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God’s One and Only Son

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“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NLT

The Adventist Biblical Research Institute agrees with the modern translations of “one and only” instead of  “only begotten.” Hebrews 1:1-14 make it clear that Jesus was God. He was not given life, He is the Life Giver.

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. John 11:25 NLT

Just as 1 John 4:8 does not tell us that God has love but rather is love, so Jesus does not say that He was given life, but rather that He is life. 

In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. -Ellen White, Desire of Ages, Page 530.

While Hebrews 2:1-18 explains the complete humanity of the Son of God, Hebrews 1:1-14 explains the complete divinity of the Son of God. While Jesus is God the Son, who never originated but always existed as far back as eternity goes, Ty Gibson suggests in His book, The Sonship of Christ, that while He was always God the Son, that the term “Son of God’ explains His humanity more than His divinity. For example, Adam was the first one who was called the son of God.

Adam was the son of God. Luke 3:38 NLT 

Image © Lars Justinen Goodsalt.com

Adam was created to be the son of God and to be the representative for this earth. Job 1:6 talks about when the “sons of God” came to present themselves before God. Adam was to be this earth’s representative as the son of God for this earth. However we read where Satan shows up at this meeting, as Adam surrendered this right to Satan when he sinned. So we see that Adam was the son of God, and there are other sons of God representing their worlds. By the way Hebrews 1:2 mentions that Christ made the worlds. The word “worlds” refers to inhabited planets, while uninhabited planets are simply called planets. In Job 1:6 the sons of God came from these other worlds. 

So in John 3:16 Where it says, “only begotten Son” or “one and only son” it is not referring to God the son ever being born. Neither is it saying that there are not other sons of God, because we have just seen that there are. So what does it mean by “one and only son?” Hebrews  11 gives us a clue.

Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, Hebrews 11:17 NLT 

Wait a minute? Was Isaac Abraham’s only son? No! So why is this saying that Isaac was Abraham’s only son? 

The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise. Galatians 4:22-23 NLT 

Isaac was called Abraham’s only son because Isaac was the promised son. Now we know why John 3:16 says He gave His only begotten or one and only son. It is not insinuating that God the Son was ever created or given life by the Father. Christ had life that came from being God Himself. His life was original, unborrowed and underived.  The term “Only begotten” or “one and only Son” means that Jesus Christ is the promised Son to redeem mankind and take the right that Adam surrendered in being the representative of the world. 

Adam was the original son of God, who because of sin surrendered the right to represent this world before God. Meanwhile Satan claimed that right and in Job 1:6-11 accused the inhabitants of the earth. But Jesus, the promised One, lived a perfect life and died our death on the cross, and has now won the right to represent us before the Father. Instead of accusing us, He is representing and defending us! 

 He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. Hebrews 9:24 NLT 

Since Jesus Christ is the promised Son to replace Adam as our representative, not only is He representing us and defending us, saving and redeeming us, but we are also already seated in heaven with Him!

For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6 NLT 

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God’s One and Only Son — 12 Comments

  1. I read on another website a few days ago that in the original Hebrew, Son of God referred to Jesus' humanity and Son of Man to his divinity. Your article is more in depth than the little snippet they gave. More food for thought. 😊

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  2. God is known as "the Sovereign of the universe". There can only one such Being, otherwise Christianity immediately joins the idol religions of polytheism. Christ, as the true Son of God, also receives life and dominion from God. As such, we can only agree with what EG White writes below, that Christ received all things from God, including life, name (character) and sonship, otherwise there is no Father and there is no Son, hence no salvation and also no gospel. See below.

