Why does the Bible tell us to believe in the Son of God? What does it mean to believe in the Son of God? Which one of Christ’s accomplished works for us corresponds to believing in the Son of God? If a person only believes that He is the Son of Man, can he be saved?
Christ was lifted up as a man; therefore, He included all of mankind. Because Christ died as a man, all men died (2 Cor. 5:14). Just as the action of the one man, Adam, included all of mankind, the work of the one man, Christ, included all of mankind. In order to understand redemption, we must see that Christ included all of mankind.
In order to show us that the priestly ministry of Melchisedec is greater than that of the sons of Levi, Hebrews 7:4 through 10 shows that Abraham offered Melchisedec a tenth of the spoils and also received Melchisedec’s blessings. Therefore, Melchisedec was greater than the sons of Levi. Why was this so? “For he [Levi] was still in the loins of his father when Melchisedec met him” (v. 10). We know that Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Levi. Levi was Abraham’s great-grandchild. When Abraham offered his tithe and received the blessings, not only was Levi not yet born, but his father and grandfather were not yet born either. However, the Bible reckons Abraham’s offering of tithes and receiving of the blessings as Levi’s offering of tithes and receiving of the blessings. Since Abraham was less than Melchisedec, Levi must also have been less than Melchisedec. This matter helps us to understand that when Adam sinned, all men were in the loins of Adam and all sinned. Similarly, when Christ died, all men were in Him and all men also died.
Christ as the Son of Man has terminated everything of Adam, and Christ as the Son of God has begun the new creation. Christ is the last Adam. Through death He has terminated the old creation, and through resurrection He has begun the new creation. Through death Christ has dealt with sins; through resurrection Christ has given us life. For this reason, the Bible tells us to believe in the Son of God.
Believing in the Son of God means believing in the Lord’s resurrection, because the Lord was “designated the Son of God in power...out of the resurrection of the dead” (Rom. 1:4). Psalm 2:7 says, “You are My Son;/Today I have begotten You.” Acts 13:33 tells us that the Lord’s resurrection fulfilled the word in Psalm 2:7.
Believing in the Son of God corresponds to the resurrection that Christ accomplished for us.
If a person only believes that Christ is the Son of Man, he cannot be saved. He has to believe that He is both the Son of Man and the Son of God in order to be saved. Christ not only died; He also resurrected. He not only bore our sins; He also abolished death. He not only causes us to not perish; He also gives us eternal life.
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