Knowing Jesus as the Christ and Son of God

Peter is emphasizing that Jesus is not just another good man or a prophet.  He is much, much more.  He is the divine-human person.  Later, Peter preached that God raised Jesus up from the dead and proclaimed him as “Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:22-36).  He is the Lord who is sitting at “God’s right hand,” a term describing the ultimate position of power and intimate fellowship with God.  The word “Christ” comes from the Greek language and means “the anointed one.” It carries the same meaning as the word “Messiah” which comes from the Hebrew language.  Jesus is the Christ, the specially anointed one of God. 

Jesus is the “son of the living God” which means that in his nature and attributes he is all that God is.  “Son of” is a Hebrew expression which means that the person shares in and partakes of the nature of what is named.  This expression is used in the Bible in descriptions like “sons of light,” “sons of darkness,” “sons of Belial,”  “sons of the devil,” “sons of righteousness,” “son of man” and “sons of God.”  Believers in Christ are called in the plural “sons of God” but Jesus is in the singular, “the Son of God.”  “Son of God” is an expression in the Old Testament that refers to some kings of Israel or the angels because they were in a special position of power, prominence and closeness to God.  However, the term takes on a much larger and deeper meaning in the case of Jesus because of all the other descriptions of who Jesus is, his unique nature, and his mighty works. In the case of Jesus, the term indicates that Jesus shares the very nature of God and all that God is, Jesus is. 

Paul’s letter to the Colossians emphasizes the “divine and exalted position of the preeminent Christ.”   

Christ is celebrated as the object of the believer’s faith, the image of the invisible God, the creator of all dominions, the head of the church, the firstborn from the dead, the unifier and reconciler of all things, the Savior through his sufferings on the cross, the treasury of all wisdom and knowledge, the triumphant victor over sin and Satan, the exalted Lord of life and glory, and the true pattern for the life of Christian faith.  (Clinton Arnold, “Introduction to Colossians,” ESV Study Bible, p. 2507)