The Only Begotten Son

THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON
THE DEFINITION OF GOD

by Scott Jones
2004

"No man hath seen God at any time; THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." John 1:18 KJV

"No one has seen God at any time; THE ONLY BEGOTTEN GOD who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." John 1:18 NASB

Note: for an excursus on the Greek word monogenes (only begotten) see The Definition Of Monogenes

The term GOD by itself is meaningless. It is formless. It is undefined. To comprehend the term GOD, the term itself must be defined.

Jesus Christ, the SON, DEFINES God; Jesus Christ, the SON, DECLARES God. Jesus Christ is the FULL and ONLY TRUE manifestation of GOD. All other representations of GOD are false and deceiving. Jesus Christ ALONE DECLARES God to men, for Jesus Christ is JEHOVAH INCARNATE, and none other. That is why it is written of Jesus Christ in 1 Timothy 3:16 that he is GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH!

Note: for an excursus on this passage see False Citations - I Timothy 3:16 Examined

Accordingly, never forget that it is the SON who is begotten, not his ESSENCE. The SON is begotten eternally in the BOSOM, or ESSENCE of the Father, and the Holy Ghost eternally PROCEEDS from the Father and the Son in this same ESSENCE. This is the doctrine of the Trinity in all its glory.

This is why that MONSTROUS HERESY as perpetrated in John 1:18 in the NASB and other modern “bibles”—“ONLY BEGOTTEN GOD”—is so offensive and destructive of the glory of Jesus Christ. Not only is it the RANKEST HERESY to assert that the DIVINE ESSENCE can be BEGOTTEN, which this phrase in the NASB BLATANTLY asserts—how bold Satan is, and how accommodating the IGNORANT and BLIND and APOSTATE are—they are utterly without understanding—but this is yet again another attempt to rob Jesus Christ of his glory, for ONLY the SON is a MEDIATOR between God and men and consequently ONLY the SON is BEGOTTEN in the VERY SAME ESSENCE OF HIS FATHER and is therefore qualified to DECLARE God to men.

Thus, the above phrase, unquestionably instituted by Gnostics such as Valentinus and others, and later adopted by the Arians—all of whom maintained that the DIVINE ESSENCE can be BEGOTTEN, as this phrase in the NASB BLATANTLY asserts—is as VICIOUS a heresy as ever there was, as Calvin himself also noted:

“By the name of God is understood THE ONE SIMPLE ESSENCE, COMPREHENDING THREE PERSONS, or hypostases... We, therefore, hold it DETESTABLE BLASPHEMY to call the Son a DIFFERENT God from the Father, because the simple name “GOD” admits not of relation, NOR CAN GOD, CONSIDERED IN HIMSELF, BE SAID TO BE THIS OR THAT.” John Calvin, Institutes I.XIII.XX

And again:

“IN EVERY CASE WHERE THE GODHEAD IS MENTIONED, WE ARE BY NO MEANS TO ADMIT THAT THRE IS AN ANTITHESIS BETWEEN THE FATHER AND THE SON, as if to the former, only the name of God could competently be applied... But if we hold, what has already been demonstrated from Scripture, that THE ESSENCE OF THE ONE GOD, pertaining to the Father, Son, and Spirit, IS SIMPLE AND INDIVISIBLE, and again, that the Father differs in some special property from the Son, and the Son from the Spirit, the door will be shut against Arius and Sabellius, as well as the other ancient authors of error... Whoever says that the Son was ESSENTIATED [BEGOTTEN ESSENCE] by the Father, DENIES HIS SELF-EXISTENCE.” John Calvin, Institutes, I.XIII.XX.XXII, XXIII

And finally:

“If he [the Son] differs [from the Father], there must be some mark of distinction between them. Those who place it in the essence, manifestly reduce the true divinity of Christ to nothing, SINCE DIVINITY CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT ESSENCE, AND INDEED WITH ENTIRE ESSENCE... What, then, do these men show as the mark of distinction? If it is in the essence, let them tell WHETHER OR NOT HE COMMUNICATED [BEGETTED] ESSENCE TO THE SON. THIS HE COULD NOT DO IN PART MERELY, FOR IT WERE IMPIOUS TO THINK OF A DIVIDED GOD. AND BESIDES, ON THIS SUPPOSITION, THERE WOULD BE A RENDING OF THE DIVINE ESSENCE. THE WHOLE ENTIRE ESSENCE MUST THEREFORE BE COMMON TO THE FATHER AND THE SON; and if so, IN RESPECT OF ESSENCE THERE IS NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN THEM.” John Calvin, Institutes, I.XIII.XX.XXII, XXIII

Understand, if the ESSENCE of the Father is UNBEGOTTEN, then it NECESSARILY FOLLOWS that the ESSENCE of the Son MUST LIKEWISE BE UNBEGOTTEN. Otherwise, the Father and the Son have a DIFFERENT ESSENCE, an ESSENCE that is DIVIDED, an ESSENCE that is not the SIMPLE essence of which the Godhead is truly composed, and such a notion is of course nothing but utter blasphemy.

