Question:
How can Christians say that Jesus is God's Son? God is not like us where he can have a child.

Answer:
It is certainly true that God does not have children. Jesus said, "God is Spirit." (John 4:24) God does not have children with anyone. This is an offensive thought not only to Muslims but also to Christians. Anyone who believes in the Bible would never say that God could have children like a creature. That would be blasphemy (dishonoring God). God did not have a child with Mary.

And yet Jesus refers to himself as the Son of God. There was a man named Lazarus who became sick and died. He was dead four days when Jesus came to the home of his sisters. Of course everyone was filled with grief at the loss of their friend. But then Jesus arrived. He went to the tomb and called Lazarus out of the grave. Lazarus walked out alive! Jesus demonstrated and lived the truth that he said earlier, "Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it." (John 5:21)

What did Jesus mean when he called himself the Son of God? First of all the term son does not always mean a physical descent with a definite beginning. For example we speak of individuals being the Father of a nation. In the United States they speak of the founding fathers. These men of course did not physically give birth to the nation. A man named Joseph was given the name Barnabas by Jesus’ followers. Barnabas means "son of encouragement." They were saying that Barnabas was a man who encouraged everyone around him. He had that quality. Sometimes the term son is used in the Bible to refer to what a person is. In Genesis 5:32 it tells us that Noah was a son of 500 years which means he was 500 years old. In Ephesians 2:2 the Apostle refers to disobedient people as "sons of disobedience." That is what they were.

Jesus actually calls himself not only the Son of God but also the Son of Man. Not many people have trouble with Jesus when he says that he is the Son of Man. Most people recognize that Jesus was a human being. But when he called himself the Son of God many people were angry with him. Why? Because he was saying that he was equal with God, something that could not be true for any mere man. You see this in John 5:18. "For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God."

As the Son of God Jesus has authority and power. He has power that only God would have, for example he has the power to give life. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man." (John 5:25-27) Here you see that Jesus will raise the dead on the last day and even judge the people of the earth. What will that judgment be? To those who have a relationship with Jesus it will mean life. That is why one of Jesus followers said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:68-69)

When Jesus uses the term "Son of God" he does not mean that God had or created a child with Mary. One of the things that Jesus does mean is that he is equal with God and he has the authority and power that only God would have. This could only be true if Jesus were God. Man could never become God, that is an insult to Creator. But God who can do anything, if he so chose, could become man. That is what God did in his love and mercy toward us.

There is certainly more we could say on this issue and about the titles "Son of Man" and "Son of God." But instead of just writing in general I want to invite your further questions and comments. In this way I can answer you specific questions about Jesus the Son of God.