Several years ago, a young student from one of my classes asked me what John 3:16 means when it says “only begotten Son”, primarily concerned with what it means that Jesus was “begotten”. I wasn’t prepared to answer justly and it wasn’t exactly in the scope of my planned lessons at the time. Things are different now. This one’s for you, Houston.
John 3:16 is one of, if not the, most memorized Bible verse ever. It’s also probably one of the most misunderstood, if only slightly. But that slight misunderstanding has implications on a Biblical scale (heh) that reaches across not only the New Testament, but the Old Testament and beyond. I will briefly be addressing the overall message of John 3:16 and mostly discussing it through a textual perspective. Some of this article will involve what the Greek says, but don’t let that discourage you from reading and learning. Without further ado let’s find out what John 3:16 is really saying.
Context First
John 3:16 happens in the midst of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who recognized Jesus’ authority when he said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3:2 ESV). Jesus responds, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” They then go on to have an exchange about what being “born again” means and Jesus ends with the topic of eternal life saying, “so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14 ESV).
The ultimate topic here is salvation and discerning between those who are of God and those who are not.
The Sons of God
The very next sentence is the verse in question:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 LSB
Now you may have noticed I used a different Bible translation here. That was on purpose. Different English translations have slightly different wordings. For example, the difference between the English Standard Version (ESV) and the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) is that while the LSB has “only begotten Son,” the ESV simply says, “only Son”. In fact, let me point out this phrase in a few English Bible translations:
ESV – “only Son”
LSB – “only begotten Son”
NIV – “one and only Son”
NKJV – “only begotten Son”
KJV – “only begotten Son”
HCSB – “One and Only Son”
CSB – “one and only Son”
ASV – “only begotten Son”
NASB – “only Son”
So your initial question may be, “Why are there so many differences?” That is a question I’ll address at a later date and is not relevant to the current discussion. In the meantime, we are focusing on the fact that in the English we see there is a common idea being conveyed here: Jesus is God’s only Son. Yes, I realize that may be obvious. It’s something we learn early on in church and early on in our Christian lives. However, reading any Scripture means reading it in the context of all of Scripture. For example, even though we just agreed Jesus is God’s only Son, what do you do when you come across this verse:
“…the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.”
Genesis 6:2 ESV
Or this one:
“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He divided mankind, He fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.”
Deuteronomy 32:8 ESV
Or this:
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord.”
Job 1:6 ESV
Or these:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Matthew 5:9
“…for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”
Luke 20:36
“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”
Romans 8:19
” Oh yes! A contradiction!” the edgy atheist cries in excitement.
Fear not, for we can utilize critical thinking to overcome an absolutely simple understanding of the text. There is no cause for concern. We simply need to read.
Without getting bogged down in a ton of details (details I will cover in a later post), just know for now that in Old Testament theology, the phrase “sons of God” was almost always understood to be the heavenly council of God. There are spiritual beings other than God. Don’t let this shock you. This is NOT a new idea. A few examples would include Satan, Gabriel, Michael, the angels that appeared to Lot in Genesis 19, and the angels that appeared to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds in the early New Testament.
The idea that actually is foreign to most Christians is that there is a whole council of beings to which God delegates responsibilities and duties and dominions. In the Old Testament, they are referred to as the sons of God. Some are good; some rebelled.
So how does knowing that help us with the text of John 3:16? Various Biblical texts say there are multiple “sons of God,” but John 3:16 says God has only one Son. Right? At the risk of sounding like the serpent in Eden, does John 3:16 really say Jesus is God’s only son? Let’s take a look at the Greek.
A Lesson in Greek: Monogenes
We are going to take a brief look at the Greek text from which we get our English understanding. The Greek word from which we get the phrase “only begotten” or “one and only” is μονογενης or in the English alphabet “monogenes,” pronounced like mono-guh-nays.
Monogenes is a Greek word that for many years has been translated “one and only” or “only begotten”. This is because for so long, the understanding was that monogenes came from two different Greek words: mono, meaning “one”; genao, meaning “to beget”. This can be confusing as it raises some implications such as God the Father begetting God the Son; or rather, that Jesus had some sort of beginning. This obviously can’t be true because Jesus is God the Son and therefore has always existed. Jesus is before all things and in Him all things hold together.
How then do we understand the phrase found in John 3:16 “only begotten Son”? Well, it wasn’t until later when Greek scholars learned that monogenes actually derives from the two Greek words: mono, meaning “one”; and genos, meaning “kind” or “class”. Literally speaking, monogenes means one of a kind or rather, unique. Jesus Christ is God’s unique Son. Properly translated John 3:16 should read:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His one unique Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus is One of a Kind
Jesus Christ is God the Father’s Son and He is unique amongst all others. Jesus is One of a Kind. There is none like Him. John 3:16 sets Jesus apart from all else and all others. Jesus’ uniqueness is, in part, why we look to Him for salvation. He is the One and Only.
Only Jesus can provide salvation.
Only Jesus can provide forgiveness of sins.
Only Jesus can suffer what must be suffered in order for our sins to be forgiven.
Only Jesus has all authority in Heaven and on earth.
Only Jesus is the one in whom we believe in for eternal life.
Only Jesus is the bread of life.
Only Jesus is the door through which we enter the sheepfold.
Only Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
Only Jesus is the True Vine.
Only Jesus is the Light of the World.
Only Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
Only Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
