Bible Study: Who are the sons of God?


sons of GodThe title of posts are just straight up give-aways aren’t they? If you haven’t figured it out already, this is a Bible Study about the “sons of God” and who they are. It’s just kind of hard to get a good search engine result with a clever title like “Going to church with the sons of God”. Lets make that the unofficial title! :)

Some Backstory:
When I first came to know the truth, this was one of my first questions of which I was blown away by the answer. It was one of those WOW (Wide Open Word) moments.

Let’s start off with the root of the question. Who was specifically labeled a “son” of God in the scripture? We have:

Adam – One verse – Luke 3:38
Jesus – Various verses, here are some specific ones, thought definitely not limited to these only – Matthew 8:29, 27:54, Mark 1:1, 5:7, Luke 8:28, John 20:31, Acts 3:13, 26, 8:37, 1 Corinthians 1:9, 2 Corinthians 1:19, Hebrews 4:14, 1 John 4:15, 5:5, 20

These two sons were both men. Though very different men, still men all the same.

No one else was labeled “son of God” in this type of instance. But that doesn’t explain verses like: Genesis 6:2, 4, Job 1:6, 2:1, Job 38:7, Hosea 1:10, John 1:12, Romans 8:14, 19, Philippians 2:15, 1 John 3:1-2

These talk about the “sons of God”, plural, which means there is probably more than 2 sons and not 4000 years apart. (referring to Jesus and Adam) I will address all of those verses mentioned above.

In Genesis – “sons of God”

In Genesis we see the sons of God taking daughters of men as wives.

That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Genesis 6:2

Well that can be confusing, can’t it? It almost sounds like the sons of God are not normal people when it separates them from the daughters of men. The key word there is separate because they were separate, they were the sons of God after all. Hold that thought for a couple minutes, we will get back to the separation further down the page.

I would also like to mention there is an argument about the “sons of God” being angels. Not real sure how that claim can be made except for these other version of the Bible changing the word. I say this because if they were angels, how could they have taken any woman to have as a wife? We know angels don’t get married from Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25. That should blow a hole right through that theory. :)

I will just let that theory sink for a second… because it has a hole in it.

Then there is some kind of confusion with this verse.

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.

Genesis 6:4

So there were giants in the earth. I’m not sure why that was there except to state a fact that there were “giants in the earth”. For some reason there is also a basis to the angel theory above: these giants were “offspring” of the sons of God and daughters of men. However, there is still the hole in the theory with the marriage thing and angels. The only thing in the verse referring to offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men is the “mighty men which were of old”. This is still referring to the offspring being “men” not anything more or less. Might is just another word for strength incase you are wondering and there are more reference to men who were mighty later on in the scriptures.

Now let’s delve into the mention of separation between the sons of God and the daughters of men: We as the Church are supposed to be separate from the world, a peculiar people, right?

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

1 Peter 2:9

This next verse explains why God had a problem with the sons of God taking the daughters of men as wives.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

2 Corinthians 6:14

We know God has a people and he has since the beginning… remember Adam? Adam had two sons, Cain and Abel. When Cain killed Abel, Cain was then removed. We can see this in Genesis 4:14 and the lineage in Luke 3:38 reading backwards. But who replaced Cain? For obvious reasons Abel couldn’t… Seth was then the anointed seed, he was set in place as the first born, part of the sons of God, Genesis 4:25. Later on we see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob… these all had the “birthright”. David was not the first born but he had received the anointing, same for Solomon. Basically it shows the lineage all the way to Jesus and this shows the sons of God.

This original lineage was the sons of God, this bloodline was separate from the men of the world, like it always has been. This also explains why God is the Father, he created his people he is the Father of them all.

I wonder if any of this is starting to make any sense.

In Job – “sons of God”

Here is another couple of doozies which kind of makes some people think “angels” instead of “men” or “people”.

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

Job 1:6

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 2:1

We attend a church services on Sunday, I am almost certain this “attending a service” routine didn’t start this last century. :) My point here is these sons of God were attending a type of church service when they were presenting themselves. They were having church. As a side note this also shows Satan comes to the fellowship when everyone else does.

