Hebrews: God Speaks About His Son

Hebrews 1:5; Psalm 2:7; 2 Samuel 7:12-16 - One verse in Hebrews opens the door to a discussion of the Trinity and the Davidic Covenant.

Photo by Stephanie LeBlanc on Unsplash

“For to which of the angels did He ever say,

“You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You”?

And again, “I will be a Father to Him

And He shall be a Son to Me”?”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The writer of Hebrews wastes no time getting to one of the great and mysterious aspects of the Christian faith: The eternal Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This verse also raises Jesus above the angels, as they were never given this role. Angels were considered powerful and mysterious in the Old Testament and the distinction between them and the Son must be made as soon as possible for the intended audience of this epistle.

According to many scholars, the first part of this verse is from Psalm 2:7:

““I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

And second part of this verse is traced back to 2 Samuel 7, which is intriguing:

“When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ””

‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭7‬:‭12‬-‭16‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The verse in 2 Samuel is first referring to Solomon. Nathan is speaking prophecy to David, but then he says that another descendant will establish the throne of his (David’s) kingdom forever. The Son never committed an iniquity, obviously, so that is targeted at Solomon, who began his days as a man of wisdom but did not end his days well.

The first part of Hebrews 5 opens up a can of worms among Biblical scholars. There are some who have taken this to mean that the Son was not always called the Son with the Father in eternity but was begotten as a Son at one time (“today”). What it really means is that God has never called an angel His Son, but only the Trinitarian Son gets this designation. One of those scholars, interestingly, that had an incarnational sonship viewpoint was the late John MacArthur. MacArthur changed his mind, but not before some of his most popular resources were published. Here’s the story about this from Precept Austin:

The next phrase to dissect is TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU. The interpretation is not as simple as you might think. One might interpret “today“ as reference to Jesus’ incarnation as the God-Man and say that event corresponded to when He became God’s Son. The implication of this interpretation is that Jesus was not the “Son“ before His incarnation, and is a view known as incarnational Sonship. This interpretation holds that while Christ did pre-exist before His incarnation, his pre-existence was NOT as the SON. This view has been taught by several evangelicals writers, the most prominent being John MacArthur, who thankfully has changed his view to agree with the eternality of the Son. (See Eternal Sonship of Christ - NB: unfortunately both MacArthur’s Study Bible and his Hebrews Commentary still teach “incarnational Sonship” but in fairness once something is in book form, it is difficult to correct errors like this one!). Suffice it to say, the interpretation of so-called incarnational Sonship is not correct, because Jesus did not become the Son at His incarnation but He has eternally been the Son of God.

Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

We have the MacArthur Study Bible as a dead-tree resource if we are camping somewhere without an internet, but I never stumbled across this teaching. Precept Austin points us in the direction of a superb explanation of the eternal sonship of Christ from Gotquestions.org; I’ll excerpt a few paragraphs. I recommend carefully reading this, because I believe it is a really good explanation for the Triune God:

The doctrine of eternal Sonship simply affirms that the second Person of the triune Godhead has eternally existed as the Son. In other words, there was never a time when He was not the Son of God, and there has always been a Father-Son relationship within the Godhead. This doctrine recognizes the idea of sonship is not merely a title or role that Christ assumed at some specific point in history, but is the essential identity of the second Person of the Godhead. According to this doctrine, Christ is and always has been the Son of God.

Yes, the eternal Sonship is biblical and is the most widely held view throughout church history. That said, there are evangelical Christians on both sides of this debate. Those who deny the doctrine of eternal Sonship are not denying the triune nature of God or the deity or eternality of Christ, and those who embrace the eternal Sonship of Christ are not implying that Jesus Christ is anything less than fully God.

….

There is considerable biblical evidence to support the doctrine of the eternal Sonship of Christ. First, many passages clearly identify “the Son” as the one who created all things (Colossians 1:13–16; Hebrews 1:2), thereby strongly implying that Christ was the Son of God at the time of creation. The most normal and natural meaning of such passages is that the second Person of the Godhead has always been the Son and, by extension, the Father has always been the Father and the Spirit has always been the Spirit.

Second, there are numerous verses that speak of God the Father sending the Son into the world to redeem sinful man (John 20:21; Galatians 4:4; 1 John 4:10, 14) and giving His Son as a sacrifice for sin (John 3:16). All these passages strongly suggest that Christ was “the Son” before He was sent into the world. According to Galatians 4:4–6, for example, both the Son and the Spirit were “sent forth.” The Holy Spirit did not become the Holy Spirit when He was sent to empower the believers at Pentecost, and neither did the Son become the Son at His Incarnation. All three Persons of the Triune Godhead have existed for all eternity, and their names, Father, Son, and Spirit, reveal who they are, not simply their title or function.

Third, 1 John 3:8 speaks of the appearance or manifestation of the Son of God: “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (ESV). The verb appeared in this context means “made visible or brought to light.” The idea is that something that was previously hidden has been made manifest. The verse communicates not that the second Person of the Trinity “became” the Son of God, but that the already existing Son of God was “made manifest” or “appeared” in order to fulfill God’s predetermined purpose. See also John 11:27 and 1 John 5:20.

