JESUS IS THE UNIQUE SON OF GOD

JESUS IS THE UNIQUE SON OF GOD

by Silas

INTRODUCTION

The term "Son of God" appears many times in the Bible. It is related to various people or peoples. However when this term relates to Jesus Christ it has a unique meaning. This term is an analogy that describes who Christ is uniquely, and, His relation to the Father.

Many Muslims assert that since there are many people referred to as 'sons of God' in the Bible, then Jesus was only speaking metaphorically when He called Himself the 'Son of God'. In other words, Jesus was the Son of God by doing good works, glorifying God, being humble, etc. But Muslims and the teaching of Islam state that He was not the One and Only Son of God in any special unique sense.

One Muslim polemicist commenting on John 10 said that, "It is thus clear that even in the mouth of Jesus the term 'son of god' was a metaphorical expression, and by taking it literally the church has destroyed the very foundations of religion.” [Ali, "The Religion of Islam", p40]

Before we examine a number of biblical passages, it must be established that frequently the context of a word determines its meaning. If I say, "Okay, it's time for me to hit the road", what does that mean? Or if I were in Egypt, and I said "I'm on a piece of iron", what would that mean? If I were talking basketball and I say Michael Jordan is "BAD", what would that imply? Therefore in many cases context influences or determines the meaning of a word.

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PROOF THAT JESUS WAS THE UNIQUE 'SON' OF GOD.

Do the New Testament (N.T.) texts describe Jesus as a unique 'Son' of God or just another “son” of God, amongst many, in a metaphorical sense?

Probably the most famous N.T. scripture is John 3:16. Here, Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of God:

The Greek word translated “one and only” is "monogenes". It means "only born", or "sole". Vine's Expository Dictionary of N.T. Words adds that "the term is one of endearment as well as singleness."

Strong's concordance says that it is a combination of the word "monos" meaning “only”, and “ginomai” meaning to “to cause to be, generate, become, or come into being”.

This word is also used in referring to a boy in Luke 7:12- "As he (Jesus) approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow."

The Greek word 'monogenes' is used here and translated as 'only'.

It is used likewise in Luke 9:38- "A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child."

"Monogenes" is applied to Jesus in:

John 1:14- "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the "One and Only", who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Take a minute to understand what John is saying. Look at the glory and majesty John attributes to Jesus. Adam never had that praise, David was praised, but never at that level. Only Jesus received that recognition. Vine's further elaborates that the passage in the Greek here illustrates that the glory attributed to Jesus was a glory found only in a unique relationship with God.

John 1:18- "No one has ever seen God, but God, the "One and Only", who is at the Father's side has made him known."

Here, Jesus as the unique Son of God is revealed to be at the Father's side. No other person who is called "son of God" has ever been revealed to be at the Father's side.

John 3:18, and 1 John 4:9 are other verses where "monogenes" is used in reference to Jesus.

The N.T. scriptures show that when Jesus is referred to as the only "Son" of God it means Jesus is the unique "Son" of God. With respect to being a "Son of God", “monogenes” is only used for Jesus.

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2) Hebrews chapter 1 elaborates on who Jesus really is. The whole chapter shows clearly the Divinity of Christ. Of note is vs. 3: