Now this verse needs to be considered carefully, for to our ears it can sound as though there was a time when Jesus was not the Son of God, for it says “was appointed the Son of God”. There are various things we need to understand. First, verse 2 already says that Jesus was His Son, and a general point in understanding the Bible is never to take a verse in isolation. This is particularly relevant when considering anything relating to the trinity. Our experience is of people who are one person. God is one God, but three persons. Our thinking and language don’t naturally fit with this, so any one sentence cannot possibly adequately describe the nature of God. We also need to know that son can be used in various ways. The kings of Israel and Judah were referred to as sons of God when they became king. It is this latter sense that is inspiring Paul’s thought in this verse. When God raised Jesus from the dead He was shown to be king of kings, He was appointed as God’s king of all the earth. God declared that Christ was Israel’s true king, and indeed, our king as well. Jesus is the king through whom all the Old Testament promises are fulfilled. And all this happened through the “Spirit of holiness”. Jesus had lived a life of perfect obedience, because of His sinlessness He was worthy to pay the price for all our sins.
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