Son of God, Son of Man

Son of God : benei Elohim, this is literally translated as ‘son of a/the mighty one’ mighty one being a god or God.

Son of Man: benei adam, this literally translates as son of the earth. 

When reading carefully and paying attention to literal meanings, it's seen that Adam was created as a 'benei Elohim', bearing the image of God, as well as a 'benei adam' a son of the earth.

Luke 3:38 actually calls Adam the son of God. Adam was not born in the image of God, he was made that way. He was created from earth (son of adamah - earth) in the image and likeness of the Creator, and then the 'breath' was blown into him, making him a living being. This set him apart from all the rest of God’s creation.  The beasts had the 'breath' as well, but they were not made in the image of the Creator.
 

Y’shua also was referred to as an ‘Adam’ in 1 Corinthians 15:45:

And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 

(Refer to 1 Corinthians 15:22 and Romans 5:12-21 for more on this comparison/contrast.)

Again, reading carefully, it's seen that Y’shua was not born as a ‘regular’ man is, from the will of a human father or from the physical act of procreation. We see the being formed in Mary’s womb, while very much physical, was the result of a spiritual decision, as the first Adam was:

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God. Luke 1:35

The Greek word for ‘shadow’ implies influence, presence, enveloping, and implies a supernatural and authoritative nature. It is not clearly stated that the ‘breath’ will be given to the child to be born, but it is strongly implied in the language used. Especially when read together with the other references above.

The first Adam was a son of the earth as well as a son of God. The last Adam can also be seen as a son of the earth (a physical being) as well as a son of God. It can been seen that these both are physical but with a spiritual authourity granted because of who their Father is. Not all sons of Adam are also sons of Elohim! Only those whose Father is Elohim are sons of Elohim.

 

All men after Adam were born in the image of Adam/Eve. While it can be said they inherited the image of God, it was not specifically given them in the same way. We see this supported in the language of the Greek writings (New Testament) when we learn one must be ‘reborn’ into the kingdom of heaven. It is not inherited. All must be individually born into it (John 3:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:3 and 23). The children/sons of God in these writings are spiritual children in physical bodies, made complete upon resurrection from the first death. This is implied as not having happened yet, as the creation is waiting for their revealing (Romans 8:19). They are here, but hidden. Sons of God and sons of Adam. Brothers of THE son of God/son of Man, who is called the firstborn of many brothers (Romans 8:29).

One who is a son of God and a son of man is a complete being, complete as Adam was in the garden, and as Y’shua was after resurrection, in a physical body, but different. This is how we were meant to be. But sin, seemingly both inherited and personal, prevents us from this.

 

There are references in the Tanakh (Old Testament) to sons of God and sons of man.  It could be assumed that the 'elohim' referred to here is YHVH, but that's not specifically said, so we should be careful not to read into it. It's quite possible that 'elohim' in this case refers to is one who is a powerful ruler. We see in Genesis 6 that the sons of God went into the daughters of men and had children by them. These offspring were indeed powerful, but their ‘fruit’, their offspring, was not honouring to YHVH.

We see spiritual beings called sons of God in Job 1, 2 and 38. Also Daniel 3:25. We see a reference to one called ‘the Son’ as the anointed one (Messiah, Christ) in Psalm 2, here the language strongly implies a son of God.

We read of ‘son of man’ in Numbers 23:19 (God is not a man, nor a son of man) and in the Psalms, Job, Isaiah and Jeremiah. Ezekiel is called son of man throughout his visions. Daniel is also called ‘son of man.

 

The references to ‘sons of God’ and ‘sons of man’ are frequent throughout the Greek writings. A topic for further study!