Denver Seminary

DECEMBER 20 15 "By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him." —1 John 4:9, NASB I n the Advent season, as we properly focus on God the Son becoming flesh, we read in the Johannine literature of the "only begotten" description of God the Son. Johannine texts related to the coming of Christ refer to Jesus Christ as "the only begotten from the Father" (John 1:14), "the only begotten God" (John 1:18), "His only begotten Son" (John 3:16), "the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18), and "His only begotten Son" (1 John 4:9). What are we to make of this "only begotten" designation? From a review of the lexical data on the term "only begotten," we may conclude that the emphasis in John's usage is on the absolute uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. He is the Son of God in a sense in which no others are. "Only begotten" is used as a title which God the Father ascribes to the Son. It conveys an honor which is unparalleled and incomparable. This absolute uniqueness of Jesus Christ may be seen in: (1) the being or nature of God the Son, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5); (2) the revelatory role of God the Son to humanity, "No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him" (John 1:18); and (3) the provision of salvation through God the Son, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Such profound truths concerning the "only begotten" Son of God should evoke from us a sense of reverence, awe, wonder, and mystery at so great a salvation which has come to us in the Incarnation of the Son of God, the "only begotten" of the Father. In the words of the fourth-century Christian Latin poet, Prudentius, Of the Father's love begotten, Ere the worlds began to be. He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He. Of the things that are, that have been, And that future years shall see, Evermore and evermore. Praise be to God. Amen. Keith Wells, DMin Associate Professor of Theological Bibliography and Research and Director of Library The Only Begotten Son

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