"Begotten"

[Philip]

Who out there can provide illumination to the term "Begotten?" Seems like there should be a better term, but perhaps none truly sufficiently accurate.

[Ivellious]

It's a past tense of "beget", which in the biblical sense typically means "to procreate". So if I were to reference "my only begotten son" I am talking about "the only son that I have brought into this world." Dictionary.com says that it typically only refers to a man's perspective (so, to beget would be for a man to impregnate a woman and have her give birth).

[Philip]

It's a past tense of "beget", which in the biblical sense typically means "to procreate". So if I were to reference "my only begotten son" I am talking about "the only son that I have brought into this world."

But that would suggest that Jesus had a beginning - UNLESS - we're speaking of a beginning AS A MAN/God.

[RickD]

Who out there can provide illumination to the term "Begotten?" Seems like there should be a better term, but perhaps none truly sufficiently accurate.

What problem to you have with the term? Does this help:
http://www.gotquestions.org/only-begotten-son.html

[Philip]

Rick, I have seen this GotQuestions link before. I just figured some of our resident "Greek Geeks" might provide some deeper insights.

It just seems to me that there is a better way of translating this word. While I realize translators have to be careful of reading modern understandings into the text, there is a difference between a good translation and changing the original's intent with new contextual and/or wrongful meanings. The thing is, English Bible translations for modern audiences need to be correctly understood by them. We don't speak Greek, we don't speak archaic forms of English, etc. But, yes, I guess this IS a word that bugs me. But it's probably why the ESV eliminates the word, as does the NIV. Yet the NASB retains it.

However, even just using the phrase "only son" is probably inadequate to describing a relationship within The Almighty - perhaps as it is the closest analogy that we mortals could even come close to understanding.

Thanks!

[PaulSacramento]

Begotten can be used in various ways.
In the literal sense it means "born of" and implies the same essence as opposed to created which implies that the end result is "made" and different from the nature of who/what created it.
A human begets a child and the child is the same nature (human), but a human creates a work of art (painting for example) and that is unique and not of the same nature as what created it.

It can also be used in the "adoptive" sense so the context must be used to figure out which meaning is being used.
Adoptive in the sense for David.
"Born of" in the sense for Jesus.

[B. W.]

+
Regarding the word translated begotten – please see the quote below as it answer this very well:

Quoted from AMG’s The Complete Word Study Dictionary

Strongs Number 3439

μονογενής

monogenēs; gen. monogenoús, masc.-fem., neut. monogenón, from mónos (3441), only, and génos (1085), stock. Unique, one of a kind, one and only.

The only one of the family (Luke 7:12 referring to the only son of his mother; Luke 8:42, the daughter of Jairus; Luke 9:38, the demoniac boy).

John alone uses monogenēs to describe the relation of Jesus to God the Father, presenting Him as the unique one, the only one (mónos) of a class or kind (génos), in the discussion of the relationship of the Son to the Father (John1:14, John1:18; John 3:16, John 3:18; 1John 4:9).

Génos, from which genḗs in monogenēs is derived, means race, stock, family, class or kind, and génō comes from gínomai (1096), become, as in John1:14, "and the Word became [egéneto] flesh." This is in distinction from gennáō (1080), to beget, engender or create. The noun from gennáō is génnēma (1081), the result of birth. So then, the word means one of a kind or unique.

There are two schools of thought regarding the meaning of this term. The first view, which began with Origen, teaches that Christ's unique Sonship and His generation by the Father are eternal being predicated of Him in respect to His participation in the Godhead.

Although monogenḗs was traditionally cited in proof of this explanation, modern proponents, recognizing the mistaken identification of genḗs as a derivative of gennáō instead of génos, understand the word to be descriptive of the kind of Sonship Christ possesses and not of the process establishing such a relationship. This would serve to distinguish the Sonship of Christ to God from that spoken of other beings, e.g., Adam (Luke 3:28), angels (Job 1:6), or believers (John1:12).

The last view teaches that Christ's unique Sonship and generation by the Father are predicated of Him in respect to the incarnation. The proponents of this interpretation unequivocally affirm the triune nature of the Godhead and Christ's deity teaching that it is the word lógos (3056), Word, which designates His personage within the Godhead. Christ's Sonship expresses an economical relationship between the Word and the Father assumed via the incarnation.

