For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, New International Version)
Ash Wednesday was a few days ago, marking the beginning of Lent. Each year I try to come up with a theme for the six Sundays leading up to Easter. I’ve had something in mind since the first of the year, but then yesterday morning, I came up with a totally different idea. Which is usually how I roll.
For me, Lent signifies a time to look at the life of Jesus and what both His life and death mean to me. This year I thought maybe it would be worthwhile to look at precisely who Jesus is. Yes, of course, He is the one and only Son of God, but He was also a son to Mary and Joseph, a brother, a friend, a teacher, and most importantly, our Savior.
Today, I’ll start by looking at what it means to be the one and only Son of God, or as the King James Version of the Bible states, “the only begotten Son of God.”
The original word in this verse was the Greek word monogenes, which in all our English translations of the Bible comes to read “only," "one and only," or "only begotten.” The word “begotten” means to be born or created. When non-believers see that word, they denounce Jesus as being part of the Triune God, saying that if He was created, then He hasn’t been around forever the way God has been, which is one way they try to rip apart the entire Christian faith.
Actually, the word monogenes has two definitions. 1) pertaining to being the only one of its kind within a specific relationship and 2) pertaining to being the only one of its kind or class, unique in kind. When used as an adjective, it can mean one of a kind or one and only. So I’m not sure where the old King James Version gets the word begotten. All I know is that I think it would be super cool to master the ancient Greek language, the language the Bible was originally written in, and not have to figure out which English translation is the most accurate. But that’s just me.
What this whole conversation boils down to is that Jesus is, was, and always will be the one and only, unique Son of God. With the Father and the Holy Spirit, they make up the Triune God.
Also, when I write a set of themed blog posts, I like to include pictures with one theme as well. This year, I am going with churches, far and wide, that I’ve seen in my travels. Today’s is a nearby church, the simple and very old Estonia Church in Gleason, twenty miles or so from where I live.
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