Introduction:
I spent the last three posts expressing the Biblical understanding of Jesus Christ being the only way to God. Readers may review that series here Growing Christian Resources: Part One: One God, One Way, One Faith - A Defense For Why Jesus Is The Only Way of Salvation here Growing Christian Resources: Part Two: One God, One Way, One Faith - A Defense For Why Jesus Is The Only Way of Salvation and here Growing Christian Resources: Part Three: One God, One Way, One Faith - A Defense For Why Jesus Is The Only Way of Salvation. As we return back to our series on the Nicene Creed, I refer readers back to the last post I had done a few weeks back for sake of review here Growing Christian Resources: Post #7 1700 Years of the Nicene Creed - "And in one Lord, Jesus Christ" We observed in that last post how the Divine title "LORD" is used in the New Testament to attest to the Son's Divine nature in union with the Father on the one hand, while affirming His distinction from the Father in the Godhead on the other.
What will follow in this post and in the next post will be a look at the current discussion among theologians on what the Creed means by its use of the term for the Son as "the only begotten". The term "begotten" (Greek noun "mono-gin-ay" = μονογενη) has become a subject of discussion and debate among Biblical theologians, church historians, and New Testament Greek scholarship over the last one hundred and fifty years, most notably the last twenty-five years. At issue is the historic teaching of what is known as "the eternal generation" of the Son from the Father, affirmed by the Nicene Creed yet questioned today by some theologians.
In this post, I'll present arguments favorable to the idea that the Greek term "monogenes" (the word used to translate "only-begotten" in older English translations, such as in John 3:16), as well as in the Nicene Creed. In the next post I'll explore arguments that dispute this claim, and instead argue that the term "monogenes" ought be translated "one and only", as well as resisting the doctrine of eternal generation.
The term "only-begotten", does it only mean "one and only" or it is referring to the eternal generation of the Son as "only begotten"?
When we talk about the doctrine of "eternal generation", what do we mean? In the history of theological reflection, two live options are discussed. Some theologians, such as Charles Hodge, would advocate that the personhood of the Son, rather than the essence, as conveyed by the Father to the Son.1
What is meant by this is that between the two Persons of the Father and the Son, the only distinguishing marks are that the Father "filiates" or "begets", and the Son is "begotten". These personal properties are what ensure we do not confuse the Father with the Son, or the Son with the Father. This at least expresses a foundational point of the doctrine of the Trinity, keeping in mind the distinctions between the Father, Son, and Spirit while affirming their equality of glory, power, and eternity in the Godhead.
Others, such a Herman Bavinck, and the original defender of the Son's deity at the Council of Nicaea, Athanasius, would argue that eternal generation is the Father's communication of the entire essence to the Son, without beginning, from all eternity.2 To say the Son of God is "eternally generated" is meant that to Him is the entire Divine nature, point for point, with all perfections, eternally and without origination communicated by the Father to the Son. Either understanding (whether the Father begets the substance of deity or personhood to the Son) still results in affirming the Divine persons of the Father and Son being co-equal, sharing in the same undivided nature of the Godhead, and distinguished from each other respectively as begetter and begotten.
Charles Lee Irons, a leading proponent of the notion that the phrase "only-begotten" refers to the eternal generation of the Son from the Father summarizes his view with leading Scripture references from John's Gospel using the term "only-begotten" or "monogenes":
"Traditionally, the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son was supported by an appeal to the five Johannine texts in which Christ is identified as monogenes (Jn 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; I Jn 4:9). As early as Jerome's Vulgate, this word was understood in the sense of 'only begotten' (unigenitus), and the tradition was continued by the Authorized Version."
Dr. Irons then summarizes what has been the controversy surrounding this term:
"However, most scholars of this century reject this understanding and believe, instead, that the idea behind the word is more along the lines of 'only' (RSV) or 'one and only' (NIV)." 2 We will look at some of these objections in the next post.
The main passages used to support the eternal generation of the Son as the true meaning of "mono-genes" or "only-begotten".
To remind ourselves again, those who argue for the eternal generation of the Son teach that the Son of God is "eternally generated", meaning that that Father eternally communicates to Him the entire Divine nature, point for point, with all perfections. Also, the distinguishing characteristic of the Son, "begottenness", is conveyed by the Father to Him, with the Father Himself being the unbegotten Person, hence distinguishing Him in identity from the co-equal and co-eternal Son.
There are proof texts that theologians in favor of this doctrine appeal as direct evidence for the doctrine, and then a handful of passages that theologians would say are indirect proof-texts.
Direct proof-texts for the eternal generation of the Son from the Father
John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
John 1:18 "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 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
1 John 4:19 "By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him."
In addition to these five Johannine proof texts, a few others that convey the teaching of the eternal generation of the Son are used. In Proverbs 8:24-25, Wisdom is personified and described as "brought forth" from God before creation of anything else:
“When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 “Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth." 3
Indirect Proof Texts
Although the following other passages do not use the term "only-begotten", the idea of the Son being eternally generated by the Father is resident in their various phrases. Colossians 1:16-17 "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything." I've highlighted four phrases in Paul's words here in Colossians.
The first three bolded phrases portray the Son as responsible for creation, rather than being created, as some groups like the Jehovah Witnesses would advocate. The term "firstborn" is a Greek noun that refers to inheritance more so than just mere birth-order. The Son of God was promised in eternity, by the Father, that He would inherit all of creation before it was made (compare Psalm 2:8; 82:8).
