Ezekiel--Son of Man
October 13, 2010

"And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee" (Ezekiel 2:1)

This is the first of more than 90 times in which the prophet Ezekiel is addressed by God as "Son of man."  This seems quite remarkable, as this title also was Christ's favourite title (using it 80 times), always applying it to Himself.

In Christ's case, of course, it means "representative man," "perfect man," "heir of man, [and] all God's promises to man," "man as God intended man to be." As Son of man, Jesus as perfect man could take all the sins of sinful man upon Himself and redeem man.

David was the first to use the term when he asked: "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:4).  That this was revealed to him in a Messianic sense becomes clear when it is quoted in the New Testament (Hebrews 2:6-9) and applied strictly to the Lord Jesus.  The prophet Daniel also used the title in a Messianic sense when he saw "one like the Son of man," who came to "the Ancient of days" to receive "everlasting dominion" over all men (Daniel 7:13-14).

Evidently the title as given by God to Ezekiel must also have been intended somehow in a Messianic sense, so that Ezekiel is, in effect, a type of the coming Saviour.  Ezekiel was a godly priest and scribe, but the Lord Jesus Christ is our "great high priest, that is passed into the heavens"—in fact, He is our "high priest for ever" (Hebrews 4:14; 6:20) and is "the Word of God" to the world (John 1:1, 14; Revelation 19:13).  It is significant that to Ezekiel was revealed more about the primeval fall of Satan (Ezekiel 28:11-19) and the glories of the coming kingdom (Ezekiel 40-48) than to any of the other Old Testament prophets.  Truly, God "spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets," but now, He has "spoken unto us by his Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2). HMM

For more . . . .

OLAADEGBU:


Ezekiel--Son of Man
October 13, 2010

"And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee" (Ezekiel 2:1)

This is the first of more than 90 times in which the prophet Ezekiel is addressed by God as "Son of man" 

This seems quite remarkable, as this title also was Christ's favourite title (using it 80 times), always applying it to Himself.

In Christ's case, of course, it means "representative man," "perfect man," "heir of man, [and] all God's promises to man," "man as God intended man to be."

As Son of man, Jesus as perfect man could take all the sins of sinful man upon Himself and redeem man.

David was the first to use the term when he asked:

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:4). 

That this was revealed to him in a Messianic sense becomes clear when it is quoted in the New Testament (Hebrews 2:6-9) and applied strictly to the Lord Jesus. 

The prophet Daniel also used the title in a Messianic sense when he saw "one like the Son of man," who came to "the Ancient of days" to receive "everlasting dominion" over all men (Daniel 7:13-14).

Evidently the title as given by God to Ezekiel must also have been intended somehow in a Messianic sense, so that Ezekiel is, in effect, a type of the coming Saviour. 

Ezekiel was a godly priest and scribe, but the Lord Jesus Christ is our "great high priest, that is passed into the heavens"

—in fact, He is our "high priest for ever" (Hebrews 4:14; 6:20) and is "the Word of God" to the world (John 1:1, 14; Revelation 19:13). 

It is significant that to Ezekiel was revealed more about the primeval fall of Satan (Ezekiel 28:11-19) and the glories of the coming kingdom (Ezekiel 40-48) than to any of the other Old Testament prophets. 

Truly, God "spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets," but now, He has "spoken unto us by his Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2). HMM

For more . . . .

@OLAADEGBU

I have always been intrigued in the appellations "son of man" and "Son of man"

Their meanings and significances

I think "son of man" first made appearances in the Bible from Numbers 23:19, Job 25:6, Job 35:8 etc in that order

Numbers 23:19:


God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent:

hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Job 25:4;6 KJV:


⁴How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

⁶How much less man, that is a worm? and [U]the son of man, which is a worm[/U]?

Job35:8:


Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man

In Ezekiel, probably out of role reversals, son of man and Son of man were interchangeable used for Ezekiel

Incidentally Daniel saw one like the Son of man in Daniel 7:13

whereas in the fiery furnance Nebuchadnezzar earlier in Daniel 3:25 saw a form of the fourth is like the Son of God

Daniel 3:25:


He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt;

and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Daniel 7:13:


I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven,

and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

Man, son of Man, Son of man and Son of God certainly are not alike as two peas in a pod

What's the distinctions.

"Man" - glaringly self explanatory . . .

"son of man" - exclusively born of man

"Son of man and Son of God" pertains to humanity and divinity

So here is where the fascination kicks. Why the Son of man choice?

Except from "s[/u]on of man" as opposed to "[u]S[/u]on of man" referring to Jesus, I concur with most of Henry Morris, Ph.D especially in the lines of:

the son of man is the fallen imperfect man and that the Son of man is the Exalted Perfect man

Unmistakably God considered visitation, associating with man or treated the same as man and putting Himself in man's place for a purpose

Hebrew 2:6:


But one in a certain place testified, saying, [u]What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?