This simple truth also exposes those feeble-minded souls who assert that man becomes God by virtue of being joined to Jesus Christ. Such souls are not only feeble-minded by reason of a darkened and futile understanding, but are ignorant of even basic biblical truth. In a nutshell, it is his ESSENCE that makes God to be God, and anyone with an IOTA of understanding knows that this ESSENCE of God is SIMPLE and INDIVISIBLE, and that no CREATURE possesses or contains the LEAST IOTA of this ESSENCE, nor ever could. Such men are deluded through and through, and anyone who is that far gone is probably under judicial blindness, which is the greatest curse a man can be under this side of eternity.

And with regard to the Gnostics and the Arians, observe the learned John Burgon’s studied assessment:

“It will be remembered that St. John in his grand preface does not rise to the full height of his sublime argument until he reaches the eighteenth verse. He had said (ver. 14) that the Word was made flesh, &c.; A STATEMENT WHICH VALENTINUS WAS WILLING TO ADMIT. BUT, AS WE HAVE SEEN, THE HERESIARCH [VALENTINUS] AND HIS FOLLOWERS DENIED THAT THE WORD WAS ALSO THE SON OF GOD. As if in order to bar the door against this pretence, St. John announces (ver. 18) that the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him: thus establishing the identity of the Word and the Only begotten Son. WHAT ELSE COULD THE VALENTINIANS DO WITH SO PLAIN A STATEMENT, BUT SEEK TO DEPRAVE IT? ACCORDINGLY, THE VERY FIRST TIME ST. JOHN I:18 IS QUOTED BY ANY OF THE ANCIENTS, IT IS ACCOMPANIED BY THE STATEMENT OF THE VALENTINIANS IN ORDER TO PROVE THAT THE ONLY BEGOTTEN IS THE BEGINNING, AND IS GOD [NOT JESUS, IN OTHER WORDS] APPEAL TO THE WORDS -- the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, &c.” John Burgon, The Causes Of The Corruption Of The Traditional Text Of The Holy Gospels, pg 215

And then Edward Miller, Burgon’s long-time and very able assistant, further elaborates:

“This inference is strongly confirmed by the employment of it in the Arian controversy. ARIUS READ qeoz (ap. Epiph. 73—Tischendorf), WHILST HIS OPPONENTS READ Uioz... It is curious that with this history admirers of B and Aleph should extol their reading over the Traditional reading on the score of orthodoxy.” Edward Miller, The Causes Of The Corruption Of The Traditional Text Of The Holy Gospels

As can be plainly seen, the Arians argued for the VERY WORDING of the NASB, while the orthodox argued for the VERY WORDING of the Traditional Text! But such is the ignorance and blindness of our age, for Gnostic influence in the NASB and other modern "bibles" is pervasive throughout, yet it goes unnoticed by the mass of unregenerate and undiscerning apostate modern Christians.

To assert that the DIVINE ESSENCE can be BEGOTTEN, as this phrase in the NASB does (and the context only aggravates the blasphemy), is the very FOUNTAINHEAD of PAGANISM and IDOLATRY. Those who accommodate such wording are utterly without understanding. Nor can they have been taught by the Spirit, for such wording is more of an abomination to the Holy Spirit than it ever was to Calvin or the rest of the saints who have a grasp of sound doctrine.

Moreover, no Reformer or Puritan would accept a “bible” which contained this blasphemy, as well as the blasphemy by these same “bibles” in 1 Timothy 3:16, which in the Traditional Text is the strongest assertion of the deity of Jesus Christ in all the Word of God. The Reformers and Puritans were aware of BOTH of these variant readings, and they rejected them out of hand, stating unequivocally that BOTH of these readings were completely heretical. Why? Because the Reformers and Puritans were indwelt by the Holy Spirit, unlike the translators and proponents of these modern “bibles” today.

Make no mistake, the acceptance of this blasphemy is yet another infallible proof of the wholesale ignorance and unregeneracy in professing Christianity today, asserted by the same unregenerates who deny what the Holy Ghost INFALLIBLY bears witness to in EVERY ONE of his elect, namely, that GREATEST GUN in ALL the Word of God—GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH.

