John 3:16 Part 3

John 3:16 Part 3

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

He gave His only begotten Son … Well no one saw that one coming. God, who repeatedly is called one is now proclaiming to have a divine son and more, He will be sacrificing him for our salvation. The Jewish nation believed the Messiah would be a man from the descendent of David but there are a few Old Testament verses that point towards a Son.

⁷ “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

Psalm 2:7-8

Psalm 2 is just one such verse, but like the others that exist, it is a verse that can be interpreted to humans as well. In the end, it is the words and actions of Jesus when the belief relies. He did what no simple human could. Jesus himself is the proof of his claim.

People often misunderstand the idea of the only begotten son. Taken literally it means the first to be born however we can see in the Bible that there is a spiritual more important meaning.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, ¹⁸ of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”

Hebrew 11:17-18

Here Isaac is called ‘his only begotten son’ but we know that Isaac was neither the only nor the first, Ishmael being the older son. But Isaac is given that title because it carries the biblical promise of the Savior. It is because of that promise that Jesus is given the same title. He is the true fulfilment of the promise of the Savior.

It was hard for Jesus to be accepted as the Son of God when he was on the earth. Even his own followers struggled to accept that truth. But we today have the whole Bible to teach us and there is no excuse to not believe.

Blessings

Pr. Steven Couto