Son of God: What It Really Means
When Muslims hear Christians call Jesus the "Son of God," they immediately object, assuming Christians believe God physically procreated a son. The Quran repeatedly condemns this misunderstanding, stating that God neither begets nor is begotten. However, this criticism attacks a position no Christian holds. Understanding what "Son of God" actually means reveals both the depth of Jesus' identity and Islam's fundamental misrepresentation of Christian doctrine.
The Islamic Objection
The Quran forcefully rejects the concept of God having a son:
"Say, 'He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.'" (Quran 112:1-4)
"And they say, 'The Most Merciful has taken [for Himself] a son.' You have done an atrocious thing. The heavens almost rupture therefrom and the earth splits open and the mountains collapse in devastation. That they attribute to the Most Merciful a son. And it is not appropriate for the Most Merciful that He should take a son." (Quran 19:88-92)
Muslims hear "Son of God" and imagine biological reproduction—God taking a wife (Mary, they sometimes assume) and producing a child through physical relations. This is blasphemy to them, and rightly so. The problem is that Christians don't believe this either.
What "Son of God" Does NOT Mean
Let's be clear about what Christians do not believe:
- NOT physical procreation: God did not have sexual relations to produce Jesus.
- NOT a wife or consort: God has no divine spouse. Mary was a virgin; Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, not by physical means.
- NOT that Jesus is a separate, lesser god: Jesus is not a demigod or secondary deity.
- NOT that Jesus had a beginning: As the eternal Son, Jesus has always existed. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
- NOT that Jesus is created: The Son is begotten, not made—eternally proceeding from the Father, not created in time.
The Islamic objection attacks a straw man, confusing biological sonship with theological relationship.
What "Son of God" Actually Means
"Son of God" is a theological term describing Jesus' unique relationship with the Father and his divine nature. It conveys several essential truths:
1. Equality with God
In ancient Jewish culture, a son inherited his father's nature and authority. When Jesus called God his Father, the Jews understood he was claiming equality with God:
"For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God." (John 5:18)
Jesus didn't correct this understanding—he confirmed it. He claimed to do whatever the Father does (John 5:19), to give life like the Father (John 5:21), and to be honored as the Father is honored (John 5:23).
2. Unique Relationship
Jesus never included himself when telling others to pray to "your Father." He always distinguished between "my Father" and "your Father" (John 20:17). Christians are adopted children of God through faith in Christ (Romans 8:15-17), but Jesus is the eternal Son by nature.
The title marks Jesus as uniquely related to God: "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Matthew 11:27).
3. Divine Nature
"Son of God" indicates that Jesus shares the Father's divine nature. Just as a human son shares human nature with his father, the Son of God shares divine nature with the Father. Paul explains: "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation... For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him" (Colossians 1:15, 19).
4. Messianic Title
In Jewish expectation, the Messiah would be called God's Son. Psalm 2:7 prophesies: "You are my son; today I have become your father." This psalm was understood as messianic, referring to the coming King who would rule the nations.
When Peter confessed, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16), he was identifying Jesus as the long-awaited divine King, and Jesus affirmed this revelation came from the Father (Matthew 16:17).
The Eternal Generation of the Son
Christian theology speaks of the "eternal generation" or "eternal begetting" of the Son. This means the Father-Son relationship has existed from all eternity. The Son is eternally begotten, not created in time.
The Nicene Creed (325 AD) states: "We believe... in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father."
"Begotten" here is not biological but relational—describing an eternal relationship within the Godhead. The Father has eternally communicated the divine essence to the Son. The Son proceeds from the Father not in time but in the eternal nature of God.
Biblical Evidence for Jesus as Son of God
Jesus' Own Claims:
Jesus repeatedly called God his Father in a unique sense: "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working" (John 5:17). He claimed intimate knowledge of the Father: "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son" (Matthew 11:27).
At his trial, when asked, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?" Jesus replied, "I am," using the divine name from Exodus 3:14 and triggering charges of blasphemy (Mark 14:61-64).
The Father's Testimony:
At Jesus' baptism, the Father declared: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). At the Transfiguration, the Father repeated: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" (Mark 9:7). The Father himself testifies to the Son's identity.
Demonic Recognition:
Even demons acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God: "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" (Matthew 8:29). Spiritual beings understood what Jesus' enemies denied.
The Resurrection:
Paul wrote that Jesus "was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4). The resurrection vindicated Jesus' claims about his identity. Only God can defeat death; by rising from the grave, Jesus proved he is the divine Son.
Old Testament Foundations
The concept of divine sonship appears throughout the Old Testament:
Psalm 2:7: "I will proclaim the LORD's decree: He said to me, 'You are my son; today I have become your father.'"
2 Samuel 7:14: Speaking of the Messiah, God says, "I will be his father, and he will be my son."
Proverbs 30:4: "Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!"
These passages prepared Israel to recognize the divine Son when he came.
Why This Matters for Salvation
Jesus' identity as the Son of God is not optional doctrine—it's essential to salvation. John wrote: "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God" (1 John 5:1), and "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:11-12).
Only the divine Son can save. If Jesus were merely a prophet or created being, his death would be insufficient to atone for the sins of the world. But because he is the eternal Son, equal with the Father in power and glory, his sacrifice has infinite value.
As the God-man, Jesus bridges the gap between humanity and divinity. He is the only mediator: "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). He must be fully God to represent God to humanity, and fully man to represent humanity to God.
The Islamic Alternative
Islam reduces Jesus to merely a prophet—noble, but not divine. The Quran states: "The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him" (Quran 5:75).
This creates an unbridgeable distance between humanity and Allah. If God has no Son, he cannot fully reveal himself. If Jesus is not the Son, he cannot save. Islam offers law and submission but not the intimate relationship with God that Christianity provides through the Son.
The Quran claims Christians have invented the doctrine: "And the Jews say, 'Ezra is the son of Allah'; and the Christians say, 'The Messiah is the son of Allah.' That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]" (Quran 9:30). But this charge is historically false—the belief that Jesus is God's Son dates to the first century, taught by eyewitnesses and martyrs.
Biblical Contrast
The Bible makes Jesus' identity central to faith. John wrote his Gospel "that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31).
Denying Jesus as the Son is denying the Father: "No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also" (1 John 2:23). You cannot honor God while rejecting his Son: "Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him" (John 5:23).
The Christian faith stands or falls on this truth: Jesus is the divine Son of God, equal with the Father, eternally begotten, God incarnate who came to save sinners. This is not blasphemy but the heart of the gospel.
Questions to Consider
- If "Son of God" were meant biologically, why would Christians also call Jesus the "eternal" Son who existed before creation?
- Why did Jesus never correct the Jews who understood him to be claiming equality with God by calling God his Father?
- If Jesus is only a prophet, why did he accept worship—something every prophet in the Bible refused?
- How can the Quran claim to correct Christian belief when it attacks a misunderstanding (biological sonship) that Christians have never taught?
- If Jesus is not the Son of God, how do you explain the Father's testimony at Jesus' baptism and transfiguration?
- Why would early Christians—strict Jewish monotheists—invent the idea that Jesus is God's Son if it weren't true, knowing it would bring persecution and death?
- How can you honor God while rejecting the Son he sent to reveal himself and save humanity?
- If Jesus' death has no saving power (because he's not divine), what hope does Islam offer for the forgiveness of sins?