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Adam, the "Son of God”

Why the Fatherhood of God is Essential to His Nature

If God is a Father, does that imply procreation?  No. 

by Adam Simnowitz— 

Some of the greatest gems of truth lie in the Bible’s genealogies.  The end of Luke 3:38 contains one such treasure, equally exquisite for both its richness and rarity: “Adam, the son of God.”  Inherent within this description of our very first forefather is a witness to God’s eternal nature and His original intention for humanity.  It is also the lone exception where Scripture refers to anyone other than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as “the son of God.”[1]  It is an amazing revelation.

The Eternal Fatherhood of God 

Our first consideration is the most obvious implication - God was Adam’s Father.  One of the main purposes of genealogies is to show a direct connection to someone who was great such as Abraham or the founder of a tribe such as the twelve sons of Jacob.  In the case of Adam, he had an even greater honor than any of these men (not to mention the rest of humanity) because he did not come from any human but directly from God Himself, the Creator of the heavens and the earth!  The Bible’s teaching about the Fatherhood of God, therefore, is implicit in the creation of Adam. 

It would be a grave error, however, to think that God’s Fatherhood began with the creation of Adam.  Ephesians 3:14-15 reads:

 

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name"

 

From this passage we understand that the existence of family has its origin in God as Father.  Prior to the existence of any earthly family, God was Father.  The human family, therefore, with all of its subsets, was not the means by which God became Father but rather one of the ways by which His Fatherhood is reflected within creation (e.g. Isa 63:16; 64:8; Mal 2:10).  Father is an essential distinction within the triune nature of God, a witness to His eternal nature and identity.

“Son” and “Father” – Neither of Biological Origin Nor Metaphorical

Our second consideration is that the terms “son” and “Father,” in reference to Adam and God respectively, cannot refer to physical procreation.  Adam had no human parents and God is not human, yet the very Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, uses these terms.  This helps us realize that “son” in reference to Adam – as well as Jesus, which point will be addressed below – and “Father” in reference to God means something other than a biological son and a biological father.  These terms are not metaphors drawn from any son born of a father and mother nor any human father as if God were using imperfect analogies to help us better understand by approximation something about the relationship Adam originally had with Him.  These terms are rather actual descriptions of their respective natures and identities.  Though the terms “father” and “son” were (and are) subsequently used with reference to biological fathers and sons, their derivation, as seen in the above section, is found in the Fatherhood of God.  This principle is consistent with what we read in Hebrews about the Tabernacle and human high priests each being a “copy” and “shadow” of “heavenly things” in which the physical is a limited reflection of its “true” or spiritual source (e.g. Heb 8:1-5; 9:23-24).

The Image of the Son

Our third consideration is how Adam being the son of God deepens our understanding of what the Bible means when it states that God created man in His own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27).  Like a mirror, Adam reflected God’s very image and likeness as the son of God.  Within the created order of things a reflection requires the prior existence of that which is reflected.  Adam’s creation as the son of God is therefore an implicit and wonderful witness to the preexistence of the Son of God whom Scripture affirms has always existed from eternity (e.g. Prov 30:4; Mic 5;2; Heb 7:3).  From this and what has been stated above, we recognize that within God’s triune nature and identity are Father and Son who have always shared (and will always share) glory and love which Jesus referenced in His prayer on the night of His arrest (John 17:5, 24).  The relationship between God as heavenly Father and Adam as His son was thus patterned after the eternal Father and Son relationship which according to Scripture must necessarily include the Holy Spirit which brings us to our next point (e.g. John 4:24; Heb 9:14).

The Presence of the Spirit

 Our fourth consideration is how Adam being created as the son of God coincides with his being animated with “the breath of life” (Gen 2:7).  This “breath of life” was from the Spirit of God who, as one of the eternal distinctions of the triune God, was present before creation (Heb 9:14; Gen 1:2) and directly involved in creating man as we read in Job 33:4, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”  It is only when the Spirit inhabited Adam with something of Himself that he became “a living soul” (Gen 2:7).  This indwelling of the Holy Spirit is inseparably connected to Adam being the son of God.

Sons of God Under the New Covenant

Once Adam sinned he lost his privileged status as the son of God.  He exchanged God’s Spirit for “the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” because of his submission to “the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2).  Adam lost his relationship with God the Father as the Devil became his father (John 8:44; 1 John 3:8; cf. Acts 26:18).  This devastation not only affected Adam, but as mankind’s representative, having squandered his inheritance, his offspring would also have no access to being sons of God by means of physical creation. 

Because God is love, He had already planned the way of salvation before He created the world (e.g. 1 Pet 1:19-20; possibly Rev 13:8; cf. 1 Cor 2:7; 2 Tim 1:9; Titus 1:2).  This involved the incarnation of the eternal Son of God in order to become the “second” and “last” Adam, or man (1 Cor 15:45, 47), more commonly known as the Son of Man (or, Son of Adam).  Even as the eternal Son of God provided the basis for Adam being the son of God, so the incarnate Son of God as the Son of Man, that is, Jesus, the God-man, provides the basis for those who believe in Him to become sons (and daughters) or children of God in a non-physical way:

 

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13) [2]

 

This birth is through the work of the Holy Spirit as Jesus told Nicodemus (John 3:1-16).  It is also referred to as “adoption” (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5).  Those who are so born or adopted are being “conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom 8:29).  They call God, “Abba, Father” even as Jesus did while on earth (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6; cf. Mark 14:36). They have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit (e.g. John 20:22; Rom 8:9, 11, 15-16; Gal 4:4-7; 1 John 4:13).  In all of these things we see direct parallels to the original creation of Adam, the son of God, in the new creation (e.g. 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15; cf. 2 Cor 4:6).  Truly God’s inspired Word is amazing, including its genealogies!



[1] This is the only exception where “son of God” in its singular grammatical construction refers to anyone other than Jesus. Interestingly, the phrase “son of God” (huios tou theou) does not appear in the Greek in this verse but is understood because the entire genealogy is a possessive construction beginning in Luke 3:23 in which the word, “son” appears before “Joseph.”  Regardless of the absence of this exact phrase, the meaning of the grammar is quite clear – Adam was the son of God. 

[2] See also Matt 5:9; Luke 20:36; John 11:52; Rom 8:14, 16, 17, 19, 21; 9:8; 2 Cor 6:18; Gal 3:26; 4:4-6; Phil 2:15; 1 John 3:1, 2, 10; 5:2.

  • 17 February 2020
  • Author: Guest Blogger
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2 comments on article "Adam, the "Son of God”"

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3/28/2020 1:28 AM

Great one


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4/1/2020 2:43 PM

Son of God is the lesson and first chapter of the bible which was following by the many Christian who loves to read the bible. You can also read it for reviews on many online community and start living your best life according to this book.

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