This stands in fulfillment of OT prophecies which identify Christ as both human, descending from David, and divine, originating from God. Like David and the other kings descending from him, Christ is the Son of God by position (2 Sam 7:14), but unlike them and because of His divine nature, He is par excellence the Son of God by nature (Psalms 2:7; Heb 1:5). Thus the appellation refers to the incarnate Word, God made flesh, not simply the preincarnate Word.

Therefore, monogenēs can be held as syn. with the God-Man. Jesus was the only such one ever, in distinction with the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Triune God.

He is never called téknon Theoú (téknon [5043], child; Theoú [2316], of God) as the believers are (John1:12; John11:52; 1 John3:1-2, 1 John3:10; 1 John5:2). In John5:18, Jesus called God His very own (ídion [2398]) Father. To Jesus, God was not a Father as He is to us. See John 20:17. He never spoke of God as the common Father of Him and believers. The term monogenḗs also occurs in Heb 11:17.

So then, the word begotten means one of a kind / unique.
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[PaulSacramento]

Yes, for sure but I also believe that it also means "of the same type".
Like many greek terms, there is the literal meaning and the everyday meaning and even it's use under special contexts.

[1stjohn0666]

The word "son" which Jesus is the son of God. A son must honor and obey his Father. 5th commandment gives it. Jesus had an origin, thus "begotten" I agree that Jesus is "unique" he is the only human to have a non human father.

[B. W.]

John666,

As for your quips regarding the phrases, Son of God/Son of Man, were used in the OT to how identify the Real Messiah, his role, and work, and who he is ushering in the New Covenant.

Jesus Christ was not a created megaphone, a hunk of man meat used to slaughter like a lamb meat was under the OT sacrifice system. No man can forgive the sins of the world. Such forgiveness belongs and can only come from God himself, in person, as it is written in Isa 45: 5, 6, 14, 21c and the following…

Isa 43:11, "I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. "

Isa 45:21, "Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me.

Isa 46:9, "Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me…"

Hosea 13:4, "Yet I have been the LORD your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to know any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me."

John 4:42, "and they were saying to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world."

Isa 9:6 clearly states God will come in the flesh and save…

Isa 45:22, "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other."

No other means acceptable to God other than His own grace…(John 1:14)

Isa 7:14, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel (God with us)"

Philippians 2:5-11, "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Titus 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus..."

Titus 3:4 "But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared"

2 Peter 1:1 "Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ"

Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before Me.
Exodus 20:4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
Exodus 20:5 "You shall not worship them or serve them…"

All Bible quotes from the NASB

Lastly, John666, these questions were asked for you...

Do you think that Greek words in John 1:1, "the Word was with God" actually means "Jesus Christ was with God in His foreknowledge"?

Was Jesus Christ born of a virgin?

How many people were crucified with Christ Jesus when he died?

In regards to the Holy Spirit, is the Holy Spirit a holy spirit, God the Father only? or a form of power?

What is your view on the atonement of Jesus Christ?
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[Philip]

God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Wow: So people will bow to Him that Scripture says God the Father also calls "LORD." God equates Jesus with Himself and says "to the GLORY of God the Father," Jesus will be bowed down to - as LORD. And we all know that no one but God should be bowed down to or is worthy of worship or ever should be worshipped. Note that those bowing down are also ones in heaven, and thus their bowing down is clearly in worship of Jesus.

[PaulSacramento]

God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Wow: So people will bow to Him that Scripture says God the Father also calls "LORD." God equates Jesus with Himself and says "to the GLORY of God the Father," Jesus will be bowed down to - as LORD. And we all know that no one but God should be bowed down to or is worthy of worship or ever should be worshipped. Note that those bowing down are also ones in heaven, and thus their bowing down is clearly in worship of Jesus.

Yeah, the thing is, to deny the divinity of Christ, that Christ is God by nature, that The Father Has given him ALL, is to deny the writings of Paul, John, Jude, Peter and Luke.
Look at ACTS.
Not only does Jesus state that we are to be HIS witnesses But Peter states that there is NO OTHER name under Heaven that we are saved by.
These are HUGE statements of Jesus' identity, nature and the sharing of power and authority between Father and Son.

[1stjohn0666]

It is a nice thing that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus "gave him power and authority" which Jesus will give back.

[Philip]

"give back?"

Please explain.

[1stjohn0666]

Yes give back: 1 Cor 15:24-28