Names of Jesus: Only Begotten Son of God

Names of Jesus: Only Begotten Son of God

Understanding who Christ is as the Only Begotten Son of God helps us to know more about who we are in relationship to God the Father as well as to Jesus the Son of God. In one of the most quoted passages of the Bible, John 3:16, we find Jesus named as God’s only begotten Son, but what does this mean and what does it have to do with us?

¹⁶ 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. 
¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 3:16-17 NKJV

Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. Jesus Christ is the only one conceived of a human woman and God’s Holy Spirit. God sent His Son in His own likeness to dwell on earth being fully God and fully man and to live a sinless human life in order to fulfill His plan for the redemption of mankind. Jesus was the spotless Lamb offered as a perfect sacrifice for the salvation of those who believe in Him as the Only Begotten Son of God.

⁴ But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born^[a] of a woman, born under the law, 
⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5 NKJV

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 NKJV

The same Jesus who the world was created through, by, and for is the same Jesus who came down to live with us and save all who would believe in Him in faith. God sent Jesus to be both human and divine all at once, and to be the Way of salvation for all people. As the Only Begotten Son of God He is the only one qualified to accomplish the works necessary for the redemption of sinners.

⁹ In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

1 John 4:9 NKJV

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 
² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 
³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 
⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV

God’s Only Begotten Son is the Heir of God

As the only Son born of God by His Spirit, Jesus is the heir of everything. Jesus Christ will reign over and judge the earth (Revelation 20:4-6), will open the scroll (Revelation 5:2-5), and everyone will one day bow to Him and confess He is Lord (Philippians 2:8-11). Those who believe in Him as the only Begotten Son of God will be with Him into eternity, and we will worship and serve Him gratefully.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:1 ESV

² Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 
³ And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

⁴ So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open ^[a]and read the scroll, or to look at it. 
⁵ But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and ^[b]to loose its seven seals.”

Revelation 5:2-5 NKJV

⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 
⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 
¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:8-11 NKJV

He is the firstborn, yet He is not a created being. He is one with God, is the image of God, and came down in the flesh so that mankind would dwell with God in the flesh for a little while, but He has always been and will always remain fully God. He experienced temptation, pain, and suffering as a man, but in His holiness and divinity He resisted all temptation, never once sinned, and obediently submitted to being the perfect sacrifice for all past, present, and future sins of the human race.

¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

Hebrews 10:12 NKJV

¹⁸ Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

John 5:18 NKJV

²⁹ For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Romans 8:29 CSB

Becoming a Co-Heir with the Only Begotten Son

Those who believe in Jesus as the only Begotten Son of God through faith are adopted and grafted into the family of God and become brothers and sisters of Christ and to one another. We become children of God, and with this, we become coheirs with Christ, and will one day share in the promised inheritance of eternal life. We will be participants during judgment and will reign alongside Jesus, then be taken to dwell with God for eternity.

¹¹ In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 
¹² that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

¹³ In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 
¹⁴ who^[a] is the ^[b]guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:11-14 NKJV

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,^[a] when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Matthew 19:28 ESV

⁸ Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 
⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
¹⁰ And have made ^[a]us kings^[b] and priests to our God;
And ^[c]we shall reign on the earth.”

Revelation 5:8-10 NKJV

Those who trust in Jesus Christ are in fellowship with God through and because of the blood of Jesus’s sacrifice. His blood washes our sin away when we repent and believe in Christ by faith. Our names will be written in the book of life and we will be forgiven and blessed.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of ^[a]God! Therefore the world does not know ^[b]us, because it did not know Him.

1 John 3:1 NKJV

⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ^[a]“Abba, Father!” 
⁷ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir ^[b]of God ^[c]through Christ.

Galatians 4:6-7 NKJV

⁶ Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Revelation 20:6 NKJV

Eternal Life through God’s Only Begotten Son

Jesus became the sacrifice for all the sins of the world because the love of God for His people is so great and He knew we would never be able to redeem ourselves, but we must be made holy in order to be with God. When we believe in faith that Jesus is the only Begotten Son of God, Christ makes us holy by the washing of His blood and allows us to come into a personal relationship with God as sons and daughters. God’s love for and desire to be with His creation is so great that He sent His Only Begotten Son to die in our place so that we may have eternal life with God if we believe in His Son.

¹⁸ 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.

John 3:18 ESV

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 
⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 
⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 
⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He ^[a]made us accepted in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:3-6 NKJV

By becoming children of God and coheirs with Christ we are given the gift of God’s Holy Spirit to be a guide and a comfort on our way to our eternal inheritance. He will teach, correct, convict, guide and remind us as we seek to live a life that pleases God in faith and obedient love. We will bear the fruits of the Spirit as evidence of true faith in Christ, and we will be blessed by the measure of our faith and fruits.

¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons^[a] of God. 
¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 
¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 
¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Romans 8:14-17 ESV

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 
^23 [a]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 
²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 
²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 
²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians 5:22-26 NKJV

¹⁵ “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. 
¹⁶ You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 
¹⁷ In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 
¹⁸ A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. 
¹⁹ Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 
²⁰ So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.

Matthew 7:15-20 CSB

As children of God saved by His grace through faith in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God, we are called to follow Christ, live a life worthy of the gospel, repent and turn from sin, strive toward holy living, and bring God glory in the ways we live. This should be done in gratitude, love, and faith. It should come naturally as the Holy Spirit works to transform us to become more like Jesus and less like our old sinful selves. None of this is done by us or in our own wisdom or strength, but only by the grace and power of God. God saves us, redeems us, and transforms us for His good pleasure and glory, out of love for His creation, when we choose to accept Christ as our personal Savior in faith.

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 
⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 
¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV

Have faith in the Only Begotten Son

If you have trusted in Jesus as your Savior, lean into the Lord and seek a close and personal relationship with Him. Spend time with Him daily, make God a priority, and Christ-like living through faith and a desire to glorify God alone your heart’s desire.

If you have never trusted in Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I encourage you to invite Jesus into your life, repent of your sins, seek forgivenes from God, and accept Jesus as your Savior. It is a tough journey, but you are not alone!

If you once professed faith in Jesus and have strayed from His path, I encourage you to come to Him and repent, seek His forgiveness, and trust Him in faith again. Come back and continue to run the race with Jesus.

Those who earnestly seek His face and turn from their sin with a repentant heart will be forgiven. We would love for you to join us in the community for fellowship and encouragement. This life is meant to be lived alongside God as well as fellow believers. We are here for you! Join the community on Discord.

¹⁴ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10 NKJV

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 
¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 
¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 
^16 [a]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, ^[b]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

James 5:13-16 NKJV