Well, I think many who read the Bible may bump into this question when reading Romans 1:4, which says, "Who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord." We know in the divine Trinity there are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Since Christ was already the Son of God, why did He need to be designated the Son of God?
Thankfully, I found the answer from the New Testament Recovery Version. In the footnote on the word "designated" says,
"Before His incarnation Christ, the divine One, already was the Son of God (John 1:18; Rom. 8:3). By incarnation He put on an element, the human flesh, which had nothing to do with divinity; that part of Him needed to be sanctified and uplifted by passing through death and resurrection. By resurrection His human nature was sanctified, uplifted, and transformed. Hence, by resurrection He was designated the Son of God with His humanity (Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5). His resurrection was His designation."
I was marveled to see how Christ's resurrection has to do with the matter of designation. Christ not only died on the cross and resurrected on the third day to become a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b), but also His human element, humanity, in His resurrection was uplifted and sanctified and was brought into the divine sonship. That is, wow, man was brought into God!
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