Not only is there, strictly speaking, not a SHRED of viable evidence for removing GOD from 1 Timothy 3:16, but further, he who is JEALOUS for the GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST would need OVERWHELMING evidence to do so. Not only is this OVERWHELMING evidence UTTERLY LACKING, but in fact, the OVERWHELMING evidence runs the other way, that is, the OVERWHELMING evidence SUPPORTS the READING and the FACT that GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH.

Only someone with a vested interest in denigrating Jesus Christ would remove GOD in this passage, and he who denies this not only proves himself unregenerate, but likewise utterly ignorant of the devices of Satan and the spiritual battle over God's Word, a battle that has been raging for six thousand years, and continues to rage to this day, its zenith culminating IN THIS VERY VERSE.

In a nutshell, if a person is JEALOUS for the glory of Jesus Christ, and after having been made aware of the differences, he would UTTERLY REJECT a "bible" such as the NASB, which offers UNBRIDLED HERESY in such verses as John 1:18, Philippians 2:6, 1 Timothy 3:16, and others. (For an excursus on Philippians 2:6, see Indictment Of Ignorance)

You may take it as absolutely axiomatic that if a person is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and has been made aware of these radical differences in the text, he will, with the Holy Spirit, EXCORIATE the readings of the NASB in these and other verses. In other words, you may take it as axiomatic that if a person is JEALOUS for the GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST, he will have NOTHING TO DO with such foul, heretical readings. Nothing whatsoever.

Conversely, he who DEFENDS such readings not only proves himself IGNORANT of sound doctrine, but manifestly unregenerate as well, for the Holy Spirit REBUKES such foul readings in ALL HE INDWELLS.

Only he who is jealous for the PLEASING OF MEN will allow himself a "bible" which contains these blasphemies.

In short, you may take it as axiomatic that he who accepts a “bible” with these two blasphemies is INFALLIBLY unregenerate, as well as one who has NEVER seen Jesus Christ in his glory by the Holy Spirit, and who likewise is NOT jealous for the glory of Jesus Christ, and being JEALOUS FOR THE GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST is an INFALLIBLE characteristic of EVERY ONE that is born of the Spirit.

Accordingly, the harm these modern unregenerates have done to the cause of truth and sound doctrine is CATASTROPHIC, and therefore this scripture is fulfilled in them:

“And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Peter 2:3

This being that very age wherein God is in the process of preparing and sending that strong delusion on the world, especially among professing Christianity, it is not in the least surprising that such rank heresy as “ONLY BEGOTTEN GOD” is so widely accepted today, notwithstanding the sophists' attempts to make the text not mean what it actually SAYS. At long last, it has finally gotten to the point in professing Christianity wherein the sophists are forced to wrest the heretical wording of their own "bibles" to try to make them sound orthodox, for the only way around the blatant and blasphemous “ONLY BEGOTTEN GOD” is to have it explained to you that it doesn't really mean what it actually SAYS. And it necessarily follows, of course, that the same can then be done with any other scripture. Accordingly, this practice is a DIRECT cause why so few are born again today.

Hearken! if you are going to prosper in the Lord Jesus, you must adhere to what the text ACTUALLY SAYS, not what you or any other person can make it say. If you do not do so, you will rue the day you were born, for God will not hold them guiltless who pervert his PLAIN word. As the mighty William Tyndale stated:

“Thou shalt understand... that the Scripture hath but one sense, which is the literal sense. And that the literal sense is the root and ground of all, and the anchor that never faileth... The Scriptures spring out of God and flow unto Christ, and were given to lead us to Christ. Thou must go along by the Scripture as by a line until thou come at Christ, which is the way’s end and resting place.” William Tyndale, Obedience Of A Christian Man

Therefore be it known, as the true Word of God declares, it is not the DIVINE ESSENCE that is BEGOTTEN, rather, it is the SON who is BEGOTTEN, his personality ETERNALLY DERIVED from his Father, and HIMSELF subsisting ETERNALLY with the SAME UNBEGOTTEN ESSENCE of the Father. Likewise, it is the HOLY SPIRIT who is PROCEEDING, and PROCEEDING ETERNALLY from both the Father and the Son, and HIMSELF subsisting ETERNALLY with the SAME UNBEGOTTEN ESSENCE of the Father and the Son. In short, GOD is ONE UNBEGOTTEN ESSENCE, and any other notion is damnable idolatry.