If you were to ask someone who Jesus is, you would probably hear someone say that He is the “Son of God.” What does this mean? Especially, in light of Scripture that tells us that we are the children, sons, or daughters of God (Matthew 5:9; John 1:12; Romans 8:14-19; Galatians 3:26; 1 John 3:1). Is the Sonship of Jesus different than our sonship and daughterhood of God? Yes, for Jesus is the “only-begotten” of the Father.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
False teachers have taken the phrase “only begotten” and twisted its meaning to imply that Jesus is created. That is a mistake a person can make when they do not look at the Greek wording here. Only-begotten is monogenḗs (μονογενής) in the Greek, and it means “unique,” “one of a kind,” or “special relationship.” This is easy to understand when it is used to refer to Isaac and Abraham in Hebrews 11:7. Abraham had more than one son, but only Isaac was through his wife Sara and the only son of the covenant.
Jesus is the unique Son of God. His relationship with the Father is a special, one of a kind relationship. The title, Son of God, does not refer to an order of creation. Instead, it relates to the Trinitarian relationship that Jesus eternally holds with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is the second Person of the Trinity. He is the One True God just as the Father is, and just as the Holy Spirit is God.
Son of God emphasizes the deity of Jesus and is a key theme of John’s writings. It is also why we can say that Jesus was the complete image of the invisible God. Jesus is God. John 14:9 reads, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (cf. John 6:46; 8:19; 12:45; Hebrews 1:3; 1 John 5:20).
Jesus’ relationship to the Father is the original pattern for all families. He is the expression of His Father. Have you ever heard the phrase “a chip off the old block,” or “the apple doesn’t fall far from the try.” This begins to make sense after our study of Jesus’ title as the Word of God (Click here). Words are vehicles. If I were to describe to you about a table and tell you that it was oak that had been stained dark red and that it stood on one large center leg, you would begin to get a picture of what I was thinking about. Words carry meaning and convey thoughts. Jesus is the Word of God, the vehicle in which God brings His full meaning to us in a visible way. The Son is like the Father, which is why we are able to come to the Father through the Son.
Jeremy Kamer Ministries 