Seeking Your King

Arguably, the most popular verse in the entire Bible is John 3:16. This verse displays
how God showed His great love for all of us. He gave His Son for us.
Today, I want to look at something specific in this verse together. I want to take a closer
look at how this verse describes our Lord Jesus: 
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). 
Jesus is the One speaking in this verse. 
Notice how our Lord describes Himself here. He is called God’s only begotten Son. This speaks
about an extremely special relationship that Jesus has with the Father. I want to examine the
nature of that relationship and that term “begotten” in this article.

Why Jesus is Unique

Some may argue that Jesus is unique because He is God’s only Son. In fact, some versions of
the Bible say that Jesus is God’s only son in John 3:16. Scripture reveals that God has many
sons.
 In fact, if you are a Christian, the Bible says you are God’s son or God’s daughter (Eph. 1:4;
Rom. 8:14; Heb. 2:10; Gal. 3:26-27). We become God’s children through faith, repentance and
baptism (Gal. 3:26-27; Acts 2:38). 
Though we are God’s sons, we are not His sons in the same sense that Jesus is God’s Son.
Jesus’ Sonship is extremely unique. He is the only One of His kind. Let us look at that
uniqueness together.
In John 5:18, the Jews got angry at Jesus because He called God “His own Father.” Jesus
was claiming that He was equal with the Father. He was not calling God His Father in the sense
that we call Him Father today. For Jesus to claim God as His own Father declares His special
identity. 
In Isaiah 9:6 we see a prophecy of our Lord. Let us pay attention to how this verse describes
Jesus: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon
his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”.
Notice, Jesus is called “Mighty God” and “everlasting Father.” His inherent nature is that of
Deity. He is of the same essence as God. He has equality with the Father. He made all things in
the beginning with the Father (Col. 1:16; Jn. 1:3). 
Back to John 3:16
In John 3:16, when Jesus is called God’s only begotten Son, it comes from the Greek term
monogenes. It is a compound of monos and genos. 
It does not mean to “beget or generate,” as if Jesus was the first created being as some may
argue. That would require the root word gennao. 
The word used in John 3:16 for begotten speaks about a particular kind or class. “It can also
refer to one of a kind, even one of the same nature as another” (The Person of Christ by M.
Barnett p. 20). 
Consider Isaac, Abraham’s son. He is called Abraham’s only begotten son in Hebrews 11:17.
But Isaac was not Abraham’s only son. Nor was he even Abraham’s first child. He was
preceded in birth by Ishmael. But Isaac was special. He was the son of promise. He had a
special position in God’s scheme of redemption in that through him the plan of God would
continue to flow. Isaac was unique and one of a kind, of the same nature and kind of his father,
Abraham, meaning that the promise from God would flow through Isaac as it did through
Abraham.
Consider Jesus in Psalm 2:7 “You are my Son, today I have begotten You.” This is a prophecy
pointing exclusively to Jesus. This does not speak about some creation of Jesus in the distant
past.
 Nor does this even refer to His miraculous conception in the womb of Mary. This refers to His
entrance into universal authority over everything (Matt. 28:18).
Psalm 2:8 says this: “Ask of Me and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance and the
very ends of the earth as Your possession.”
In the New Testament, Paul applies this statement from Psalm 2 and attributes it to
Jesus’ resurrection, not His birth (Acts 13:32-35).
Notice also what Paul says in Romans 1:4 “who was declared the Son of God with power by
the resurrection from the dead.”
Remember what Jesus says in Matthew 28:18 after He rose from the dead. “All authority has
been given to Me in heaven and on earth”. 
In conclusion, we can see that Jesus is God’s only unique Son. God truly gave the best that
heaven had to offer. There is no One like Jesus. He is incompar- able in His relationship to the
Father and in His power. He is God’s only begotten Son. 
He is God (i.e., same nature as the Father), and yet He is God’s Son. He received a kingdom of
power and glory from the Father, and He now rules with His scepter of righteousness (Dan.
7:13-14; Heb. 1:9). 
Will you stand in awe at this amazing One? Will you rejoice with trembling as you serve and
labor for this Great One (Psa. 2:10-12)? Let the church say, Amen. 
Please feel free to contact me for further questions, Bible study material or a Bible study:
Email: Jordanevangelist1995@gmail.com