The True Meaning of Christ as the Only Begotten Son

The Biblical statement that Christ is "the only begotten Son of God" reveals that He is the divine Son of God by birth, possessing the same nature, name, and unborrowed life as the Father, distinguishing Him from all created beings. 📖 This title does not imply a beginning in time as human beings understand it, but rather denotes His unique relationship within the Godhead.

1. The Distinction Between Begotten and Created

In a Bible study of this nature, we must first distinguish between how Christ is a Son and how other beings are sons.

• By Creation: The angels are called "sons of God" Job 38:7 because they were brought into existence by His creative power. Adam was also a "son of God" Luke 3:38 by creation.

• By Adoption: Fallen human beings can become "sons of God" Romans 8:14-15 through the Spirit of adoption when they are born again.

• By Birth: Christ is the Son of God in a sense that no other being ever was or can be. He is the "only begotten Son" John 3:16, meaning He possesses the very substance and nature of the Father by right of His divine origin. He is "made so much better than the angels" because He has "by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they" Hebrews 1:4.

2. Original, Underived Life

The Greek understanding of Christ’s Sonship involves the possession of "life in Himself." While our life is a "streamlet" received from the fountain, Christ is the Fountain itself.

• Self-Existence: Jesus declared, "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself" John 5:26.

• The "I AM": This life is "original, unborrowed, underived." Jesus identified Himself with the eternal "I AM" of Exodus 3:14 when He said, "Before Abraham was, I am" John 8:58.

• Power Over Death: Because His life is inherent and not physical life merely received, He had the "power to lay it down, and... power to take it again" John 10:18.

3. The "Firstborn" and Eternal Pre-existence

The term "firstborn" (prototokos) in the Greek often refers to priority in rank and origin before the creation of the universe.

• Before All Things: Scripture states He is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature" Colossians 1:15. This does not mean He is a created being, for the very next verse explains that "by him were all things created... visible and invisible" Colossians 1:16.

• The Eternal Word: He was "in the beginning with God" and "was God" John 1:1-2. To be the "only begotten" signifies that He proceeded from the Father in the "fullness of time" and from "eternal ages" Micah 5:2, yet He is co-eternal with the Father, having no beginning of days in a way that finite minds can fully grasp.

4. Equality with God

The conclusion of the matter is that being the "only begotten" makes Christ equal with the Father in nature and authority.

• The Father’s Testimony: The Father Himself addresses the Son as God: "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever" Hebrews 1:8.

• The Express Image: He is the "brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person" Hebrews 1:3. Just as a human son carries the nature of his father, the Son of God carries the full attributes of Deity.

• Unity of Essence: He could truthfully say, "I and my Father are one" John 10:30, and "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father" John 14:9.

In summary, when you read that Christ is the "only begotten," you are looking at the Great "I AM," the Alpha and Omega, who stooped to humanity but never lost His identity as the self-existent God. 🌟