His only begotten Son?

Confused · Post by **Confused** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 9:47 am

We are told God sacrificed His only Son so that we might find the path to Him:

John 3:16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

However, we are told even early that God had Sons prior to Jesus:

Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those daysâ€”and also afterwardâ€”when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

Open for debate:
How was His only Son sent into the world to save us when He had sent previous Sons into the world that helped condemn us?

How many Sons did God have?

Goat · Post by **Goat** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:00 pm

Eph wrote:
Slackerella wrote:
goat wrote: And how do you know this? Do you have a DNA sample from Jesus. Does God , being spirit, have DNA at all?
No, Im not trying to PROVE anything, Im simply explaining what I think "Only Begotten Son" means.

Edit: Also, I do not believe God is spirit. Whatever realm and dimension God lives in, it may be more easily described to us as "God is Spirit", but to limit his ability would be a mistake.
I posted elsewhere that "only begotten" has a Greek derivation indicating a family lineage. Father is actually the father to Jesus, the same as Slackerella points out - I believe the same thing she does, that Jesus is literally the Son, or son, of God.

To understand these types of points, sometimes we must look to the original language and manuscript, then try to decifer based on translation, original meaning and context.

Then, how do you explain the use of 'begotten son' in regards to the use of that term to King David?

Eph · Post by **Eph** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:11 pm

goat wrote:
Eph wrote:
Slackerella wrote:
goat wrote: Then, how do you explain the use of 'begotten son' in regards to the use of that term to King David?
Good question. It appears to be Messianic Psalm, in which, the reference could be to Christ himself?

The term "begotten" could have several interpretations, but I think all dealing with lineage of some sort.

Goat · Post by **Goat** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:18 pm

Eph wrote:
goat wrote:
Eph wrote:
Slackerella wrote:
goat wrote: Then, how do you explain the use of 'begotten son' in regards to the use of that term to King David?
Good question. It appears to be Messianic Psalm, in which, the reference could be to Christ himself?

The term "begotten" could have several interpretations, but I think all dealing with lineage of some sort.
No, it was referring to King David. Of course, in the Jewish religion/culture of the time period a 'messiah' was an anointed one. There were basically two different 'anointed' people in the society, the king and the high priest.
So technically, King David as a messiah

msmcneal · Post by **msmcneal** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 12:32 am

The Greek word used in John 3:16 is monogenes, which means basically firstborn. Most christians interpret it as meaning the "only begotten, unique Son of God". However, in both the OT and NT, many people were called "sons of God". It's only in John's gospel that we see the word monogenes used, as far as I remember. The idea, at least in my mind, that Jesus is the unique, only-begotten Son of God was a later invention, which is why it can't be found in earlier gospels.

Debating Christianity and Religion