God's Only Begotten Son
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In Matthew 26, the Bible describes how just before Jesus went to the cross, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Jesus was referring to the Cup of God’s Wrath that was about to be poured out upon Him for the sins of the world.
Jesus asked that if there were any other way to bring about salvation, if there be any other way to pay for sins debt let it be that way.
He prayed this same thing three times, and it should be instructive to us that after He finished this prayer, He went ahead to the cross. What’s so important about this episode is that it demonstrates to us that there was indeed NO OTHER WAY of salvation than that God had to give His Son.
Had there been any other alternative, God the Father would have given it. But there was no other way, and Jesus went to the cross to shed His blood and bearing our sins in His body.
Last Sunday we saw how God loved the world so much “that He GAVE” — He didn’t just “say” He loved us; He demonstrated it by giving.
All the sacrifices that mankind tries to make to put us right with God just don't cut it.
There was only ONE sacrifice that would suffice, and that is what we are going to look at today, the one gift that would save: “His Only Begotten Son.”
Just Who was this gift, and why did it have to be Him?
So let’s begin this morning by answering this question,
I. Who Is This “Only Begotten Son”?
I. Who Is This “Only Begotten Son”?
What does John 3:16 mean here when it says that God loved us so much that He gave “His only begotten Son”?
In the original Greek language it is literally: “The Son, the only-begotten, He gave.”
Who is this who is called “The Son”, and what does it mean that He is “the only begotten”?
I need to forewarn you that we need to get theological this morning in order to explain this.
First, what does it mean when it says “the Son, the only begotten.” Who is this “Son”?
The Muslims are infamous for their argument that “God is one; God can have no ‘son.'”
Well, Christians also believe that God is one.
Deuteronomy 6 says: “Hear O Israel, YHWH our God, YHWH is ONE.”
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
Christians are “monotheists” — Do you know what that means?It means we believe that there is only ONE God.
But Christians are also unique in that we believe the Bible teaches that the one-and-only God is a Triune God: that is, that He has existed eternally as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
These are not “3 gods”; the three are ONE. That is the mystery of the Trinity: One God, who exists eternally in 3 Persons.
The most difficult thing about the Christian concept of the Trinity is that there is no way to perfectly and completely understand it. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain.
God is infinitely greater than we are; therefore, we should not expect to be able to fully understand Him.
So the revelation about who Jesus is in scripture is this, that Jesus didn’t come into being when He was born in Bethlehem; He always existed.
Now where do we get that belief? From John 1.
John 1, speaking of Jesus, says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and without Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
So the Bible teaches that Jesus was “in the beginning” with God.
And He created “everything that has come into being” — so since He created “everything that came into being” then HE Himself never “came into being”; He is the creator of everything. He has always been.
So when John 3:16 speaks of “the Son”, it is speaking of this 2nd Person of the Trinity, God the Son.
This gets us to the phrase “only begotten.” What does that mean?
The phrase "only begotten" translates the Greek word monogenes. This word is translated into English as "only," "one and only," and "only begotten."
John was primarily concerned with demonstrating that Jesus is the Son of God
but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
He uses monogenes to highlight Jesus as uniquely God's Son—sharing the same divine nature as God—as opposed to believers who are God's sons and daughters by adoption (Ephesians 1:5). Jesus is God’s “one and only” Son.
There has always been attempts to develop illustrations to explain the Trinity some of course are better than others.
Jonathan Edwards, whom many historians consider to be America’s first great theologian, compared this concept of God the Father and God the Son, to the sun. From its very first moment, the sun had rays which radiated from it, the rays of its sunshine and glory. There was never a moment in which the sun did not radiate those rays.
In the same way, Hebrews 1:3 speaking of Jesus’ relationship to God, says, “And He is the radiance of His glory.”
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
So Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory, much like the rays of the sun are the radiance of its glory. But just like the sun, as long as it has been the sun, has always had those rays of its glory; so as long as God has been God — which is forever — Jesus has always been “the radiance of His glory.”
So He was never created but eternally generated; He has been forever He has been His “only begotten Son.”
And the same thing is true of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit didn’t “come into being” in the New Testament on the Day of Pentecost; the Old Testament is full of references to the “Spirit of God.”
Just like Jesus, He has always existed, as the 3rd Person of Trinity. So for eternity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have existed as the One, True God, in perfect loving relationship with each other.
