The Only Begotten Son and the Firstborn from the Dead

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The most famous verse in the Bible, identifies only one Man to be the Only Begotten Son of God. This beautiful verse resonates in our hearts. We know it to be true! But what does it mean? I’m asking specifically about the title given to Jesus Christ. When and how was Jesus Christ uniquely “begotten” by the Father? And how did this event “only” happen to Him? All Christians should be motivated to know the glorious details of These questions are particularly interesting because we know that the second Person of the Godhead, the Son of God, is an uncreated and eternal Person.

The Incarnation Required a Unique Birth

The title, the Only Begotten Son of God, refers to the incarnation of the uncreated and eternal Son of God when He was born into this world as a Man in the form of Jesus Christ. Matthew and Luke took the time to tell readers about how Jesus was “conceived” miraculously by “the Holy Ghost” in Mary’s womb and brought to birth Having no earthly father, it can be correctly stated that God was Jesus Christ’s one and “only” Father by birth. John doesn’t give us a conception and birth story in the Gospel of John. But he respectfully refers to it four times by using the title, the Only Begotten Son of God, in He refers to it five times if you count

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” — John 1:14

“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

John eloquently gives us a conception story in his own way in and He shows us the divinity of the Son of God as an uncreated, eternal, and heavenly being and then emphatically declares the good news that the Son of God has “come into the world” when “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” In order for an uncreated, eternal, and heavenly being to be incarnated, this Person must come down from Heaven. Right? Speaking of this, John said that God “sent” His Son “into the world” and thus the Son of God “came down from Heaven” in a real and genuine earthborn incarnation

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” — John 3:16

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God.” — John 3:18

I tremble to hear Jesus Christ say to the Father, "Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a Body hast Thou prepared Me" God became a Man through the incarnation so that He might die the death of the crucifixion! In other words, this Person became "the Only Begotten Son" for the purpose of being "lifted up" by the Cross Specifically speaking, this is how God "gave" this Person as a gift to the world, thus making Him "the Only Begotten Son of God" He was given to the world that He might deliver us from it

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ was a Unique Rebirth

Jesus Christ was uniquely begotten of the Father through the incarnation. We know when and how this happened according to the Bible. Nevertheless, the Scripture also speaks of another birth. When and how did this one happen? On a very specific day – Resurrection Sunday! – a thousand-year-old prophecy was fulfilled, which said, “Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee.” The titles used to commemorate this event are: “the First Begotten of the Dead” and “the Firstborn from the Dead” The resurrection of Jesus Christ was a unique and unprecedented rebirth.

“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the First Begotten of the Dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” — Rev. 1:5-6

“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the Firstborn from the Dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” — Col. 1:18

I don’t need to provide a detailed explanation about what this unique title means. The apostles explained this for us as they preached the Gospel in the Book of Acts; most notably, Paul quoted in as he was preaching in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia.

“And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the Tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead: And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” — Acts 13:29-39

“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” — Psalm 2:6-7

Theoretically, without most theologians would likely interpret as the day of incarnation for the Son of God. Nevertheless, under inspiration, the apostle Paul interpreted differently. He boldly declared the good news that was fulfilled when God “raised up Jesus again” in fulfillment of – declaring the resurrection day to be yet another birth for the Only Begotten Son of God. Notice also how sheds light on the prophecy, “Thou art My Son” Paul said that Jesus Christ was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead”

Several people were raised from the dead in biblical history, even in the Old Testament. But what happened to Jesus Christ was unique and unprecedented. Elijah and Elisha performed miracles of resurrection, but then these people lived out their days and died again even after they were resurrected The same could be said about Lazarus and everyone else who was raised from the dead by Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry All these people died and were buried, and their dead bodies will remain thus until the 1st resurrection, which will take place at the second coming of Christ

“That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.” — Acts 26:23

Jesus Christ was “the first” Man to be raised from the dead in a glorified, indestructible, and eternal human body Death was abolished from the body of Jesus Christ making it impossible for Him to die anymore and yet with the same body our Lord was eating and drinking with some human normalcy in the presence of the apostles Granted, there are many mysteries to this glorification. Some things simply cannot be understood But we are supposed to see what is happening here in the grand scheme of condemnation and salvation.

Condemnation can be traced back to Adam in the Garden of Eden. Adam’s sin brought a fallout of inescapable consequences for all mankind, especially as it pertains to spiritual, physical, and eternal death being imposed upon sinners ( Mat. 10:28, ). This was an unsolvable problem until the Son of God appeared in the fulness of times Now, as of 2,000 years ago, the eternal and uncreated Son of God became a Man, affectionately called, “the Only Begotten Son” thus introducing a second Adam into the Family Tree of humanity.

“For since by Man came death, by Man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” — 1 Cor. 15:21-22

Salvation can be traced back to the coming of a second Adam. The downstream effect of the second Adam is the exact opposite of the first Adam The second Adam has come to undo what was done by the first Adam. God-incarnate was on a rescue mission to recover humanity, while knowing full well what it would require: the incarnation, death, burial, descension, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ The resurrection of Jesus Christ has reconstituted the Family Tree of humanity, and the ascension will reposition it in Paradise. In a physical sense, the resurrection is a kind of new birth for mankind This is why Jesus Christ was repeatedly called, “the Firstborn from the Dead” In “the regeneration” of “the body” everyone will understand these mysteries perfectly