God's Only Begotten Son

Minister:
Date: AM
Text: John 3:16; Lord's Day 13
Psalters: 264, 324, 4, 125
  1. The evidence.
    1. When Jesus came near us and became like us, then it was so easy to deny that He was divine, the Son of God.
    2. Scripture clearly and emphatically speaks of Jesus’ deity: Romans 9:5 and I Timothy 3:16.
      1. Jesus had divine attributes.
      2. And He did divine works.
    3. Even in His humiliation He was recognized as the “Son of God” (Jn 1:34, 49; Matt. 16:15-18; John 20:28).
  2. That Jesus is the Son of God is extremely important.
    1. We must insist on the language, “the only begotten Son of God.”
    2. Christ’s sonship is unique especially because He is “begotten.”
      1. Begotten is the act of love whereby one reproduces oneself in another.
      2. Because God Himself in our flesh sheds His life’s blood, then the cross is surely efficacious.
    3. His Sonship is “only;” distinct from the sonship of angels and from Adam (Luke 3:38).
      1. He is only because He alone is the Person of the eternal Son of God.
      2. And Jesus is only because He alone is the natural Son of God.
  3. Only in and through Christ can we confess that we too are God’s children.
    1. In Christ God graciously adopted us and gave us the glorious privilege of being called the sons of God.
    2. Our adoption into God’s family is only and always by grace.
      1. First, by virtue of our creation we are naturally human.
      2. Second, legally, and spiritually we are children of the devil (Eph. 2:2,3).
      3. Third, it is grace because even after our adoption we are disobedient and runaways.
    3. We are legally adopted.
    4. Spiritually, the Son of God has the power to make us God’s children in reality (not step-children).