Son of God: The plural, "sons of God," is used (Gen. 6:2, 4) to denote the
pious descendants of Seth. In Job 1:6; 38:7 this name is applied
to the angels. Hosea uses the phrase (1:10) to designate the
gracious relation in which men stand to God.
In the New Testament this phrase frequently denotes the
relation into which we are brought to God by adoption (Rom.
8:14, 19; 2 Cor. 6:18; Gal. 4:5, 6; Phil. 2:15; 1 John 3:1, 2).
It occurs thirty-seven times in the New Testament as the
distinctive title of our Saviour. He does not bear this title in
consequence of his miraculous birth, nor of his incarnation, his
resurrection, and exaltation to the Father's right hand. This is
a title of nature and not of office. The sonship of Christ
denotes his equality with the Father. To call Christ the Son of
God is to assert his true and proper divinity. The second Person
of the Trinity, because of his eternal relation to the first
Person, is the Son of God. He is the Son of God as to his divine
nature, while as to his human nature he is the Son of David
(Rom. 1:3, 4. Compare Gal. 4:4; John 1:1-14; 5:18-25; 10:30-38,
which prove that Christ was the Son of God before his
incarnation, and that his claim to this title is a claim of
equality with God).
When used with reference to creatures, whether men or angels,
this word is always in the plural. In the singular it is always
used of the second Person of the Trinity, with the single
exception of Luke 3:38, where it is used of Adam.