As far as the presenting part, this was a common practice for God’s people:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Deuteronomy 31:14

And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

Joshua 24:1

This next one I find particularly fascinating:

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

Job 38:7

This fascinating verse – this is one of three verses that has the phrase “morning stars” in it. At the same time, this is the only one of those verses that has the plural form of “star”. The other two verses use the singular form. Neither of them refer to the “morning star” to be an angel.

And I will give him the morning star.

Revelation 2:28

I really have no explanation of Revelation 2:28, you are welcome to look it up and read the context but it doesn’t reference what the “morning star” is that is “being given”. It could, however, be referring to Jesus giving himself because of the next verse

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Revelation 22:16

This shows Jesus is “the bright and morning star”. Either way, the morning star is not an angel.

The rest of the Job verse is simply speaking about the sons of God shouting for joy. In the context of the verse, God is asking Job questions to which Job doesn’t have answers. It is not saying “the sons of God shouted for joy when the earth was created” – which, interestingly enough, people want to say it is saying that exact phrase.

But there isn’t explicit information here that says when they were “shouting for joy”.

Nail in the Coffin

This next verse truly is the final nail in the waterlogged coffin:

Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

Hosea 1:10

The children of Israel (which are men) are referenced as “the sons of the living God” another way of saying “the sons of God”. In the same verse it is showing the same group of people were called “God’s people”.

Old Testament Recap:

It is disputed that it can’t be the line of Seth because that means everyone here is part of the sons of God. Everyone came from Noah, then this means Hitler was a son of God. This is what is called a strawman argument. It is created when you misrepresent another persons belief and attack that misrepresentation.

The actual belief being held here is: the “sons of God” are “God’s people”. Not everyone from Noah to now are part of the “God’s people” group. It is very clear that not everyone from Noah was part of the “God’s people” group. I mean, think about it… it has some serious implications if everyone continued to be “God’s people”. Like I don’t know, the Hosea verse for example. :)

Now, I am not saying, “you can’t be part of that group if you are not already” because you can! God made a way! And this way is made in the New Testament.

The New Testament

Every verse in the New Testament, which has the phrase “sons of God” is always referring to men, which are “God’s people(!!)”, just like the Old Testament.

Here they are:

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:

John 1:12

The surrounding scriptures show this is Jesus and he gives them power to become the sons of God. Being born of God. This is starting to sound like Romans 11:17 and being graffed (or grafted) in to the olive tree.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Romans 8:14

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Romans 8:19

Being led by the Spirit of God? If we are counting holes for the angel theory, then I think this is number three. These verses and the surrounding verses also talk about being children of God, joint-heirs with Christ (the son of God). Being one with Jesus the son makes us also sons.

This next one is a good example of the separation and how we are not like the rest of the world:

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;

Philippians 2:15

This last one shows the love he bestows upon his people, the sons of God, and shall be like him and we shall see him as he is:

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. 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.

1 John 3:1-2

I feel the biblical answer has been given for the biblical question that was asked.

Full Recap

What or Who were the sons of God? God’s people!

What were the sons of God? They were men, living and breathing men.

Who were the sons of God? Originally it was the lineage of Seth who were part of Gods chosen people. This changed over time. There are such things as “proselytes” which you can do a google search, I guess.

Who are the sons of God? Now, “the sons of God” includes those of us who are graffed into that lineage. We who have the salvation and keep it are the sons of God. The church is the sons of God.

At this point you might have a new question, “Who were the ‘daughters of men’?”

Now that you know who the “sons of God” are, this questions is easier to answer. Anything regarding the sons or daughters of men is: everyone else not a part of the lineage of Seth. Originally Cain’s lineage or those who were removed from the sons of God lineage, like Esau. Those who have not been graffed into the church. Those that are not partaking of the heavenly calling – as the writer of Hebrews calls it.

