anyone who thinks about it from the understanding must needs say to himself, This transcends my understanding; but still I say it because others say it, and I believe it because others believe it. Be it known, then, that there is no Son from eternity; but that the Lord is from eternity. When it is known what the Lord is, and what the Son, it will be possible, and not before, to think with understanding of the Triune God.

[2] That the Lord‘s Human, conceived of Jehovah the Father, and born of the virgin Mary, is the Son of God, is plainly evident from the following passages. In Luke:--

The angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel entered in to her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women. And when she saw, she was troubled at his word, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found grace with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called THE SON OF THE MOST HIGH. But Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, Wherefore also that HOLY THING which shall be born of thee shall be called THE SON OF GOD (Luke 1:26-35).

It is here said, "thou shalt conceive and bear a Son; He shall be great, and shall be called THE SON OF THE MOST HIGH;" and further, "that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called THE SON OF GOD;" from which it is evident that the Human conceived of God, and born of the virgin Mary, is what is called "the Son of God."

[3] In Isaiah:--

The Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name GOD-WITH-US (Isa 7:14).

That the Son born of the virgin, and conceived of God, is He who is called "God-with-us," thus is He who is the Son of God, is evident. That this is the case is confirmed also by (Matt. 1:22, 23).

[4] In Isaiah:--

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Hero, FATHER OF ETERNITY, Prince of peace (Isa 9:6).

The burden is the same here; for it is said, "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given," who is not a Son from eternity, but a Son born in the world, as is also evident from the words of the prophet in the next verse, which are similar to those of the angel Gabriel to Mary in (Luke 1:32, 33).

[5] In David:--

I will make an announcement concerning a statute, Jehovah hath said, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the way (Ps. 2:7, 12).

Neither here is there meant a Son from eternity, but a Son born in the world; for it is a prophecy concerning the Lord who was to come; and therefore it is called "a statute concerning which Jehovah has made an announcement" to David. "This day," is not from eternity, but is in time.

[6] In David:--

I will set His hand in the sea. He shall call Me, Thou art My Father. I will make Him My Firstborn (Ps. 89:25-27).

This whole Psalm treats of the Lord who was to come, and therefore He is meant by Him who "shall call Jehovah His Father," and who shall be the "Firstborn," thus who is the Son of God.

[7] And so in other places, where He is called A rod out of the stem of Jesse (Isa. 11:1); An Offshoot of David (Jer. 23:5); The seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15); The Only-begotten (John 1:18); A Priest to eternity, and the Lord (Ps. 110:4, 5).

[8] In the Jewish Church there was understood by the Son of God the Messiah whom they had expected, and of whom they knew that He was to be born at Bethlehem. That by the Son of God they understood the Messiah, is evident from the following passages. In John:--

Peter said, We believe and know that Thou art THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD (John 6:69).

In the same Evangelist:--

Thou art THE CHRIST THE SON OF GOD, who should come into the world (John 11:27).

In Matthew:--

The chief priest asked Jesus whether He was THE CHRIST THE SON OF GOD. Jesus said, I am (Matthew 26:63, 64; Mark 14:62).

In John:--

These things are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is THE CHRIST THE SON OF GOD (John 20:31; Mark 1:1).

"Christ" is a Greek word, and means "the Anointed," as also does "Messiah" in the Hebrew language; and therefore John says:--

We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, THE CHRIST (John 1:41).

And in another place:--

The woman said, I know that MESSIAH cometh, who is called CHRIST (John 4:25).

[9] It has been shown in the first chapter that the Law and the Prophets, that is, the whole Word of the Old Testament, is concerning the Lord, and therefore by the Son of God who was to come, nothing else can be meant than the Human which the Lord assumed in the world. From this it follows that the Human was what was meant, when Jesus, at His baptism, was called by Jehovah, in a voice from heaven, His Son:--

This is MY BELOVED SON, in whom I am well pleased (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22).

For it was His Human that was baptized. And when He was transfigured:--

This is MY BELOVED SON, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; Matt. 8:29; 14:33; Mark 3:11; 15:39; John 1:34, 49; 3:18; 5:25; 10:36; 11:4).

L 20. As by "the Son of God" is meant the Lord as to the Human which He assumed in the world, which is the Divine Human, it is evident what is meant by the Lord‘s so frequently saying that He was sent by the Father into the world, and that He came forth from the Father. By His being sent by the Father into the world, is meant that He was conceived from Jehovah the Father. That nothing else is meant by being sent, and sent by the Father, is evident from all the passages where it is said that He did the will of the Father and His works, which were that He conquered the hells, glorified His Human, taught the Word, and set up a new church, which could not have been done except by means of a Human conceived from Jehovah and born of a virgin, that is, unless God had been made Man. Examine the passages where "sent" occurs, and you will see. As, for instance, (Matt. 10:40; 15:24; Mark 9:37; Luke 4:43; 9:48; 10:16; John 3:17, 34; 4:34; 5:23, 24, 36-38; 6:29, 39, 40, 44, 57; 7:16, 18, 28, 29; 8:16, 18, 29, 42; 9:4; 11:42; 12:44, 45, 49; 13:20; 14:24; 15:21; 16:5; 17:3, 8, 21, 23, 25; 20:21). Also the passages where the Lord calls Jehovah "Father."