In verses like Matt 8:20 or similar, God is making a conscious statement and affirming that He is identifying with man

Matthew 8:20:


And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head

Matt 16:13 is a if you like, the "awareness" moment

Matthew 16:13;16:


¹³When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

¹⁶And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God

Inspite of the revelation in Matt 16:16, he still refrained from using an alienating title

but rather wisely used an unassuming modest and humble title - Son of man

Matthew 18:11:


For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

@Recognise,

That was a good observation on your part there. Good job.  Below is an expository study by Dr. Henry Morris on the Son of God/Son of man question.

Son of God/Son of Man

"And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." (Matthew 8:20)

It is significant that although Christ clearly taught that He was the unique Son of God, He most frequently referred to Himself as Son of man, earnestly desiring that people understand His true and representative humanity.

The very first use of the phrase is in Psalm 8:4: "What is . . . the son of man, that thou visitest him?"  Although David may have been thinking of all "sons of Adam" in general, the writer of Hebrews applied the passage specifically to Christ (Hebrews 2:6), "that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).  In order to save lost men, God in Christ had to become man through supernatural incarnation.  Then, as perfect, sinless man, He could represent us before God, finally tasting death for every man.

The vital importance of the incarnation is affirmed by John: "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God" (1 John 4:2-3).  It is noteworthy that Satan and his evil spirits would recognise Christ as the Son of God (Matthew 4:3; 8:28-29), but never as the Son of man!  This reluctance seems also to characterise all the occultic philosophies of the so-called "New Age" movement, as well as all ancient and modern pantheistic religions.  They speak glibly of "the Christ" as a spirit which might come on many, but bitterly refuse to acknowledge that the man Jesus was actually the Son of man, God incarnate.

Finally, it is thrilling to realise that, although He only became the Son of man through His incarnation, He will always remain the Son of man!  John saw Him in His glory--as we shall see Him in eternity--as "one like unto the Son of man" (Revelation 1:13; 14:14).  HMM

OLAADEGBU:


@Recognise,

. . . It is significant that although Christ clearly taught that He was the unique Son of God, He most frequently referred to Himself as Son of man,

earnestly desiring that people understand His true and representative humanity.

@OLAADEGBU

Teach teacher!

. . . the incarnation bit is a stumbling block alright.

- Kini oo lese Olorun mi. Kini oo le se - Literally is anything too hard for God?

Thank you my fellow lord

. . . a couple of questions please

1) Can this quote ". . . earnestly desiring that people understand His true and representative humanity . . . " be made clearer?

2) What came first the chicken or the egg Son of man or Son of God?

2) Please can you expanciate more on "son of man" by comparing and contrasting its references and usages in Num 23:19 and Psalms 8:4

Numbers 23:19 KJV:


God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent:

hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Psalm 8:4:


What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"

Recognise:

@OLAADEGBU

Teach teacher!

. . . the incarnation bit is a stumbling block alright.

- Kini oo lese Olorun mi. Kini oo le se - Literally is anything too hard for God?

Here is the rendition of the song:

[flash=500,400]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kywXb31c2HA&hl=en&fs=1&[/flash]

Recognise:


Thank you my fellow lord

. . . a couple of questions please

1) Can this quote ". . . earnestly desiring that people understand His true and representative humanity . . . " be made clearer?

The next post will do justice to this.

Recognise:

2) What came first the chicken or the egg Son of man or Son of God?

Son of God.

Recognise:

2) Please can you expanciate more on "son of man" by comparing and contrasting its references and usages in Num 23:19 and Psalms 8:4

I think your first post answered this question.  Read the one after this to see if it deals with the ones that have not been covered.

The Incarnate Deity

"Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:5-7)

The entire gospel message runs counter to the human mind.  The Creator dying for the creation.  The judge paying the penalty for the guilty.  The immortal One dying.  Sinless God substituting for human sinners.  No human or devil ever could have thought of this scheme, and indeed, no such one did.  This is evidenced by the works-oriented salvation offered by all cults and false religions, as conjured up by such sources.

But make no mistake! The babe in the manger was the Creator, holy and eternal! "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. . . . All things were created by him, and for him: . . . that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself" (Colossians 1:15-20).

In order to qualify as a sacrificial substitute, He had to be born as a child into humankind, but without the inherited sin nature of His human parents.  A virgin birth was therefore necessary.

He had to live a sinless life.  He had to be fully human, but also fully God, so that His substitutionary death could apply to the sins of more than one guilty sinner.  He had to be "God with us," the meaning of the precious title Emmanuel (Matthew 1:23), as prophesied years before (Isaiah 7:14). JDM

Christ, by the highest Heav'n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord:
Late in the time behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail th'incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmamuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Do you remember this hymn?