John 1:18
“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
A Gospel Study of the Son
God Truly Gave His Only-Begotten Son
The KJV says that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God: not a son by creation like the angels, and not a son by adoption like the forgiven sinner, but the Son whom the Father sent and gave for the life of the world.
A Prayer Before Study
Father, Let Us See the Love in the Gift
Our Father in heaven, open our eyes to the love You showed when You gave Your only-begotten Son. Let us believe the Son whom You sent, receive His life by faith, and understand the purpose of His Spirit in us: to quicken our mortal bodies, write Your law in our hearts, and prepare a people who stand in Your presence through the final crisis. Teach us to honor the Son as You commanded, and to follow Jesus wherever He leads. Amen.
The Central Bible Witness
What Does “Only Begotten Son” Mean in the KJV?
John 3:16-17
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son... For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”John 3:16-17, KJV
John 6:29
“This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”John 6:29, KJV
Luke 1:35
“That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”Luke 1:35, KJV
“God... hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.”Hebrews 1:1-2, KJV
Begotten, Not Created
Sonship Is Not the Same as Creation or Adoption
Scripture uses “sons of God” in more than one sense. The angels are sons by creation (Job 38:7), and Adam was a son by creation (Luke 3:38). Believers become sons by adoption through faith and the Spirit (Romans 8:14-16). But the Bible reserves a unique title for Christ: the only-begotten Son. John 1:18 places Him in the bosom of the Father; John 3:16 says the Father gave Him; and John 6:29 calls us to believe in Him whom the Father sent.
| Relationship | Biblical witness | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Angels and Adam | Job 38:7; Luke 3:38 | Sons by creation. |
| Believers | Romans 8:14-16 | Sons and heirs by adoption. |
| Jesus Christ | John 1:18; John 3:16; Hebrews 1:4-5 | The only-begotten Son, with the Father’s name and inheritance. |
The Pioneer Witness
“Christ Is the Son of God by Birth”
“It is true that there are many sons of God, but Christ is the “only begotten Son of God,” and therefore the Son of God in a sense in which no other being ever was or ever can be. The angels are sons of God, as was Adam, by creation; Christians are the sons of God by adoption, but Christ is the Son of God by birth.”Pioneer witness, CHR 12.1; compare Roswell F. Cottrell’s 1869 witness
“Children inherit the name of their Father. The Son of God hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than the angels.”R. F. Cottrell, Review and Herald, June 1, 1869
Cottrell also explained why honoring the Son does not dishonor the Father: the Father Himself commands that all men honor the Son even as they honor the Father. His full witness preserves both truths: the Son is worthy of divine honor, and there remains “a God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Father’s Name and Glory
Honor the Son and Honor the Father
“That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”John 5:23, KJV
“But go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto MY Father, and YOUR Father; and to my God, and YOUR God.”John 20:17, KJV
Jesus Himself names the relationship. His Father is not described as the Father of the disciples in the same original sense: He says MY Father and then YOUR Father. The Son has a unique Sonship; believers become children of God through Him.
“For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.”John 5:26, KJV
The Original Controversy Is Still the Controversy
Why Did Lucifer Hate the Honor Given to the Son?
“The great Creator assembled the heavenly host, that he might in the presence of them all confer special honor upon his Son. The Son was seated on the throne with the Father, and the heavenly throng of holy angels was gathered around them. The Father then made known that it was ordained by himself that Christ, his Son, should be equal with himself; so that wherever was the presence of his Son, it was as his own presence. The word of the Son was to be obeyed as readily as the word of the Father. He had invested his Son with authority to command the heavenly host.”Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 1, pp. 17-18
“Lucifer was envious and jealous of Jesus Christ. Yet when all the angels bowed to Jesus to acknowledge his supremacy, and high authority, and rightful rule, he bowed with them; but his heart was filled with envy and hatred.”Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 1, p. 18
THE SAME ISSUE REMAINS IN THE GREAT CONTROVERSY. The Father gave His Son divine honor, authority, and the right to have His word obeyed. Satan still seeks to obscure the Son’s divine standing and divert from Christ the honor God gave Him. Read the complete volume in the Spirit of Prophecy library.
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”1 Timothy 1:17, KJV
THE ONLY WISE GOD is the Father who sent His Son; THE SON is the One whom the Father commands every creature to honor. This is not confusion. It is the Bible’s own relationship of Father and Son.
“And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.”Hebrews 1:6, KJV
“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.”Colossians 1:19, KJV
From Sonship to Salvation
The Son Was Given to Give Us His Life
The Father’s gift is greater than a theological label. God sent His own Son to die for us, and the Son gives His Spirit to quicken us. The same Christ who is the only-begotten Son is the last Adam, the quickening Spirit, and the One who can present His people faultless.
The Son Sent
“God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”John 3:17, KJV
The Life Given
“The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”1 Corinthians 15:45, KJV
The Mortal Body Quickened
“He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”Romans 8:11, KJV
The People Kept
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”Jude 24, KJV
This is why the companion pages belong together: the Holy Spirit study follows the Spirit of His Son into the heart, the Spirit of Christ archive gathers the pioneer witness, and the Second Adam study follows the risen Christ as the quickening Spirit.
Continue the Witness
Compare the Questions for Yourself
Sonship
Study the Bible and pioneer testimony concerning the Son of God.
“If Thou Be the Son of God”
Trace the temptation and the authority of the true Son.
The Second Adam
Follow the risen Christ as the quickening Spirit.
Ellen White Biography
Read the life and writings of a witness to Christ.
Christ’s Own Testimony
Where Did Jesus Say He Came From?
“For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I CAME OUT FROM THEE, and they have believed that thou didst send me.”John 17:8, KJV
“For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I CAME OUT FROM GOD.John 16:27-28, KJV
I CAME FORTH FROM THE FATHER, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.”
These are Christ’s own words. He testified that He came out from God, came forth from the Father, and was sent into the world. This testimony belongs beside John 20:17, where Jesus says MY Father and YOUR Father, and John 5:26, where the Father gives the Son life in Himself.