When we read scriptures like this
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.And these :
Romans 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.They showcase that being a son of God is tied to Obedience and Faith in Christ. What of the opposite though? Does that show that to be called "sons of men" always means "secular?"
Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Perhaps secular is too strong a word but I always see the term tied to judgement and its relational to passages where men are not walking by the Spirit or by faith in God. I've listed all the places that I could find it so lets take a look. First mention I've found is Genesis 11:5 in reference to the tower of Babel. The sons of men being a reference to Nimrod and all who went with him.
Genesis 11:5 5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.We KNOW that was self determinationism.
1 kings 8:38-39
38 whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his hands toward this house; 39 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men
This one is seeming that it is talking about God forgiving after trying the hearts of the sons of men- the contexts being that they have not walked in His ways prior. This is consistent with them having walked contrary to the Spirit.
2 Chronicles 6:29-30 whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own pain, and spreading his hands toward this house, 30 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men
It looks like its the same story of 1 Kings, that they had walked contrary to God again, and the passage about knowing the hearts that men - forgiving them that they might fear God and then walk by the Spirit.
Psalms has a lot of mentions
4:2
O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah.
Sons of men = offended by honor, love what is worthless.
11:4
The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
Neither good nor bad in this context. neither for nor against the theory.
12:1
Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be, For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
Direct contrast of the godly vs the sons of men.
12:8
The wicked strut about on every side When vileness is exalted among the sons of men
Sons of men = wicked
14:2
The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God.
Sons of men, not seeking God nor understanding.
21:8-10 :
Your hand will find out all your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate you. 9 You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger; The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, And fire will devour them. 10 Their offspring You will destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men. Their offspring You will destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men.
Lot of God's wrath and anger to these sons of men
31:18-20
Let the lying lips be mute, Which speak arrogantly against the righteous With pride and contempt. 19 How great is Your goodness,Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of men! 20 You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.
God delivers those who love Him from the sons of men who speak arrogantly against the righteous.
33:13-17
The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; 14 From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works. 16 The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength. 17 A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
Son of man = one who is confident in the flesh and self determinationism.
psalm 45:3-5 contrasts Gods grace vs the sons of men and immediately goes into destruction of opposition
45:3-5
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; There is no one who does good. 2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there is anyone who understands, Who seeks after God. 3 Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.
Sons of men = corrupt
57:4
My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows And their tongue a sharp sword.
Sons of men = bad
58:1-3
Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men? 2 No, in heart you work unrighteousness; On earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.
Sons of men are compared to wicked judges/gods as in false gods who are no gods at all. They deal out violence and pervert justice. This is comparison can be made to Eve in the garden who was tempted by the fruit to be like God knowing good and evil for herself... rather than what God defines as good and evil.
66:3-7
Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You. 4 “All the earth will worship You, And will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name.” Selah. 5 Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men. He turned the sea into dry land; They passed through the river on foot; There let us rejoice in Him!7 He rules by His might forever; His eyes keep watch on the nations; Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
When we look at verse 5 a case could be made that it directs back to verse 3 about how God's enemies have faked obedience because of God's might, and that fits with verse 7 which is about how God keeps watch so that the rebellious not exalt themselves.
89:46-477Sons of men = vanity that kindle God's wrath.
How long, O Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember what my span of life is; For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!
107:4-11
They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region; They did not find a way to an inhabited city. 5 They were hungry and thirsty; Their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses. 7 He led them also by a straight way, To go to an inhabited city. 8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! 9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good. 10 There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains, 11 Because they had rebelled against the words of God And spurned the counsel of the Most High. Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was none to help.13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.
God saves the sons of men who were proud in heart and afflicted because of their rebellion against the word of God.