So, according to scriptures, Jesus is God in the Flesh, the one and only begotten of God the Father. What does that mean...
To the artist He is the One Altogether Lovely.
To the architect He is the Chief Cornerstone.
To the baker He is the Living Bread.
To the banker He is the Hidden Treasure.
To the biologist He is the Life.
To the carpenter He is the Sure Foundation.
To the doctor He is the Great Physician.
To the educator He is the Great Teacher.
To the farmer He is the Sower and Lord of the Harvest.
To the florist He is the Lily of the Valley.
To the geologist He is the Rock of Ages.
To the shepherd He is the Good Shepherd
To the judge He is the Righteous One.
To the juror He is the True Witness.
To the jeweller He is the Pearl of Great Price.
To the editor He is the Good Tidings of Great Joy.
To the philosopher He is Wisdom.
To the servant He is the Good Master.
To the student He is the Incarnate Truth.
To the Sinner He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
To Simon Peter, He was/is the Son of the Living God, the Savior, the Redeemer and Lord!
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
That answers for us Who this Only Begotten Son was/is?
But why was the only begotten Son given?
II. Why Did It Have To Be The “Only Begotten Son”?
II. Why Did It Have To Be The “Only Begotten Son”?
It was not enough for God the Father to somehow just “hand over” His Son. He had to come to earth, take on human flesh and blood, and die, bearing our sins. To do this, Jesus had to become what theologians call “Incarnate.”
The word “incarnate” means “in-flesh-ment.”
The word “incarnate” means “in-flesh-ment.”
This God the Son, 100% God, without forsaking His Godhood, became a real 100% man, so that He could pay for our sins in His body.
This is important:
He is not “only” 100% God;
He is not only 100% man;
He is NOT 50% God and 50% man.
He is “fully God and fully Man.” 100% God and 100% man, two full natures in His one being.
This is what makes Him unique. There has never been anyone one like Him.
But listen, this is not just some “theological trivia.” It is vital. Jesus HAD to be like this, in order to save us. He had to be 100% God; and He had to be 100% man.
Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
In other words, He had to be like us in every way; 100% man, to die on the cross and pay for our sin.
But on the other hand, He also had to be more than just a mere sinful man when He died on that cross. The offering on the cross had to be perfect, and none of us are.
This is why only God could make this sacrifice. No one else can or could ever make this sacrifice for the sins of the world.
It could not have been Mother Theresa.
It could not have been Billy Graham.
It could not have been you or me or the best person you have ever known.
It had to be the Perfect Sacrifice of the God/Man in order to atone for our sins and make us right with God.
It had to be this “Only Begotten Son.” He was the ONLY ONE who could have done it. That’s why in the Garden when Jesus pleaded if there is any other way, let this cup pass from me — THE CUP COULD NOT PASS — because THERE WAS NO OTHER WAY of salvation. THERE WAS NO OTHER PERSON who could have done it. This was the one-and-only way!
This is why we proclaim there is only one way of salvation.
Jesus said in John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
This is why the Apostles proclaimed in Acts 4:12,
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
We aren’t just trying to be “exclusive” or “narrow minded” in proclaiming that.
The fact is, there IS ONLY ONE sacrifice that can atone for our sins; it took this 100% God, 100% man perfect sacrifice to die on the cross bearing our sins and no one else HAS made or COULD ever make that sacrifice.
Listen, there are a lot things in life to which there is only one answer. If someone told you that you had a dire illness, and there was only ONE medicine that would treat it, would say they were being “narrow minded”?
No, you would say that because they loved you, and wanted you to live, that they were speaking to you the truth, so that your life could be saved. That is exactly what we are saying with the gospel message.
We are not proclaiming that there is only one way of salvation because we just want to be exclusive; we are saying there is only one way of salvation because the Bible indicates there is only one possible way.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
CONCLUSION:
I don't make any apologies speaking the truth of what the Bible proclaims and teaches.
Theology is important. It helps answer some of the most important questions that virtually everyone asks.
Questions like,
Why am Here?
What is my purpose in life?
Is there an afterlife? and if so where is it, what is it, how do you get there?
Is there a God and if so does He care about me?
Who is Jesus and why is He important?
I don’t want to even assume everyone who professes or proclaims to know Jesus, really truly knows who Jesus really is? I don't now there theology until I ask them the right questions to find out what theology they believe in.
(Illustration - Story about a person who thought they know who Jesus was but discovered that He was truly God in the Flesh)