The Editor's Page
Gabriel’s Announcement To Mary (2)

Question: What does “... he shall be called the Son of God” (Lk 1:35) mean?

“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest...therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Lk. 1:30-35, emphasis mine, gm).

“...the Son of God...” equals “...the Son of the Highest....” Both refer to the Divine nature of the spirit in the physical body of Jesus Christ.

In John 5:17, Jesus said, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” The Jews knew what He meant: “...the Jews sought...to kill him, because he...said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:18). In what sense did they think He was claiming equality with God? They correctly thought He was claiming to be of the same nature with God the Father: Deity.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him: and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Here is a Holy Spirit-inspired statement that Jesus was God. In John 1:14, John wrote, “And the Word was made flesh....” Does the word “made” mean that the Word changed into flesh and became “just a man”? No! The word “made” is translated from ginomai. Concerning ginomai Thayer says: “1. to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being...5. to become, be made, ‘in passages where it is specified who or what a person or thing is or has been rendered, as respects quality, condition, place, rank, character...John 1:14” (p. 115). Ginomai can be used of a person whose condition changes. The condition of the Word changed from heaven to earth. In this change, the Word’s nature was not changed (which would be impossible, Mal. 3:6), only His circumstances. From the beginning to His coming to earth, He was in heaven. For about thirty three years He abode in a fleshly body. He is now in heaven. He was the same Divine person before, during, and after His stay on earth.

In Romans 1:3,4, ginomai is translated “made” where it refers to Jesus being the seed of David: “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made (emph. mine, gm) of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God (emph. mine, gm) with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Physically, Jesus was made (born, came into being physically) of the seed of David, spiritually (His inner being), Jesus was the Son of God. According to Paul, Jesus’ resurrection declared His Deity.

What did Gabriel mean by “...that holy thing (to hagion, gm)...”? Concerning to hagion and its use in Lk. 1:35, Mr. Thayer says: “...that worshipful offspring of divine power” (P. 7). “...that holy thing...” is one more reference to Jesus’ Divine nature. The expression is never used of a “mere man.”

Gabriel told Mary her son would be THE SON OF GOD. Since Jesus was a Divine being on earth, HE NEVER DID ANYTHING AS JUST A MAN. Everything He did was done by the Divine Spirit within Him. How could it be otherwise? The Divine Spirit can do everything a created spirit can do and MUCH MORE. Therefore, he was tempted as a Divine being and faced temptation as Divine being, not as a mere man.