The Strange Call
Last week, someone called the office saying they had a Bible question. They insisted to Pam, our beloved secretary, that they really needed to ask a question right then and couldn’t have someone call them back.
I later realized they were calling from a blocked number and had a different agenda, but I didn’t know that at the time. Pam called me, and I decided to stop what I was doing and come down to her office to answer the question. We had just gotten a new phone system earlier that week, so we didn’t quite know how to transfer the number to my office. I sat in Pam’s extra chair and started talking to the guy on the phone.
He said he had a quick Bible question and read Matthew 16:16 to me, then asked, “If Jesus agrees that he is the Son of God, then how can he be God?”
Anyone who talks to me knows I’m not the world’s greatest debater and process my thoughts rather slowly. There’s a reason why I go up on stage with a whole manuscript and not just notes! I do much better on a blog than in a live conversation, but I did my best to answer his question.
After my first response, red flags went up went he started debating with me right away. He clearly had some Bible knowledge and, even more, he clearly had an agenda. My thoughts went to why he would be calling a random church, and I asked him if this call was being recorded. He said it wasn’t, though I’m fairly confident I will end up in some obscure YouTube or Twitter video at some point in the future, and when that happens, just send in a request and I will autograph whatever you want.
I told him I was willing to meet with him in person to talk about this more, but wouldn’t discuss it over the phone because things were seeming strange. He continued to push so I ended up letting him know I was hanging up, which I did. However, the question did stick with me. It’s a valid question, even if his motives were not completely transparent.
How Can Jesus Be God If He Is The “Son Of God”?
Every now and then, someone asks a question that makes you pause mid-sip of coffee, or tea, in my case, and think, “Wait a minute… how does that work?” This was one of those moments. In Matthew 16:16, Peter boldly declares, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It’s a powerful statement, but it raises a big question, as the guy asked, “If Jesus is God, how can he also be the son of God?” It almost sounds like a theological riddle. Who is the son of the Father who is also the Father’s equal, yet not the Father?
Confused yet? Don’t worry. The Bible actually gives us a clear and satisfying answer.
1. Think Divine Relationship, Not Family Tree
The first reason comes from how we think about the word, “son.” When we hear the word “son,” we tend to picture family trees, baby photos, and DNA tests. My dad’s name is John, so I’m the son of John. But that’s not what Scripture means when it calls Jesus the “Son of God.” It isn’t describing biology or birth. It’s describing a divine relationship. The Bible teaches that there is one God who exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Son didn’t come later, didn’t get promoted, and didn’t begin in Bethlehem. He has always existed as God.
Thinking back to the first century, the phrase “Son of ___” was not automatically assumed to be a biological descendant. In Roman culture, “son of” often referred to someone who shared the nature or represented the character of another. For example, Roman emperors were sometimes called “sons of the gods.” The title expressed divine authority or participation in the divine nature, not actual lineage.
In Jewish thought, the word “son” could be symbolic rather than biological. The nation of Israel was called God’s “son” (Exodus 4:22), and peacemakers were called “sons of God” (Matthew 5:9) because they reflected his nature. So when Peter called Jesus “the Son of the living God,” he wasn’t referring to a parent-child relationship, he was referring to identity. He was saying that Jesus shared the very essence of God.
In John 5:18, we read that the Jewish leaders sought to kill Jesus “because… he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” They understood his claim perfectly. Calling himself the Son of God wasn’t a statement of inferiority, it was a declaration of equality. As Hebrews 1:3 explains, Jesus “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” Think of sunlight and the sun itself. You can’t have one without the other. They share the same essence. In the same way, you cannot have the glory of the Father without the Son, who shares that same divine being and power.
2. The Son Has Always Been God
The second reason is that scripture makes it clear that Jesus has always been God. John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The “Word” here obviously refers to Jesus, as verse 14 explains… “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” This means that Jesus existed before creation, alongside the Father, as God himself. John 1:3 says, “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” If Jesus made all things, then he cannot be a part of creation. He IS the Creator!
Colossians 1:16–17 confirms this idea: “For by him all things were created… all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Jesus is not a created son, but the eternal one through whom everything else exists.
Hebrews 1 takes this even deeper. The Father himself calls the Son “God” in verse 8. He writes, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” That is not poetry or exaggeration, it is a declaration! The son has always been the son. He did not become the Son when he was born in Bethlehem, he has always been in perfect fellowship with the Father. When Jesus prayed in John 17:5, “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed,” he was describing an eternal relationship that existed before time began. Does that sound like the words of a created being?
3. Jesus’ Own Claims to Deity
The third reason comes from Jesus’ own claims. Jesus confirmed this himself throughout his actions and words. In John 8:58, he declared to everyone, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Those words echo Exodus 3:14, when God revealed his name to Moses as “I AM WHO I AM.” The crowd immediately picked up stones to kill him because they understood he was claiming to be God. Later in John 10:30, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” Again, the Jews accused him of blasphemy, saying, “You, being a man, make yourself God” (v. 33). Jesus did not correct them. He was not claiming to be another god or a lesser one. He was declaring that he is one in essence with the Father.
Therefore, when the Bible calls Jesus the Son of God, it is not describing a created being but an eternal relationship within the trinity. The Son is equal in power, glory, and nature with the Father. He IS God! The Father sends the Son into the world, not to make him divine but to reveal his divinity to all mankind.
Why It Matters
Why is this so important? If Jesus were merely a created being or a powerful prophet, he could not save us. Only God can forgive sin, conquer death, and give eternal life. When Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” he was proclaiming that Jesus is the eternal God who came to rescue us. The Son of God took on human nature so that we could know the Father and be reconciled to him.
So yes, Jesus is God. And yes, he is the Son of the living God. Because that is who he has always been… God the Son, eternally one with the Father, who became flesh to bring us home. That is not a riddle. That is the gospel.