~ Son of man ~

Today is August 13, 2004 at 10:00 p.m.

What exactly is a ‘son of man�? Most people think only of Jesus as the son of man. But this is certainly not true. Then what is a son of man? Why was Jesus called the son of man so many more times than he was called the Son of God? These are questions which need to be answered with the Word of God.

The son of man is referred to 85 times in the New Testament. The Son of God is referred to 46 times in the NT. Son of man is used over 200 times in the entire Word. Most of these are not referring to Jesus. Ezekiel is called son of man 94 times. Daniel is called son of man two times. Sons of men are mentioned 24 times, only twice in the NT. Now there is a very good reason for all of this.

So lets go back to the beginning to find the answer to this question.

Lu 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the Son of God.

Adam was the Son of God. Adam was a glorified being, in the likeness and glory of God. This is Heaven. This is eternal life.

Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Adam was told that he would die if he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This ‘death�?is to become mortal. So after Adam ate of law, he lost his glory and became a mortal man. This happened when God put the coats of SKIN on them and clothed them with humanity.

Job 25:4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? 25:5 Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. 25:6 How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?

So man or son of man is one who is born of a woman. God was never born of any woman. This connects with a Scripture in John which I refer to a little latter in this message which says we are born of God, not of the will of man, in order to become Sons of God again. So to be born of God is to be a Son of God. To be born of a woman is to be a son of man. Man started out as sons of God, but fell to being sons of men through this tree of the knowledge of good and evil. To be a Son of God is to be in ‘heaven�? to be a son of man is to be on earth. It is spiritual, not natural. So man fell or came down from heaven at the fall of Adam. So for a man to go back to sitting in ‘heavenly�?places, he must be born back into the family of God through faith in Jesus.

Gen 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

Adam is called ‘the man�?many times after he fell from grace by partaking of the law tree. Those who stayed true to God were still called Sons of God. But as they looked at the power of ruling over others by law, they ‘went�?in unto this ‘daughter of man�?= the carnal mind-- and in doing so, they had ‘children�?which became ‘giants�?among men. It is not saying they had huge bodies; it is saying they were powerful and famous, rich. They had taken into themselves a carnal mind, which was another being inside themselves, or these ‘children�?

It is reversed in us at conversion to Christianity. We then have a new man-child inside us, a child of God. We give ‘birth�?to a new child, a Christian. This is how the Sons of God went in unto the daughters of men and had giant children with them. It was their own selves, converted to sin; law.

Lam 2:1 How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger!

Israel was God’s sons in heaven before they fell away from God and were covered with this cloud of mortal flesh. That is how they fell from heaven. God cast them out of the Garden of Eden, their heaven. He gave them this image of sinful man, = mortality. This is the sons of men = mortals. They were not sons of men to begin with; they were sons of God. They were not mortals to begin with; they were immortals.

Lam 3:1-- I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. 3:2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. 3:3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. 3:4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old: he hath broken my bones. 3:5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. 3:6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.

In the above Scripture is the story of the fall of Adam, the human race. When they ‘fell�?away from grace, their glory, they went from LIGHT into DARKNESS. They went from being Sons of God, to being sons of men.

This is speaking of the human body as being old, and a heavy chain, which God placed Adam into. He set him in dark places as they that be DEAD OF OLD. This is Adam after his fall. Everyone since then fell into this same dead trap of humanity. We were all sons of men.

Ps.57: 4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the SONS OF MEN, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

Ec.3: 18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the SONS OF MEN, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 3:19 For that which befalleth the SONS OF MEN befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

Now here it shows that as sons of men, we are as beast = do not have the glory of God or immortality. See that the same thing happens to sons of men as to the beasts. We all die. And unless a redeemer could bring us back to that glorious state of immortality, then we would be just as the beast, no different. Only the Sons of God will again have that glory.

Ec.9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the SONS OF MEN is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 9:12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the SONS OF MEN snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

Now above we have a description of what is in sons of men. They are full of evil and madness while they live, then they go to the dead. Now if we stayed sons of men, this would be our end. Without a Saviour to give us eternal life again, this would be the end for all of us. Only Jesus can bring us back to being Sons of God again.

Now lets look at the Sons of God. The first time this term is mentioned is in Genesis 6 where the Sons of God went in unto the daughters of men. This was the people still staying true to God mixing and mingling with the world and becoming defiled themselves.

Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men, which were of old, men of renown.

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Now that is the last time the term Sons of God is used in the Old Testament. It is very clear that each of these times refers back to events which happened BEFORE Man was driven out of the Garden State. This was all before the great flood. No more were men called Sons of God after they were cast out of Eden = immortality. This did NOT happen until that flood.

Now the next time Sons of God are mentioned is here:

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Now this makes it very clear that only being born again by the will of God, through faith in the Name of God’s Son, Jesus will anyone ever be a Son of God again. All who come to Jesus will be given the power to again become Sons of God. Adam lost it when he fell or came down from heaven to become earthly. Jesus has to redeem us back to that glorious state of being called Sons of God.

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Now this explains that those who are led by the Spirit of God are the ones who are again called the sons of God. This is people who have been born of the will of God through grace or faith in Jesus Christ. See then that we were ADOPTED back into the family of God to become his children again.

Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Now this shows that the creature we are now is waiting for the manifestation of the Son of God, which we shall be at the resurrection.

Phi 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

This is more explanation of who the sons of God are. It is those who are blameless and harmless, without rebuke in the evil world and who is the light of the world.

1John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Now the above Scripture makes it absolutely clear that only those who have purified themselves through Jesus will ever be the Sons of God. We shall be as Jesus is when He appears. We are now again Sons of God through the birth of Jesus in our lives and will again be given back that full status as immortal Sons of God at the resurrection when Jesus appears again the second time.

This is what Jesus meant when he said: John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Now see that man fell or came down from heaven by the fall of Adam. He fell from being a Son of God to being a son of man. So then all mankind fell or came down from heaven through Adam. So any human being is a son of man.  So to say Son of Man which is in heaven, is showing that a human being can again be filled with the glory of God, in this life, by the Holy Ghost abiding in us.

Thus when Elijah was taken up to heaven, it could be said that he had come down from heaven before his ascension. Jesus said he was speaking here of heavenly things. Who can hear it? Only if you have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying.

By: Jo Smith