ONLY BEGOTTEN
on'-li be-got-'-'n (monogenes):
Although the English words are found only 6 times in the New Testament, the Greek word appears 9 times, and often in the Septuagint. It is used literally of an only child: "the only son of his mother" (
Luke 7:12); "an only daughter" (
Luke 8:42); "mine only child" (
Luke 9:38); "Isaac .... his only begotten" (
Hebrews 11:17). In all other places in the New Testament it refers to Jesus Christ as "the only begotten Son of God" (
John 1:14,18;
3:16,18;
1 John 4:9). In these passages, too, it might be translated as "the only son of God"; for the emphasis seems to be on His uniqueness, rather than on His sonship, though both ideas are certainly present. He is the son of God in a sense in which no others are. "Monogenes describes the absolutely unique relation of the Son to the Father in His divine nature; prototokos describes the relation of the Risen Christ in His glorified humanity to man" (Westcott on
Hebrews 1:6). Christ's uniqueness as it appears in the above passages consists of two things:
- He reveals the Father:
"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (John 1:18). Men therefore behold His glory, "glory as of the only begotten from the Father" (1:14).
- He is the mediator of salvation:
"God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him" (1John 4:9; John 3:16); "He that believeth not (on him) hath been judged already" (John 3:18). Other elements in His uniqueness may be gathered from other passages, as His sinlessness, His authority to forgive sins, His unbroken communion with the Father, and His unique knowledge of Him. To say that it is a uniqueness of nature or essence carries thought no farther, for these terms still need definition, and they can be defined only in terms of His moral consciousness, of His revelation of God, and especially of His intimate union as Son with the Father.
See also
BEGOTTEN;
PERSON OF CHRIST;
SON OF GOD, THE.
The reading "God only begotten" in
John 1:18 the Revised Version margin, though it has strong textual support, is improbable, and can well be explained as due to orthodox zeal, in opposition to adoptionism. See Grimm-Thayer, Lexicon; Westcott, at the place
T. Rees
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Begotten
To have born; brought forth.
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is
BEGOTTEN of him. (
1 John 1:1 Luke 5:1 )
only (adj.)
Old English ænlic, anlic "only, unique, solitary," literally "one-like," from an "one" (see
one) + -lic "-like" (see
-ly (1)). It preserves the old pronunciation of one.
Its use as an adverb and conjunction developed in Middle English. Distinction of only and
alone (now usually in reference to emotional states) is unusual; in many languages the same word serves for both. German also has a distinction in allein/einzig. Phrase only-begotten (mid-15c.) is biblical, translating Latin unigenitus,
Greek monogenes. The Old English form was ancenned.
Holy God brought forth , begat, his only son into the womb of a virgin. Jesus could be none other than holy divine God. Monogenes. Defeating then the tritheism of trinity.