Do you think the whole idea of Jesus being the son of God is literal or is it a metaphor for something else?

Answer 1

Jesus is not God’s Son in the sense of how we think of a father and a son. God did not get married and have a son. Jesus is God’s Son in the sense that He is God made manifest in human form (John 1:1,14). Jesus is God's Son in that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:35 declares, "The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'" In Bible times, the phrase “son of man” was used to describe a human being. The son of a man is a man.
During His trial before the Jewish leaders, the High Priest demanded of Jesus, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God" (Matthew 26:63). Jesus responded, “Yes, it is as you say, ‘but I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64). The Jewish leaders responded by accusing Jesus of blasphemy (Matthew 26:65-66). Later, before Pontius Pilate, “The Jews insisted, ‘We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God’” (John 19:7). Why would claiming to be the “Son of God” be considered blasphemy and be worthy of a death sentence? The Jewish leaders understood exactly what Jesus meant by the phrase “Son of God.” To be the “Son of God” is to be of the same nature as God. The “Son of God” is “of God.” The claim to be of the same nature as God, to in fact “be God,” was blasphemy to the Jewish leaders; therefore, they demanded Jesus’ death. Hebrews 1:3 expresses this very clearly, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being…”


Another example can be found in John 17:12 where Judas is described as the "son of perdition." John 6:71 tells us that Judas was the son of Simon. What does John 17:12 mean by describing Judas as the "son of perdition"? The word "perdition" means "destruction, ruin, waste." Judas was not the literal son of "ruin, destruction, and waste" - but those things were the identity of Judas' life. Judas was a manifestation of perdition. In this same aspect, Jesus is the Son of God. The Son of God is God. Jesus is God made manifest (John 1:1,14).

Answer 2

Approaching the concept from a logical angle, in a monotheistic religion the son of God would not be God but just his offspring. Yet according to the New Testament, Jesus acted like God and performed miracles. Not to mention the Holy Ghost, the purported father of the son of God. The whole concept is logically inconsistent, so it has to be a metaphor for something else.

Answer 3

Okay, one of the difficult questions. The answer is yes and yes. You see God created Jesus Christ in Mary's womb. The egg was not fertilised by a man's sperm. (Sorry but this is necesary to say).

So Jesus was literally God's son. However, God is spirit and cannot procreate with humans. So the label of son is also a metaphor to represent offspring and therefore heir of all God's power and authority.

Thus Jesus is the son of God both literally and metaphorically.

Answer 4

II John 9 states, "He that abideth interior the doctrine of Christ, he hath the two the daddy and the Son." what's the doctrine of Christ? it is the doctrine that Jesus is the Messiah; he's the God of the previous testomony manifested in flesh. In different words, the apostle wrote that if we comprehend the doctrine of Christ we are able to comprehend that Jesus is the two the daddy and the Son. We consequently deny neither the daddy nor the Son. as quickly as we settle for the doctrine of Christ, we settle for the doctrine of the two the daddy and the Son. it is likewise real that if we deny the Son we are denying the daddy, yet as quickly as we renowned the Son we've regarded the daddy additionally (I John 2:23).

Answer 5

You know, that's actually a good question, considering that the trinity is a 3-in-one deal.

I think that Jesus is still the son though.

Think of the trinity as water. You got three forms: Solid, Liquid, and Gas. Three things, but still water. Water is melted ice as much as Jesus is the son of God.

Answer 6

When they were writing the tales of Jesus they needed to compete with other religions who said they had the representatives of gods on their side. I don't think Jesus ever says he is the son of God. That was said by his followers.
Would he be any less revered if he was just a human?

Answer 7

It's completely literal. The only sacrifice pure enough to satisfy God's justice to save mankind was Jesus. God cannot be killed, so he sent his son.

Answer 8

It was God who made the mother of Jesus pregnant. That's about as literal as you can get.
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Answer 9

If its only a metaphore, you'd better stop wasting your time here. Get out there and live it up. Your time is short. If it's a metaphore than you can have no salvation.

Answer 10

Actually more allegory, I would say. It is classical mythology. The history of religion/mythology is full of stories with gods breeding with humans - producing heroes as offspring. Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, all had stories of this nature before jesus came along.