It is a great comfort to the Christian to consider Christ as the Son of God (Matthew 3:17), and it is good to take a moment to reflect on this aspect of His person. Before time, He dwelt in constant and intimate communion with His Father (John 1:1), perfectly happy, perfectly satisfied in Himself and in His relationship to the Godhead in ceaseless, eternal glory and pleasure. He is the Father’s Chosen and Anointed, the Only Begotten and only Heir to Heaven’s royalty.
There are countless things for us to consider while meditating on the sonship of Christ. Here are three:
1. His relationship to the Father. There was never a bond so close and familiar than Christ’s to the Father. Not even the most glorious and holy of the angels can claim to relate to the Father as Christ can: “For to which of the angels did He ever say: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You’? And again: ‘I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son’?” (Hebrews 1:5). Above all things, He is preeminent.
2. His enjoyment of the Father. Christ dwells eternally in the pleasure of God. God is continually smiling upon Him, pleased in His character, His life, and His works. All that Christ asks of the Father is given to Him, and all that the Father does is for the glory of Christ. And the Father delights in Christ: “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:17).
3. The privileges of His sonship. Because He is the Son of God, He can lay claim to everything belonging to the Father: “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand” (John 3:35). He alone has kept all the law, and is worthy to look into and declare the glory of God (Revelation 5).
Our supreme honor
What do these truths mean for our daily Christian walks? It would mean nothing at all if we were not joined to Christ.
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17).
“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17).
Being joined to Christ is the most supreme honor given to man. If Christ is indeed your Lord, let the above verses sink in. Think on them; meditate on them. All that we see that is true of Christ is true of us, if we are joined to Him.
By Christ’s merit, we can boldly approach the throne of God without shame. We can claim the deepest, most intimate relation to the King of the Universe, which no angel can claim. And when He looks at us, He sees us clothed in the righteousness of Christ and calls us His children.
By being joined to Christ, God is ours to enjoy. Before salvation, we had nothing to expect from God but wrath and hell (Romans 3:10, 3:23, 6:23, 10:13). But now, we live in the glow of His divine pleasure. He is pleased with us because He is pleased with Christ. All the goodness and blessings of God are ours to enjoy.
Because of Christ, we own the privileges of being children of God. We are co-heirs with Christ to everything the Father owns. Think about that. We will not merely be smiling bystanders in eternity future when Christ is ruling all the worlds. We will be actively partaking in that role alongside Him. All things will be open to us. Nothing will be withheld from us because nothing is withheld from Him.
In light of these things, how can we go about “everyday life” the same as we always have? This unity to Christ as the Son changes everything. As we go out and live before a lost and dying world, let us not forget who we have become, and why we have the right to be called “sons of God.”
