Son

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After going a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John in the boat preparing the nets. (Mark 1:19)

30 Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing you might have life in His name. (John 20:30-31)


Word Focus
son
υἱός / huios
<Hear It>

υἱός / huios is a common word in the New Testament, used 377 times. In its broadest sense, it means a male offspring, both human and animal. It can also refer to a descendant, such as when Jesus is called the son of David and the son of Abraham in Matthew 1:1. When combined with another word, the expression “son of…” could be used to describe a person’s nature or ethical quality, or identify a dominant characteristic. For example:

  • Sons of Light (1 Thessalonians 5:5) are those who are so transformed by believing in Jesus Christ that their lives are characterized by moral living – they live by the light of God’s Word and they take on the quality of Jesus Christ who is the True Light.
  • Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17) was a nickname given to the brothers James and John by Jesus because of their “thunderous” personalities – aggressive and confrontational.
  • A man named Joseph was called Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36) because it was his nature to comfort and encourage others.

Probably the most significant expression in this form is the title applied to Jesus Christ – the Son of God (ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ / ho huios tou theou <Hear It>). In the key verses for this post, John explains that there were many things that Jesus did that were not recorded in the Gospels, but he wrote essential information about the person and message of Jesus so that the reader might believe. One point of belief is that Jesus is the Son of God.

Because the phrase “son of” can be used to define the nature of a person, this title is claiming that Jesus Christ is deity because He is the same nature or essence as God. This title equates Him with God. It is applied to Jesus throughout the New Testament, and is a clear indication that the writers believed that Jesus is God.


Word Focus Lexicon

Lexical Form: ὁ υἱός υἱοῦ <Hear It>
Gloss: son, descendant
Part of Speech: Second Declension Masculine Noun
New Testament Frequency: 377
Strong’s Number: G5207 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)

Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.

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