S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

The phrase "only begotten Son" occurs in John 3:16, which reads in the King James Version as, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should...

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July 01 2013 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

James Gardner Supporter

John 1:1 says Jesus is the Word of God, and the word for spirit, as in Holy Spirit, is pnuema, which means breath or air. When God speaks, His Word is with Him and reflects back, born from the breath of God, born of the Spirit. When God said, "I AM", all three parts of Him were present, equally as infinite and alive as He is. 

When "God is salvation" was born, the Word became flesh.

April 15 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

George Delmindo Supporter

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God in the sense that he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was sired by God the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary [Matt 1:18].

The Holy Spirit is the creative Power of the Godhead to beget, to create, to give life. The Holy Spirit is also the spirit of Holiness and Truth. The God Family is composed of God the Father and of his Son - Jesus Christ. Before anything else existed, there was no Father and Son relationship. These two eternal beings existed all through out eternity which is One God - Elohim. The Holy Spirit on the other hand is not a person. It is the very power of the Godhead which flows from God the Father and into his Son Jesus Christ and vise versa. 

God said, "In the last days, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh.."[Acts 2:17-18]. Is God pouring out another person in himself? In Rev 4:5, 5:6, God has 7 Spirits. I don't think each spirit is another person in the Godhead. In Col 2:2, the mystery of the Godhead is revealed as the Father and the Son.

In the same manner, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a person begets, making him a true son of God - a true Christian. He becomes a begotten son of God [not adopted], but he is not yet a born son of God. He is like an embryo in it's mother's womb, in a gestation period. The Holy Spirit is the seed of eternal life. But we do not have eternal life yet. Once we are born like the Lord Jesus Christ as say, when resurrection comes, then, if you are saved, you will be rewarded of this. 

Jesus Christ is the first born of the many creation [Col 1:15]. But it does not mean that Jesus is a created being. What this means is that God the Father is creating many sons and bring them to glory [Heb 2:9-13]. He is also the first born from the dead [1 Cor 15:20, Rev 1:5]. Meaning to say that all people who had lived and died are still dead and buried - has returned to his earth waiting for a resurrection. No one has overcome death except the Lord Jesus Christ.

We Christians will follow next. Our birth will take place when he returns and he will reward us with positions in the Kingdom he is going to set up here on Earth.

April 12 2014 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Appelt Supporter

In some of the Bibles, John 3:16, says God “gave His only begotten Son.” Others have “one and only Son,” “only Son,” and “unique Son.”

The Greek clarifies the proper translation. The Greek word is “monogenes.” It is a word with two parts. The first part, “monos,” means “only.”

In his book, “The Forgotten Trinity,” James R. White, noted that the second part is usually thought to be “gennao” which means “to give birth,” “be born,” “beget,” or “bring forth.” Every use of this word deals with childbearing. “Gennao” has two “n’s” (Greek “nu’s”), but the last part of “monogenes” has only one “n.” So, it must be something different. Even though there is that slight difference in spelling, it is not the same.

The word with one “n,” “genos” has the meaning of “kind” or “type,” I Corinthians 12:10, 12:28, 14:10. It is also translated race, family, offspring, all meaning distinctive from others as the same class, country, nationality, people, or species, all having common traits. It has the idea of “one of a kind” or “unique.” But the word “genos,” has no concept of fathering, giving birth or bringing forth, which means that “only begotten” is not a proper translation. 

The combination of “monos” and “genos” as “monogenes” is literally “one of a kind” or the “only of its kind.” James White noted the word is used in the Septuagint in Psalm 25:16, as “desolate” or “lonely.” “Monogenes” can be used for an only son or daughter, Luke 7:12, 8:42, 9:38. The Lord Jesus is the only and unique Son of God, John 1:14, 18, 3:16, 18, I John 4:9. Hebrew 11:17 uses the same word for Isaac, the son of Abraham. He was not the only son of Abraham, as Ishmael was the first-born son. But Isaac was the one unique son, Genesis 22:2. It is worthy to note that before Isaac’s weaning, Ishmael is called “Abraham’s son,” Genesis 17:25, but afterwards he is called the “son of the Egyptian,” Genesis 21:9, “son of the bondwoman,” Genesis 21:13, and “lad,” Genesis 21:17. Isaac was Abraham’s uniquely distinctive son, the son of promise, Genesis 22:18, Galatians 4:22-23.

There is the sense that Christ is begotten. Three verses, Acts 13:33, Hebrews 1:5, 5:5, which refer to Psalm 2:7, have the words of God the Father saying, “Today have I begotten you.” The word used is “gennao,” meaning “brought forth.” Note the double “n.” It is not about His birth, but His resurrection and exaltation. Jesus was brought forth, raised from the dead and the grave, the firstborn from the dead, Colossians 1:18, Revelation 1:5, I Corinthians 15:20. On the basis of His resurrection, He is the begotten One of God. 

On the basis of Greek word studies, Christ is the “begotten” Son of God by His resurrection. But, in John 3:16 and other related verses, He is not the “only begotten,” but “the one and only” Son. The difference is one letter, the “nu” or “n.”

May 25 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Begotten – “monogenes”, sometimes translated "one and only" and conveys the idea of uniqueness. StudyandObey.

It is a title that does NOT refer to procreation but to equality with the Father, the Godhead. It is a unique relationship that is being talked about here. He and the Father are one in essence, different in subsistence, I think this is what I learned in seminary.

April 11 2023 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report