I hope you enjoyed this Bible Study as much as I have writing it. The Lord revealed a few things to me in the process of writing it and showed me more I didn’t already know. I especially like the part where Adam was the image of Jesus as the first and then Jesus was the last in the the lineage sons of God, we being one with Jesus when we are graffed in. :)

The last thing I want to do here is make a single request. If you liked this post, then I challenge you to share it with someone you think this will help. Whether it will help them in their journey of learning about God’s word and growing in grace and knowledge or if they are simply looking for an answer to their question about the sons of God.

In all things, let the Lord be magnified.


8 responses to “Bible Study: Who are the sons of God?”

    • I really don’t have any response to you other than, “their parents”. Just like Goliath and his three brothers were sons of a giant. Genesis is simply stating “there were giants in the earth in those days”.

      Thanks for the question Eric!

  1. This does not sit well in my spirit . this is twisting Gods’ words. yes Adam and Jesus are sons of God. Jesus being his first creation and the key or access to our Father. Adam being the first son of creation, and God said let us create man in our image and likeness. the bible also states that our Father took extra time in molding us, we were not created with the word then He breathed his very own breath of life in man. however Jesus was and all
    ways will be. the two sons of God plays a very important role in our relation with our Father, by one son was the world condemn for the wages of sin is death. Also by one son was the world redeemed. Having being born of corruptible flesh after the first sin, the word needed a savior who was spotless free from sin. this son gave up his life in obedience to his father and out of love so that the separation of man from God would be breached. these are the two sons you spoke of also we are all called sons and daughters of God but like us the Angels were also known as sons of God.there are many scripture verses which backs this up. Job like you quoted is excellent. and at a certain time when the sons of God gathered before the Lord, Satan also presented himself before God. can the mortal man present himself before God as these sons of God did? Ask these question why did Satan visited God? this was because he could not Touch Job without Gods’ permission. he was certain he could win Job over and God allowed him to touch Job without taking his life.
    the sons of men of Genesis and Job are of the same character. it states that the sons of God took wives from the daughters of men. if these sons were in fact human why did it grieved God and he gave their age span to one hundred and twenty years? the first offspring were referred to giants while the offspring of the giants were refereed to as mighty men which were of old, men of reknown.

    who taught man, the building skills, technology and the art of war? who stands more with us Waring with it other than uniting in praise and worship with one accord?

    in conclusion it is my beliefs that there were mortal sons of God while there were immortal.

    • Hi Althea,

      You have raised some concerns that many people have. Your comment has a lot of information, I will do my best to address each of your concerns as concisely as possible.

      You asked: “Can the mortal man present himself before God as these sons of God did?”

      The answer is: Yes, besides the scriptures in Job there are other verses.
      Those verses are: Deuteronomy 31:14 & Joshua 24:1 both of these are referenced in the article.
      This “presenting” was done by mortal men in these other verses.

      You asked: “why did Satan visited God?”

      I don’t see where it says he “visited God”. I see “and Satan came also among them.”

      Now let’s ask, “why would he be also among them?”

      Satan is labeled “the accuser of our brethren” in Revelation 12:10 it goes on to say in the same verse that he “accused them before our God day and night”.

      This should explain why he was among the sons of God.

      You asked: “if these sons were in fact human why did it grieved God and he gave their age span to one hundred and twenty years?”

      In the article above, I explain the separation. This would likely be the “reason” he was grieved, for God is a jealous God. The transgression of not staying separate showed him the was no longer “their God” and they were no longer “his people”.
      The penalty inflicted was apparently put on the age span.

      You said: “the first offspring were referred to giants while the offspring of the giants were refereed to as mighty men which were of old, men of reknown.”

      My apologies, but this which you have said is unable to be inferred from the available verses in Genesis. What you have done here is called Eisegesis aka “reading into the text”.

      According to our English language, that which you have “inferred” is not there. I also encourage you to read the article again. I do address the “giants” part of the passage in Genesis 6.

      Dakota

      • Then there is this:
        4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

        5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

        6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

        7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

        8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

        He (God) NEVER calls or refers to an angel as a son of any kind. Just because they were created by God does not make them sons. We don’t refer to animals as “sons” and they were created.

        Excellent article! BTW

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