115:2-17
Why should the nations say, “Where, now, is their God?” 3 But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; 6 They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; 7 They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat. 8 Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them. 9 O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 12 The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. 13 He will bless those who fear the Lord, The small together with the great. 14 May the Lord give you increase, You and your children. 15 May you be blessed of the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. 16 The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, But the earth He has given to the sons of men. 17 The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor do any who go down into silence
We see these fleshly nations as the sons of men here who asking where the God of believers is, which is answered: In heaven. The contrast is evident in verse 16 and 17 which shows that these sons of men have the earth, with their idols and things of the world - but believers and God have heaven. They go to the grave, not eternal life with Christ.
145:10-12
All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You. 11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; 12 To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.
Godly ones are preaching of the kingdom to the sons of men. That was a lot of Psalms.
Proverbs 8:3
Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she cries out: 4 “To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men. 5 “O naive ones, understand prudence; And, O fools, understand wisdom.
Sons of men are contrary to wisdom, are fools, and naive.
Ecclesiastes 1:13-15Vanity and striving after the wind/nothingness.
13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.
Ecclesiastes 2:1-3Drunken pleasure and carnality = ways of the sons of men.
I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 2 I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.
Ecclesiastes 9:3Sons of men = Evil hearts and insanity throughout their whole lives.
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.
Jer 32:18-19Sons of men = Iniquity
who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The Lord of hosts is His name; 19 great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds
Lamentations 3:31-34
For the Lord will not reject forever, 32 For if He causes grief, Then He will have compassion According to His abundant lovingkindness. 33 For He does not afflict willingly Or grieve the sons of men.34 To crush under His feet All the prisoners of the land
Sons of men = prisoners and afflicted and rejected
Ezekiel 31:14Sons of men = those who go down into death and the pit.
14 so that all the trees by the waters may not be exalted in their stature, nor set their top among the clouds, nor their well-watered mighty ones stand erect in their height. For they have all been given over to death, to the earth beneath, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit.”
Daniel 2:36-38Sons of men are ruled over by the king of Babylon as God gave them into his hands. (not a good thing)
36 “This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king. 37 You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; 38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold.
Joel 1:11-13
Be ashamed, O farmers, Wail, O vinedressers, For the wheat and the barley; Because the harvest of the field is destroyed. 12 The vine dries up And the fig tree fails; The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree, All the trees of the field dry up. Indeed, rejoicing dries up From the sons of men. 13 Gird yourselves with sackcloth And lament, O priests; Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth O ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God.
Sons of men = those suffering as God is not honored as commanded.
Micah 5:6-8This one seems to contrast the favor of Jacob and the Lord blessing them with that of Nimrod and the Assyrians who delay at the time of harvest and = Sons of men.
They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, The land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian When he attacks our land And when he tramples our territory. 7 Then the remnant of Jacob Will be among many peoples Like dew from the Lord, Like showers on vegetation Which do not wait for man Or delay for the sons of men. 8 The remnant of Jacob Will be among the nations, Among many peoples Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, Which, if he passes through, Tramples down and tears, And there is none to rescue.
Mark 3:28The sons of men here being blasphemers.
“Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter
Ephesians 3:4-6
By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel
These sons of men didn't understand the mystery of Christ, which is that Christ has allowed these gentiles, who at one time were not walking in accordance to Christ or obedience to God, who were dead in their transgressions and lawlessness - to repent and become obedient Sons of God.
As stated at the top of this post, sons of men is the opposite of Sons of God
The Sons of God are contrary to everything that we have just established in the sons of men. Sons of God do not continue in sin, like those who are sons of men have been walking in sin.1 John 3:9-10No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother and sister.
Romans 9:25-27“I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel may be like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved
When we see that Sons of God are obedient, and faithful...
And we see "sons of men" as a pejorative meaning those in sin and evil and licentiousness...
Then if we read Genesis 6 with these definitions, we can see that the "Sons of God" were led astray by the "daughters of men." They wouldn't be called sons of men in this connotation because they're women- but the definition would still fit in the context of everything that we have shown here because the result is forsaking God and the world engaging in violence and wickedness.