L 21. At the present day many think of the Lord no otherwise than as of a common man like themselves, because they think solely of His Human, and not at the same time of His Divine, when yet His Divine and His Human cannot be separated. For the Lord is God and Man, and God and Man in the Lord are not two, but one Person, yes, altogether one, just as soul and body are one man, according to the doctrine received in the whole Christian world which was formulated by Councils, and is called the doctrine of the Athanasian Creed. Therefore, lest anyone should in future separate in his thought the Divine and the Human in the Lord, I pray him to read the passages from Luke quoted above, and also the following in Matthew:--

The birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her betrothed, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy betrothed, for that which is begotten (natus) in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins. And Joseph, being awaked from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his betrothed, but knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son; and he called His name Jesus (Matthew 1:18-25).

From these words, and from those written in Luke concerning the Lord’s nativity, and from others adduced above, it is evident that the "Son of God" is Jesus conceived of Jehovah the Father, and born of the virgin Mary, of whom all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.

L 22. He who knows what in the Lord is called "the Son of God," and what in Him is called "the Son of man," is able to see many of the secret things of the Word; for at one time the Lord calls Himself "the Son," at another "the Son of God," and at another "the Son of man," everywhere according to the subject that is being treated of. When His Divinity, His oneness with the Father, His Divine power, faith in Him, life from Him, are being treated of, He calls Himself "the Son," and "the Son of God." As, for instance, in (John 5:17-26). But where His passion, Judgment, His advent, and, in general, redemption, salvation, reformation, and regeneration, are treated of, He calls Himself "the Son of man;" the reason of which is that He is then meant in respect to the Word. In the Word of the Old Testament, the Lord is designated by various names, being there named Jehovah, Jah, Lord, God, the Lord Jehovih, Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel, the Holy One of Israel, the Mighty One of Jacob, Shaddai, the Rock, and also Creator, Former, Saviour, Redeemer, everywhere according to the subject that is being treated of. And the same in the Word of the New Testament, where He is named Jesus, Christ, the Lord, God, the Son of God, the Son of man, the Prophet, the Lamb, with other names, also everywhere according to the subject there treated of.

L 23. Having stated on what grounds the Lord is called "the Son of God," we will now state those on which He is called "the Son of man." The Lord is called "the Son of man" where the subject treated of is His passion, Judgment, His advent, and, in general, redemption, salvation, reformation, and regeneration. The reason is that "the Son of man" is the Lord in respect to the Word; and as the Word He suffered, judges, came into the world, redeems, saves, reforms, and regenerates That such is the case is evident from what now follows.

L 24. That the Lord is called "the Son of man" when His passion is treated of, is evident from these passages:--

Jesus said to His disciples, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the nations, and they shall scourge Him, and spit on Him, and shall kill Him; but on the third day He shall rise again (Mark 10:33, 34).

And so in other places where He foretells His passion, as in (Matt. 20:18, 19; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22.)

Jesus said to His disciples, Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners (Matt. 26:45).

The angel said to the women that came to the sepulchre, Remember how He spake unto you, that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again (Luke 24:6, 7).

The reason the Lord then called Himself "the Son of man," is that He suffered Himself to be treated in the same way as they had treated the Word, as has been shown above very fully.

L 25. That the Lord is called "the Son of man" when the Judgment is treated of, is evident from these passages:--

When the Son of man shall come in His glory, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory, and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on the left (Matt. 25:31, 33).

When the Son of man shall sit on the throne of His glory, He shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28).

The Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father, and shall render to everyone according to his deeds (Matt. 16:27).

Watch ye at every season, that ye may be accounted worthy to stand before the Son of man (Luke 21:36).

In such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh (Matt. 24:44; Luke 12:40).

The Father judgeth no one, but hath given all judgment to the Son, because He is the Son of man (John 5:22, 27).

The reason why the Lord calls Himself "the Son of man" when the Judgment is treated of, is that all judgment is effected according to the Divine truth which is in the Word. That this judges everyone, is said by the Lord Himself in John:--

If anyone hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not, for I came not to judge the world. The Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day (John 12:47, 48).

The Son of man has not come to judge the world, but that through Him it might be saved; he that believeth in Him is not judged; but he that believeth not is judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the Only-begotten Son of God (John 3:17, 18).

(That the Lord judges no one to hell, and casts no one into hell, but that an evil spirit casts himself in, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell, (HH n. 545-550, 574.) By "the name" of Jehovah, of the Lord, of the Son of God, is meant the Divine truth, and therefore also the Word, which is from Him, and about Him, and therefore is Himself.

