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It may surprise some of you to know that most people -- including quite a few Christians -- do NOT fully understand what the phrase "only begotten son of God" really means. Of course, many of them may THINK that they do, but personally, I am inclined to believe that they actually do NOT properly understand this phrase.

Honestly speaking, when I was a young Christian some sixty years ago, I didn’t really properly grasp the meaning of the phrase either. However, as I have pointed out before, quite a few years ago, I looked more deeply into this matter, and it was only then that I truly came to understand the unique significance of this phrase. Having said that, allow me to share my thoughts with you concerning this issue for your personal consideration. You can then decide whether or not you want to agree or disagree with me.

The first point we need to establish is that, contrary to the long-held view which has been traditionally embraced by organized religion — meaning the churches — which promotes the erroneous view that Jesus is the only son of God, the Scriptures plainly declare that God in fact has MANY sons.

No, my friends; I am not referring to John 1:12 and similar Bible verses which describe how we can become the adopted children of God through our faith in the atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Rather, I am actually referring to God’s OTHER spiritual sons, who since the very beginning of God’s creation, have resided in the Heavenly Realm. They were all created by our Heavenly Father. As some of you will already know, the Book of Job in particular refers to these beings as "morning stars" and "sons of God". I assume that this includes the various Angels who are mentioned throughout the Scriptures. While it is just my personal speculation, I tend to believe that these spiritual beings are referred to as "morning stars" because God the Father made them at the dawn of His creation.

At any rate, the Patriarch Job in fact informs us in the opening chapters of his book that Satan presented himself amongst these sons of God in the Courts of Heaven. Please consider the following group of interesting verses which confirm these two points:

"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"


"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them."


"Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD."


Clearly then, there should be no doubt in your mind that God truly does have MANY other spiritual sons, and that Jesus Christ is NOT the only son of God. Now, before some of you start freaking out, jumping to erroneous conclusions, and accusing me of being a false teacher and a heretic, allow me to continue.

You see, while Jesus is not the ONLY son of God -- as per the previous verses -- He is most certainly the only BEGOTTEN Son of God. Now THAT is where confusion enters the picture for a lot of Bible-believing Christians. In other words, how can the Bible on one hand declare that God the Father has many spiritual sons in the Heavenly Realm, and then turn around and state that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God? What is going on here?

My friends, relax. There is absolutely no contradiction here. As I have mentioned before, in my experience, any seeming contradiction in the Scriptures is a result of our own lack of a proper understanding of what we are reading. So, in this case, the solution to this seeming contradiction is found by determining precisely what the phrase "only begotten son of God" really means. Would you like to know? Good; because I will now tell you precisely what I discovered many years ago, which you can easily prove for yourself.

The simple truth of the matter is that throughout the Holy Scriptures -- both in the Old and the New Testaments -- the words beget, begat, and begotten are very specifically used as the verb to describe PHYSICAL HUMAN CHILDBIRTH. We find these words in the Scriptures over and over again; no doubt hundreds of times; so there is a very strong basis for this understanding of these words.

Now do you get it? If not, let me explain it more clearly to you. In other words, Jesus is the only begotten Son of God because He is the ONLY spiritual son of God who was born into this physical world through the process of physical human childbirth. He was begotten of a human woman, meaning Mary -- or Miriam -- the wife-to-be of Joseph -- or Yosef. In fact, this event of a son of the Most High being born in human flesh -- or begotten -- was so important, that it is mentioned in Bible prophecy, and in other verses, multiple times, as we can determine by the following group of verses:

"Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children [son]."


"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."


"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."


"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."


"And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."


"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."


"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."


No other spiritual son of God has ever done this. At least we find no mention of such an event in the accepted canon. So I am personally convinced that this is the real meaning of the phrase "only begotten son of God". It is one of the primary reasons why Jesus Christ is indeed so very unique. He did what no other spiritual son of God had ever done before. Furthermore, I believe that this is precisely what the Apostle John is referring to in the following verse:

"For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."


Of course, as all Bible-believing Christians know, what also makes Jesus unique, is what He did for us all, after He was born in human flesh, and after He grew into a young man. It is precisely because Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself for the sins of humanity, so that our broken relationship can be restored with God the Father, that God has highly exalted Him above EVERY OTHER spiritual son of God, and given Him a name which is ABOVE every other name, as we can also easily confirm by the following group of verses:

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."


"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."


"Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."


But that is not all. Not only was Jesus the only son of God to be born through physical human childbirth, but as you will probably already know, He was also the first begotten of the dead, and the Fruitsfruits of a new race of spiritual beings. This point becomes evident by the following group of verses, which declare that we too will undergo a similar transformation at the moment of our physical death, if we believe in Him:

"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body . . . For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, THAT HE MIGHT BE THE FIRSTBORN AMONG MANY BRETHREN."


"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, AND BECOME THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THEM THAT SLEPT. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: CHRIST THE FIRSTFRUITS; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming."


"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, THE FIRSTBORN OF EVERY CREATURE . . . And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, THE FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD; that in all things he might have the preeminence."


"To the general assembly and CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,"


"Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be A KIND OF FIRSTFRUITS OF HIS CREATURES."


"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and THE FIRST BEGOTTEN OF THE DEAD, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood . . . I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."


"These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, BEING THE FIRSTFRUITS UNTO GOD and to the Lamb."


Thus we see that the word "begotten" has a double meaning. Not only does it refer to how Jesus was the only spiritual son of God who was born in human flesh, but it also refers to how He became "the first begotten of dead". Absolutely amazing! And that, my dear friends, is what I personally believe the phrase "only begotten son of God" really means. There is nothing blasphemous about it whatsoever, and as you can see, this interpretation of the phrase is firmly based on the Scriptures. But again, you must determine for yourself if I have spoken the truth.

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Is Jesus the Only Begotten Son of God?
Modern Deception: Shall a Nation Be Born at Once?
Not Everyone is a Child of God
The Children of Light: Are You One of Us?

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Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.