“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”
(1 John 4:9)
The greatness of God’s love is evidenced in the greatness of His Son whom He sent. Jesus is not called the only begotten Son of God in some comparative sense; His sonship is of another order altogether. He is simply and absolutely the only begotten Son of the Father, possessing a relation to the Father that belongs to no other being.
Christ is the true, natural, and proper Son of God. He is eternally begotten of the Father in the unity of the Godhead, without beginning, equal with the Father, and one and the same God with the Father. He differs from all others who may be called sons of God, not because He possesses a higher degree of dignity but because He possesses the divine nature itself.
Scripture therefore speaks of Him in language that cannot be reduced to creaturely sonship. He is the true God. He is begotten of the Father. His goings forth are from everlasting. He is equal with the Father, in the form of God, and truly the Son of God. He is the first begotten and the only begotten, not one son among many of the same order, but the Son in a singular and incomparable manner.
This explains why the love of God revealed in sending Christ is so astonishing. The Father did not send a created being that was more exalted than others. He sent His own only begotten Son. The worth of the gift reveals the greatness of the love. So the more clearly the glory and deity of Christ are understood, the more clearly God’s love manifested in His mission into the world appears.[1]
Christ Himself consistently defended this proper sonship. When He called God His Father, the Jews understood Him to be claiming equality with God. He maintained His claim when He declared His unity with the Father. When He said, “I and my Father are one,” His hearers again recognized that He was asserting something far beyond the status of an ordinary man.
The same is evident when the high priest asked whether He was the Son of the Blessed. Christ answered plainly, “I am.” He did not withdraw or soften the declaration even when it became the ground of the accusation against Him. The opposition He faced arose precisely because His hearers understood Him to claim a proper and divine sonship, one in which He possessed the same divine nature and power as the Father.
Our adoration heavenward naturally rises from the union of these two truths: the infinite dignity of the Son and the gracious purpose for which He was sent. The only begotten Son came into the world “that we might live through him.” The One sent for the life of sinners is Himself eternal God, equal with the Father. God’s love for us is therefore measured, so far as we may measure it at all, by the glory of the One whom the Father gave.
Contemplations:
- You Gave No Mere Creature. Your gift of redemption was not through an angel, a prophet, or an exalted servant. You sent Your only begotten Son. The greatness of this gift reveals the greatness of Your love. The more clearly I see who He is, the more astonishing Your giving of Him becomes.
- Your Son Is Equal with You. I worship Christ as the proper and natural Son, eternally begotten of the Father and one God with You, possessing the same divine nature and glory. He stands alone, the only begotten, infinitely above every creature who receives sonship by grace.
- Christ Did Not Hide His Glory. When men understood His words as a claim to equality with God, He did not retract them. When questioned directly, He confessed that He was the Son of the Blessed. Let his own testimony govern my worship, so that I honor the Son according to the divine glory that belongs to Him.
- Through This Son You Gave Life. The purpose of this manifestation of love was that sinners might live through Christ. I adore You because eternal life comes through One who is Himself eternally divine. The dignity of the Redeemer answers the greatness of the salvation. Let the life I have through Him continually lead me back to wonder at the Father who sent Him and the Son who came.
Prayer (Adoration):
Father, I adore You for the love manifested in sending Your only begotten Son into the world, Your eternal Son, equal with You, one God with You, possessing the same divine nature and glory.
I worship Jesus Christ as the true, proper, and natural Son of God. He is not called Your Son by adoption, office, or figure. He is the only begotten Son, eternally begotten of the Father and infinitely above every creature.
I praise You that Christ openly confessed this glory. He did not retreat when men understood His words as a claim to equality with God. He declared His unity with the Father and confessed plainly that He is the Son of the Blessed.
Let the glory of His person magnify Your love in my sight, knowing that the greater the Son whom You sent, the greater the love displayed in sending Him.
I adore You that this glorious Son came that sinners might live through Him. Eternal life is not secured by the work of another created being but through the divine Son Himself.
Let the deity, eternity, equality, and unique sonship of Jesus Christ continually enlarge my worship.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References:
John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; Col. 3:4; John 6:33
[1] Francis Cheynell, The Divine Trinunity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, (London: T.R. and E.M. for Samuel Gellibrand .., 1650), 200-203.
