With Respect to Him Being the Son of God

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



We are the Sons of God


With Respect to Him Being the Son of God
In this proof we are met with an important point:
Are not human beings also called children of God? Yes, human beings were called sons of God, but in a different sense than Christ's Sonship to God. It is written in the Book of Genesis that "the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful" (Gen. 6:2). Here the sons of God mean the sons of Seth and his son Enosh, when "men began to call on the name of the Lord' (Gen. 4:26), while the daughters of men are the descendants of Cain.






That is why the Lord said in the Book of Isaiah the Prophet: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me" (Is. 1:2). It is also written in the same Book: "You, 0 Lord, are our Father; our Redeemer" (Is. 63:16), and: "But now, 0 Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our Potter, and all we are the work of Your hand' (Is. 64:8). This is a prophecy but it is said by human beings and does not at all mean sonship of the essence of God. The Lord said in the Book of Exodus: "Israel is My son, My firstborn" (Ex. 4:22), and in the Book of Proverbs: "My son, give Me your heart" (Prov. 23:26).
In the New Testament God is called 'our Father' in many situations, as we say in the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father in heaven" (Matt. 6:9). The phrases: 'your heavenly Father' and 'your Father who sees in secret' are numerous in the Gospels.