Why Is It So Important That God Sent His Only Begotten Son?
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“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” (John 3:16, NKJV).
I believe it is safe to say this might be the most popular verse from the Bible in the world. It’s possible you have quoted this verse so many times that you can gloss over its meaning. Not today. I want you to focus on a simple yet important question. What does begotten son mean, and why is this important?
What Does “Begotten” Mean?
If you go by a general definition of the word begotten, it means to produce an offspring as a father produces a child through procreation. When you look at this in the Greek, the word begotten comes from the word monogenēs. This word means “only begotten,” but it also means unique, only, or one and only. When you read different translations of the Bible, they don’t all use “only begotten son,” as you will see in some translations below.
ESV – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
NASB – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”
NIV – “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.”
NLT – “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
When you apply this word monogenēs to Jesus, it places him in a unique class that no one else has or ever will exist in. Jesus is the only begotten son and there is no other. This creates a line of distinction that separates Jesus from everyone else. Because he is the begotten son, it means Jesus shares the same divine nature and essence of the Father. All the authority, qualities, and fullness of the Father dwell in Jesus.
What Does This Verse Mean?
This verse expresses God’s love for humanity and his plan for redemption. It is the gospel summed up in one sentence. God loves us the way we are, but loves us enough not to leave us the way we are. To change our condition, he sent Jesus as a sin offering and if we place our faith in him, we will have eternal life.
This verse presents God’s answer to our sin problem. He gave his son as the remedy which offers us a path to redemption that leads to life.
Is Jesus God's Son?
The answer is yes. Jesus is God’s only begotten son. The question is why is this important? Jesus is unique because he is Emmanuel, which means God with us. He is the image of God in human form. He became like us as humanity to redeem us so we could become like him. Not that we would share in his divinity, because that is not possible for us, but that he would unite us with the Father, making it possible for us to share eternal life with him.
Why Is It So Important That God Was Willing to Sacrifice His Only Son?
The sacrifice of Jesus points to God’s love and justice. In the Old Testament, God established a system of sacrifice for the sins of the people of Israel. The problem with those sacrifices is they never removed sin. All they did was remind people of their sin.
“But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:3-4).
While these sacrifices were necessary under the law, ultimately, they did not cleanse our sin or remove our guilty consciences. For this to happen, it would require a sacrifice greater than a bull or a goat, which is why Jesus came. Because he was the only begotten son, he lived a perfect, sinless life which qualified him to be the ultimate sacrifice that would show God’s love and satisfy God’s justice.
What Does This Mean for Us?
There are many places you can turn to in Scripture to understand what Jesus’ sacrifice means for us, but I want to look in Hebrews 10. When you read this chapter, you will discover five things his sacrifice means for us. I will highlight a few of the verses, but I encourage you to read the entire chapter.
1. His Sacrifice Is Eternal
Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all, both now and for all eternity. Once he died, the need to shed the blood of a bull or goat was gone forever. Because his sacrifice is eternal, his blood provides eternal cleansing. As a result, your forgiveness is not temporary, but it endures because of the everlasting nature of his sacrifice.
2. His Sacrifice Makes Us Holy
“And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).
To be holy means to be set apart. Jesus’s sacrifice sets us apart as his representatives on the earth and sets us apart to be used by him.
3. His Sacrifice Makes Us Perfect
“For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14).
Jesus’ sacrifice didn’t just make us holy, but has made us eternally perfect. This means all the effects of sin we deal with in this life will not exist in eternity. We will be perfect and sinless because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
4. His Sacrifice Gives Us Access
5. His Sacrifice Cleanses Our Conscience
I grouped these together because they go hand in hand. Jesus’ sacrifice gives us access to God’ presence. However, the only reason we can approach God is because he has cleansed our conscience. He has removed our sin, guilt, and shame, which allows us to enter God’s presence with confidence, knowing he will receive us. When he sees us, he’s sees us as clean and forgiven because of the blood of Jesus.
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19-22).
The Greatest Message on Earth
When you think about what the begotten son means and why it is important, it boils down to one thing. Jesus loves you so much. He loved you enough to leave heaven and take the role of the begotten son. He chose obedience over comfort and chose to die for you rather than live without you. It is his death and his resurrection that solidified his love for you, and proved he is who he said he is.
He died for our sin so we would not have to, and his resurrection gives us hope of eternal life. That’s why when you understand the gospel message, it is the greatest message on earth. Let’s keep preaching the truth found in John 3:16, because while many people may know the verse, there are far too many who don’t know Jesus, the only begotten son of the Father.
Photo credit: SWN/Crosscards.com