Fourth, Hebrews 13:8 teaches that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” This truth also supports the doctrine of eternal Sonship. If Christ’s divine nature is unchanging, and sonship is an essential part of His Person, then He has always been the Son of God. At the Incarnation the Son took on human flesh, but His divine nature did not change, nor did His relationship with the Father. This same truth is also implied in John’s purpose in writing his Gospel: “These [things] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). John does not say that Christ “became” the Son of God but that He “is” the Son of God.

…

Those who deny the doctrine of eternal Sonship often hold the view of incarnational Sonship, which teaches the preexistence of Christ, although not as the Son of God. Those who hold this view affirm the deity and eternality of Christ but believe that He becamethe Son of God at some point in time. The most common view is that Christ became the Son at His Incarnation—when He took on human flesh, He also took on a new role as Son of God. Variant theories take the position that Christ became the Son at His baptism, at His resurrection, or at His exaltation.

Those who hold the view of incarnational Sonship do not see sonship as being an essential part of who Christ is; rather, they see it as being a role or a title or function that Christ assumed at His Incarnation. A companion teaching is that God became the Father at the time of Christ’s Incarnation. Throughout history many conservative Christians held to incarnational Sonship rather than eternal Sonship, including Ralph Wardlaw, Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, Finis J. Dake, Walter Martin, and at one time John MacArthur. However, several years ago John MacArthur changed his position on this doctrine, and he now affirms the doctrine of eternal Sonship.

…

We believe that the better view is that the Son of God is indeed God the Son. He has always been the Son, from eternity past. He is eternally begotten of the Father. Hebrews 1:5 (and Psalm 2:7) is best understood as a declaration of Jesus’ deity. The whole point of Hebrews 1 is that “the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:4). Christ’s identification as the only begotten Son of the Father is not a title conferred upon Him but proof of His divine nature—a nature that is both eternal and unchanging.

I can imagine that differences in doctrine about the eternal and Triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) have been one of the reasons for this (my famous spaghetti chart from my study of Philippians) - Note: This chart is attributed to TruthforSaints.org:

Understanding the Three-in-One mystery of the Trinity is way above my pay grade and is one of those beautiful things about our faith that I will eventually understand but not in my life. Our minds are linear and temporal, so understanding eternity and a supreme being who is actually three beings but can also be characterized as each being of the three is beyond human comprehension, although this has been tried through such things as the Nicene Creed. I would mouth without thinking or any comprehension this occasionally spoken statement of faith in my days at a Lutheran Church (found on Precept Austin):

I believe in one God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spake by the Prophets. And one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

This has some areas of controversy, too. Baptism is a declaration of faith, not a requirement for salvation. Gotquestions.org has this to say about the Nicene Creed:

Other than the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed is likely the most universally accepted and recognized statements of the Christian faith. The Nicene Creed was first adopted in A.D. 325 at the Council of Nicea. The Roman Emperor Constantine had convened the Council of Nicea in an attempt to unify the Christian church with one doctrine, especially on the issues of the Trinity and the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ.

…

Overall, the Nicene Creed is a good summary of Christian doctrine. There are two primary issues, however. The first regards the phrase “catholic and apostolic church”—this does not refer to the Roman Catholic Church as we know it today. The word “catholic” means “universal.” (The true “catholic” church is all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Please see our article on the universal church.) Also, “apostolic” means “built on the teaching of the apostles” and is not a statement of support for apostolic succession. Second, “baptism for the remission of sins” is a much misunderstood concept. See Is baptism necessary for salvation?

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

I realize I haven’t dug very much the second part of this single verse yet. This phrase in Hebrew 1:5, as I noted, is taken from 2 Samuel 7. This is the first mention of what is known as the Davidic Covenant, as spoken to David by the Prophet Nathan. Gotquestion.org is my go-to resource today! Here is what they say about this eternal covenant:

The Davidic Covenant refers to God’s promises to David through Nathan the prophet and is found in 2 Samuel 7 and later summarized in 1 Chronicles 17:11–14 and 2 Chronicles 6:16. This is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom that would endure forever. The Davidic Covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon its fulfillment. The surety of the promises made rests solely on God’s faithfulness and does not depend at all on David or Israel’s obedience.

God did not promise this to angels but to the descendants of David, culminating in the Messiah. By the way, if anyone wants to read the statement of faith from the many contributors to Gotquestions.org, it can be found here. I find it to be a really superb resource.

My next devotional examines Hebrews 1:6-7 - The Angels Shall Worship Him.

---

Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - You have inspired believers to catch a glimpse of the mystery of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and You have promised the eternal kingdom to the House of David and not to angels. Amen.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Precept Austin was accessed on 10/04/2025 to review commentary for Hebrews 1:5.

Gotquestions.org was accessed on 10/04/2025 to answer questions about eternal sonship, the Nicene Creed, and the Davidic Covenant. © COPYRIGHT 2002-2025 GOT QUESTIONS MINISTRIES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.