The earthy Jesus was now seen as the
incarnation of this preexistent wisdom or Logos.
... Consequently, “Son of God” and “Son,” which
were originally terms expressive of Jesus’ role in salvation history,
acquire a metaphysical import and come to denote his divine being.
The Son of God
Many of the Hebraic phrases and abstract
concepts were foreign to the new Gentile leaders. Much of the confusion over
the divinity of Yeshua began with the first century messianic title, “Son of
God.” The Gentiles understood this phrase to mean, “God the Son.” Again,
this was not an effort to deceive anyone. It was simply the most natural
interpretation for someone in the Greek culture to have.
In The Doctrine of the Trinity Sir
Anthony Buzzard and Charles Hunting write:
Responsible historians, both secular and
religious, agree that the Jews of Jesus’ time held firmly to a faith in a
unipersonal God.
Church history shows that the concept of
even two equal persons in the Godhead – the Father and Son – did not receive
formal approval in the Christian community until three hundred years after
the ministry of Jesus, at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD.
This is not to ignore the controversy that
came about as a result of Jesus’ claim to be the “Son of God.” But that
claim should not be confused with the much later assertion by the Church
that he was “God, the Son.” [pp 29, 6, 37]