What Does Psalm 2:7 Mean?
Psalm 2:77 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
The King (of v. 6) here speaks and begins quoting the law (decree) what the Father has told Him. What is difficult is “today I have begotten you.” What is that?
What Does “Today I have begotten you” Mean?
Great question. The Lord Jesus is talking in the verse and He’s quoting what His Father is saying to Him. What did the Father tell the Son? He said, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.”
That sounds an awful lot like the Father begat the Son. But how could that be if the Father and the Son are eternal?
Well, Acts 13:32–35 has the answer. (Your Bible likely has a cross reference to this passage.)
Paul is preaching in Pisidion Antioch, which is in modern day Turkey. When preaching the gospel to people, Paul is explaining prophecy (always a good example).
Acts 13:32–3532 [first…] And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 [2nd, fulfilled] this he has fulfilled to us their children [3rd…] by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “ ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’ 34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, “ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ 35 Therefore he says also in another psalm, “ ‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’
First (v.32), God promised the good news
Second, He fulfilled His promise…
Third (v.33), He did so by doing something…by raising Jesus from the dead, just like Psalm 2 teaches, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” Verse 34, the Father clearly raised Jesus from the dead!
So, Psalm 2:7 is not God the Father begetting God the Son, but it is God the Father raising Jesus from the dead. Again, verse 33, God raised Jesus “as it is written in Psalm 2:7, ‘today I have begotten you.'” Paul is equating “raising Jesus” with “today I have begotten you.”
The major proposition of the Christian faith is this: God raised Jesus from the dead. Everything in Christianity rises or falls based on that proposition. As predicted. God raised Jesus from the dead.
Trust Him!
What else does the Son tells us about what the Father said?
Find out in our study of Psalm 2:8!
Go back to Psalm 2 from Psalm 2:7 Commentary