There are other indirect proof texts we could offer, but for sake of space let me submit Psalm 2:7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You." The word "today" in context is not referring to there at that moment. Sometimes in the Bible, the term "day" can refer to an indeterminate period of time, or even eternity itself.4
The Nicene Line and clarifying the Creed's confession of the Deity and humanity of the Son
As we close out today's post, I wanted to refer to a recent lecture Dr. Fred Sanders gave at the Credo Conference back in May of 2025 here (1081) Fred Sanders: True God from True God - YouTube, on the phrase in the Nicene Creed about Jesus Christ being "God of very God". In the talk, Sanders used a very helpful tool that aids greatly in clarifying what the Creed is communicating about the Person of the Son in terms of His deity and humanity. I'll reproduce what he said below by way of a red line he used in his lecture to draw attention to the Nicene Creed's confession of God the Son.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Nicene Line----------------------------------------
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and
the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the
Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.
Why did Dr. Sanders draw his red line between the phrases "of the same essence as the Father" and "through whom all things are made"? In his lecture, he points out that the Creed is delivering to us the entire narrative of the Son of God, eternally pre-existent with the Father above the red line, and then becoming incarnated in history below the same line.
What the "Nicene Line" does is help us "tell the story of Jesus", marking out what He is by nature as God above the line, and then reminding ourselves that though taking unto His person a total human nature below the line, He was still retaining all His Divine attributes which are spoken of Him above the line, especially in that phrase "through whom all things are made". This tool at least can help us keep term "only begotten", in mind as we see it situated within the larger context of the Nicene Creed's confession of the equality of the Son's deity with the Father.
Next time....
In the next post I'll write more about the discussion on the term translated "begotten" (monogenes), noting some arguments that prefer to translate the term "one and only", as well as denying the need for the doctrine of the Son's eternal generation.
Endnotes:
1. Theologian Lorainne Boettner summarizes this view of the Father conveying the personal property of "begottenness" to the Son in eternal generation as coming from Charles Hodge. On page 121 of his "Studies in Theology", Boettner quotes Hodge's "outlines in theology" as follows:
"an eternal personal act of the Father, wherein, by necessity of nature, not by choice of will, He generates the person (not the essence) of the Son, by communicating to Him the whole indivisible substance of the Godhead, without division, alienation, or change, so that the Son is the express image of His Father's person, and eternally continues not from the Father, but in the Father, and the Father in the Son".
2. https://www.monergism.com/son-generation-or-filiation
From Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: God and Creation, transl. John Bolt, and John Vriend (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004), 2.308–310.
Theologian Herman Bavinck writes this about eternal generation: "divine generation implies that the Father begets the Son out of the being of the Father, “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father,” as the Nicene symbol has it."
Bavinck then uses this analogy:
"Just as the human mind objectivizes itself in speech, so God expresses his entire being in the Logos [Christ]."
Bavinck later on expands on the Father's begetting of the Son in this doctrine: "Creation is 'the bringing into being, from the outside and not from the substance of the Creator, of something created and made entirely dissimilar [in substance],' while 'begetting' means “producing of the substance of the begetter an offspring similar in substance to the begetter.' The Son is not a creature but he is “God over all, forever praised!” (Rom. 9:5 NIV). Accordingly, he was not brought forth by the will of the Father out of nothing and in time. Rather, he is generated out of the being of the Father in eternity. Hence, instead of viewing “generation” as an actual work, a performance (ἐνεργεια), of the Father, we should ascribe to the Father “a generative nature” (φυσις γεννητικη). This is not to say, of course, that the generation is an unconscious and unwilled emanation, occurring apart from the will and power of the Father. It is not an act of an antecedent decreeing will, like creation, but one that is so divinely natural to the Father that his concomitant will takes perfect delight in it. It is a manifestation of what is truly expressive of his nature and essence, and therefore also of his knowledge, will, and power, in fact of all his virtues."
2. The Upper Register: Papers and mp3's by Lee Irons.
3. The Hebrew verb translated "brought forth" is the verb "chul" חוּל. In Proverbs 8:25, the verb חוּל is in a verbal form called the "hophal", which refers to wisdom being brought forth by another. We can tell the writer of Proverbs is advocating an eternal act of God bringing forth wisdom, not as a creation, but as an act from within His nature, by how this same verb is used in Job 15:7, which uses irony in the mouths of one of Job's supposed friends, contrasting creation with bringing forth: "Are you the first man who was born?Or were you brought forth before the hills?" The second part of Job 15:7 is set in eternity, since the phrase "before the hills" is a Hebrew idiom for eternity. As we look again at Proverbs 8:25, the Greek translation of this verse in the Septuagint uses the Greek verb "gennao" (γεννᾷ) which means "to birth, to bring forth, to beget". It is argued by those favoring the doctrine of eternal generation that this Greek verb is the root of the noun "monogenes" (only begotten). In ancient church fathers such as Athanasius, the prime defender and exponent behind the wording of the Nicene Creed, Proverbs 8:25 was a main proof text along with the passages in John's Gospel for the eternal generation of the Son.
4. God the Father is referred to as "The Ancient of Days", a title that is a round-about-way of speaking of His Divine eternity or eternal nature. In 2 Peter 3:12, the Apostle Peter writes of the "Day of God" in reference to what will be the New Heavens and New Earth that will begin eternity future following Christ's earthly reign (see also Revelation 21-22). Thus, the idea of "day" used in Psalm 2:7 speaks of the Father begetting or communicating the Divine nature to the Son, without beginning, thus indicating that the Father and the Son have forever related as Begetter and Begotten Persons within the Godhead.
