The Son of God The exact number of times "God" appears in the Bible depends on the translation, but it is generally cited as thousands of times (over 3,500 in many English versions). Specifically, the phrase "and God said" appears 25-29 times in the KJV, while "God said" or "Thus says the Lord" appears roughly 3,800 times. In the Bible, Jesus Christ is explicitly referred to or identified as "God" approximately 10 to 12 times, depending on the Bible translation and the specific Greek manuscripts under interpretation. What does that title mean exactly, and what significance does it have for people today? First, the term does not mean Jesus was the literal offspring of God the Father, as each of us is the child of our human father. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity says the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-equal and co-eternal, meaning the three Persons of the one God always existed together and each has the same importance. Second, it does not mean God the Father had a physical relationship with the Virgin Mary and fathered Jesus in that way. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit conceived Jesus. It was a miraculous, virgin birth. Jesus is God’s Son in that He was conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:35 declares, “The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’” Third, the term Son of God as applied to Jesus is unique. It does not mean he was a child of God, as Christians are when they're adopted into God's family. Rather, it points out his divinity, meaning He is God. When the innocent Jesus was put on trial by the self-righteous Jewish Leaders, the High Priest demanded of Jesus, Mathew 26:63-64, “But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless, I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.” The Jewish leaders responded by accusing Jesus of blasphemy. Later, before Pontius Pilate, as given in John 19:7, they said: “The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law, he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” Why would His claiming to be the Son of God be considered blasphemy and worthy of a death sentence? The Jewish leaders understood exactly what Jesus meant by the phrase “Son of God.” To be the Son of God is to be of the same nature as God. The Son of God is “of God.” The claim to be of the same nature as God is, in fact, to be God. Hebrews 1:3 expresses this very clearly,” Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.” Let us take the case of Judas Iscariot. John 17:12 describes him thus: “ While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.” Judas is described as the “son of perdition.” John 6:70-71 “Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 71 He spake of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.” What does this mean by describing Judas as the “son of perdition”? The word perdition means “destruction, ruin, waste.” Judas was not the literal son of “ruin, destruction, and waste,” but those things were the identity of Judas' life. Judas was a manifestation of perdition. In this same way, Jesus is the Son of God. The Son of God is God. Jesus is God made manifest. John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” Dr Ashwin Drummond Laddertoheaven.co.in