The Unique Son of God

If you ask the majority of people to quote one verse in the Bible most will reply with John 3:16,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

I remember learning this verse at a young age. However, I’ve wondered what it meant for Jesus to be “his [God’s] only Son” (τὸν Υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ). Many translations render the phrase “Only Begotten Son”. There is a very important question to be asked then, “What does this phrase mean?”

Does God Have Other Sons?

Before we start answering the question it is important to see other Biblical passages concerning God’s Son(s).

1.) Exodus 4:22-23 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son."

-          The Lord called Israel His Son.

2.) Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.

3.) Job 38:6-7 On what were its bases sunk,
               or who laid its cornerstone,
                   when the morning stars sang together
               and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

-          It is hard to tell who the “sons of God” are within the context. They could be serving as some divine counsel or a host of angels. However, what is important to see is that whoever it is, they are called sons of God.

4.) Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

-          Again this is a confusing passage. Notice though that the “sons of God” had sex with the daughters of man. This could parallel the Job passage. But for now that that isn’t important. Whoever they are it is evident they are called “sons of God”.

5.) 2 Samuel 7:12-14 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.

-          David is given a promise that one of his sons would be king over Israel. God tells him that He will be his father and the king will be a son to Him. Therefore the King of Israel would be “God’s son”.

6.) Psalm 2:7 I will tell of the decree
                      The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
                 today I have begotten you.

-          In the context of Psalm 2 God will present his Anointed one and he will call him His Son.

7.) Luke 3:38 …the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

-          In the genealogy Luke traces the linage of Jesus back to Adam, who is the “son of God.”

So, to recap:

-          Adam is God’s son

-          Israel is God’s son

-          The “angels or divine counsel” are God’s sons

-          The King of Israel is God’s son

-          The Anointed One is God’s son

How does Jesus differ from the rest of God’s Sons?

Jesus, The Unique Son

John 1:14,18 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

John 3:16, 18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

1 John  4:9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

In Johannine literature, the word used to distinguish Jesus is “only” (John 3:16 = μονογενῆ or a form of the word). This word is also used 4 other times in the NT (Luke 7:12, 8:42, 9:38; Hebrews 11:17). Each time it is translated “only”. In John’s writings the word is used exclusively of Jesus as the Only Son of God. What is the particular nuance of this word? BDAG states that this word coveys the idea of “being the only one of its kind or class (unique in kind). Uniquely divine as God’s son and transcending all others alleged to be gods.” Jesus is the unique or special Son. Thus this sets him apart from the others sons of God or so called gods. Jesus then is the unique chosen one through whom eternal life is found. Salvation is found exclusively in the unique Son, who is Jesus Christ.

To intensify this idea John clearly links the Only God and the Only Son, Jesus Christ. In John 1:14-18 the word “only” connects the “only son” and the “only God”. Thus, this unique and only Son is actually the unique and only God, whom no one has seen. However, the Only Son has now revealed this Only God by taking upon flesh and dwelling among men. So the uniqueness of Jesus Christ is the revealing of the Only God. God now has a face, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

What does it mean for Jesus to be the Only Son of God?

Namely, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, speaks to His role as the revealer of God and bearer of God’s salvation. Salvation then is exclusively found in Jesus. Jesus reveals in a unique and special way a new understanding of God. To see Jesus is to see God. For Jesus is the only and unique God.

So, John 3:16 conveys this idea,

For God loved the world in this way, that he gave his unique and special Son, that whoever believes in this unique Son should not died but have eternal life.

Eternal life is found solely in God’s unique Son, Jesus Christ the revealer of God and the bearer of God’s salvation. This truly sets Him apart.