L 26. That the Lord is called "the Son of man" when His advent is treated of, is evident from these passages:--

The disciples said to Jesus, What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the consummation of the age? And then the Lord foretold the successive states of the church down to its end; and of its end He said, Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory (Matt. 24:3, 30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27).

"The consummation of the age," means the last time of the church; His "coming in the clouds of heaven with glory," means the opening of the Word, and the making manifest that the Word has been written about Him alone. In Daniel:--

I saw and behold one like the Son of man came with clouds of the heavens (Daniel 7:13).

In the Revelation:--

Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him (Revelation 1:7).

This also is said of the Son of man, as is evident from verse 13. I saw and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man (Revelation 14:14).

[2] That by "the Son of God" the Lord meant one thing in Himself, and by "the Son of man" another, is evident from His reply to the chief priest:--

The high priest said unto Jesus, I adjure Thee by the living God that Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said; nevertheless, I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Matt. 26:63, 64).

Here He first confessed that He was the Son of God, and afterwards said that they should see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven, by which is meant that after the passion of the cross He would possess the Divine power of opening the Word and setting up the church anew, which could not be effected before, because He had not then conquered hell and glorified His Human. What is signified by sitting upon the clouds of heaven, and coming in glory, has been set forth in the work on Heaven and Hell, (HH n. 1.)

L 27. That the Lord is called "the Son of man" when Redemption, Salvation, Reformation, and Regeneration are treated of, is evident from these passages:--

The Son of man came to give His life a redemption for many (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45).

The Son of man is come to save, and not to destroy (Matt. 18:11; Luke 9:56).

The Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).

The Son of man is come that the world through Him may be saved (John 3:17).

He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man (Matt. 13:37).

Redemption and salvation are here treated of, and as the Lord effects these by means of the Word, He here calls Himself "the Son of man." The Lord says, That the Son of man has power (potestas) to forgive sins (Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24) (that is, to save). And also, That He is the Lord of the Sabbath, because He is the Son of man (Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5) (i.e. because He is the Word, which He is Himself then teaching). He says, further, in John:--

Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you (John 6:27).

By "meat" is meant all truth and good of doctrine from the Word, thus from the Lord; and this is also meant there by the manna, and by the bread which came down from heaven; and also by the following in the same chapter:--

Except ye shall eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you (John 6:53).

"Flesh," or "bread," is the good of love from the Word; "blood," or "wine," is the good of faith from the Word, both from the Lord.

[2] The like is signified by "the Son of man" in other passages where He is mentioned, as in the following:--

The foxes have holes, and the birds nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head (Matt. 8:20; Luke 9:58).

By this is meant that the Word would have no place among the Jews, as also the Lord said in (John 8:37) and also that they had it not abiding in them, because they had not acknowledged Him (John 5:38). In the Revelation also "the Son of man" means the Lord in respect to the Word:--

In the midst of the seven lampstands I saw one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle (Revelation 1:13).

Here, in various ways, the Lord is represented as the Word, and He is therefore called "the Son of man." In David:--

Let Thy hand he upon the man of Thy right hand, upon the Son of man whom Thou hast made strong for Thyself: so will not we go back from Thee; quicken us (Ps. 80:17, 18).

"The man of Thy right hand," also means the Lord in respect to the Word; and so does "the Son of man." He is called "the man of the right hand," because the Lord has power from the Divine truth, which also the Word is, and He had Divine power when He had fulfilled the whole Word: and therefore He had said That they should see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Father, with power (Mark 14:62).

L 28. That "the Son of man" signifies the Lord in respect to the Word, was the reason why the prophets also were called sons of man. The reason why the prophets were called sons of man, was that they represented the Lord in respect to the Word, and consequently signified the doctrine of the church from the Word. In heaven nothing else is understood by "prophets" as mentioned in the Word; for the spiritual signification of "prophet," as well as of "son of man," is the doctrine of the church from the Word; and, when predicated of the Lord, "prophet" means the Word itself. That the prophet Daniel is called "son of man" may be seen in (Dan. 8:17). That the prophet Ezekiel is called "son of man" may be seen in (Ezek. 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3, 4, 10, 17, 25; 4:1, 16; 5:1; 6:2; 7:2; 8:5, 6, 8, 12, 15; 11:2, 4, 15; 12:2, 3, 9, 18, 22, 27; 13:2, 17; 14:3, 13; 15:2; 16:2; 17:2; 20:3, 4, 27, 46; 21:2, 6, 9, 12, 14, 19, 28; 22:18, 24; 23:2, 36; 24:2, 16, 25; 25:2; 26:2; 27:2; 28:2, 12, 21; 29:2, 18; 30:2, 21; 31:2; 32:2, 18; 33:2, 7, 10, 12, 24, 30; 34:2; 35:2; 36:1, 17; 37:3, 9, 11, 16; 38:2, 14; 39:1, 17; 40:4; 43:7, 10, 18; 44:5). From what has been said it is now evident that the Lord in respect to the Divine Human is called "the Son of God," and in respect to the Word, "the Son of man."