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The God Who Is
The Nature Of This Generation
The Scripture says, "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). Often in the Bible, Jesus is declared to be the "only begotten" Son of God.
The "only begotten" Son—There is a generation of the Son of God, and it is clear from Scripture that this generation was not completed in the distant past, but is an act in the eternal present. It is an act by the Great "I Am" who dwells in the eternal present. It is therefore an act ever completed, yet ever continuing.
Since God dwells in the eternal present, He always was, yet He always is. In like manner, the generation of the Son is an act ever completed, yet ever continuing. Again in John chapter 1, note verse 14, "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." And, in verse 18, we read, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." We have already noted John 3:16. Note verse 18: "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."
Again in I John chapter 4, in verse 9 we read, "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."
In Scripture, Jesus is repeatedly called the "only begotten" because in the whole realm of the living, the Lord Jesus is the only being to be begotten in such a manner.
Angels as the "sons of God"—"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them" (Job 1:6). "Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord" (2:1). In both passages, the angels are called the "sons of God."
The angels are again referred to as the "sons of God" in Job chapter 38, in verses 6 and 7: "Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?" (i.e. the foundations of the earth) "or who laid the corner stone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" The reason the angels are not said to be "begotten" of God is because they were not begotten like the "only begotten" Son of God.
Believers as the "sons of God"—Among the sons of men, believers are called the "sons of God." "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12). "Believers," i.e. true Christians, or those who have been "born again," are the sons of God. Again, in I John chapter 3, note verse 1: "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." Imagine! As believers, we are the "sons of God!" But in what sense are we the sons of God? Are we begotten in the same manner as the Lord Jesus?
In Galatians chapter 4, note verse 4. "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Some time ago, I was in a meeting where a fellow was speaking about the Old Testament tabernacle. He was a good man who loves the Lord, and who speaks about the country on the subject.
I was therefore shocked to hear him say, that although there are some people who believe we are adopted into the family of God, that this is not so. He said, "We are the sons of God." I spoke with him after the meeting and said, "The Bible states that we are sons of God by adoption." To my surprise he asked, "Where does it say that?" I then quoted this passage for him.
In what sense are we the sons of God? Believers are the sons of God by regeneration, not by generation. We are sons of God by adoption; Jesus Christ is the Son of God by nature. Neither angels, nor Christians are the sons of God in the same sense that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God. He is the "only begotten of the Father." Believers are the sons of God only by the good grace of God.