    "But turning from all lesser representations, we behold God in Jesus. Looking unto Jesus we see that it is the glory of our God to give. “I do nothing of Myself,” said Christ; “the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father.” “I seek not Mine own glory,” but the glory of Him that sent Me. John 8:28; 6:57; 8:50; 7:18. In these words is set forth the great principle which is the law of life for the universe. ALL THINGS CHRIST RECEIVED FROM GOD, but He took to give. So in the heavenly courts, in His ministry for all created beings: through the beloved Son, the Father's life flows out to all; through the Son it returns, in praise and joyous service, a tide of love, to the great Source of all. And thus through Christ the circuit of beneficence is complete, representing the character of the great Giver, the law of life." - DA 21.2

    God is the great Source of all, and his life flows out to all (Christ included). Christ, as a faithful Son, gets life from God, and that is the life He gives to us too. This does not make Christ any less than the Bible makes Him to be (the only begotten Son of God). Indeed, it makes Him divine and unique, because He is the only one who is "the express image" of God.

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    • With respect, Dan, you have just contradicted Ellen White directly (in her statement about "life, original, unborrowed, underived") while simultaneously quoting her as authority. In the process, you have definitely made Christ less than what the Bible makes Him, Jehovah Himself, the resurrection and the life, the Great I AM, the self-existent One.

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    • Dan, you are spot on. The Bible in John, Christ says he got His Life from the Father. He says in another verse he got all from the Father.

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    • The next sentence to Signs of the Times 8-29-1900, par 14 says- "Through Solomon Christ declared: “The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth.... When He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment; when He appointed the foundations of the earth; then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” This means that self existent does not mean 'self-originated' as Proverbs 8:22-30 explains there was a time when Christ was not there.

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      • Sanza, I do not see that "Proverbs 8:22-30 explains there was a time when Christ was not there."
        It seems to me that we tend to see what we already believe.

        What you suggest seems to contradict that previous statement that "'Before Abraham was, I am.' Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God."

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        • Read this my brother: 22 “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,[a][b]
          before his deeds of old;
          23 I was formed long ages ago,
          at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
          24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
          when there were no springs overflowing with water;
          25 before the mountains were settled in place,
          before the hills, I was given birth,
          26 before he made the world or its fields
          or any of the dust of the earth.

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          • I see you are quoting from the NIV version. The KJV and most other versions read, "The Lord possessed me in the beginning." Prov. 8:22 NKJV

            We always need to read the Bible in context - the immediate context is that the chapter is writing about "wisdom" - a characteristic of God. Thus "The Lord possessed wisdom in the beginning" is how we should read it.

            The larger context is the rest of the Bible. John writes in John 1:1-4

            "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."

            In John 10:18 NKJV, we read that Jesus Christ had the power to lay down His life and to take it up again. In other words, He said He had the power to "resurrect" Himself.

            Christ declared Himself to be the great "I AM," the self-existent one. (See John 8:48) In other words, Christ is the Jehovah of the Old Testament.

            He said that anyone who had seen Him, had seen the Father. (John 14:7,9)

            Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be called "Mighty God, Everlasting Father," among other names. (Isa. 9:6)

            I find it interesting that you use Ellen White as an authority to say that Proverbs 8 definitively describes Christ, but then use Proverbs 8 to contradict what she writes, "In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. (Desire of Ages, page 530.)

            You write that "This means that self existent does not mean 'self-originated,'" but that is a non-sensical statement. The meanings are identical for all practical purposes:
            self-existent: existing of or by oneself or itself independently of any other being or cause, not caused to exist by someone or something else

            self-originated: originated by oneself or itself

            I believe that our mental capacities are not great enough to understand the nature of God or how the Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) can be "self-existent," and we can only accept it by faith. Thus speculation and discussion on the subject is futile.

            [Moderator Note: Discussion regarding the self-existent nature of Christ is now closed.]

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  5. If I were your student of the Bible.  I would be perplexed with listening to you read  Epheasians 2:6 until you bring in verse 4 and 5 and then explain that verse 6 is not literal but is what happens after  being born again, as Christ explained to Nicodemus as written in John 3. That's my take on Epheasians 2:4-6.

    Yes even verse 1 would help explain  what Paul was talking about.   Epheasians 2:1.

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