Only Begotten Son

Biblical Texts

The Korean term doksaengja means "a son born alone," that is, an only son. In the New Korean Revised Version, the term is applied to Jesus Christ only in the Gospel of John and 1 John.

• John 1:14: "the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
• John 1:18: This verse states that the one who is in the bosom of the Father has made God known. The New Korean Revised Version renders the phrase as "the only begotten God."
• John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son."
• John 3:18; 1 John 4:9

Meaning and Background of the Word

The original Greek word, monogenēs, was also used of ordinary people. The Gospel of Luke uses it for the only son of the widow of Nain (7:12), the only daughter of Jairus (8:42), and a demon-possessed boy (9:38). Hebrews 11:17 applies the word to Isaac, and the New Korean Revised Version translates it there as "only son." Isaac, however, had a half-brother, Ishmael. On this basis, some interpreters hold that the word conveys the sense of "unique and special" rather than the numerical sense of "the only one."

Views also differ on the word's root. Those who connect it with "to be born" (gennaō) read it as "only begotten," while those who connect it with "kind" (genos) read it as "unique, one and only." The Latin Vulgate rendered it unigenitus ("only begotten"), and the "only begotten" of the King James Version follows the same tradition. The Korean term doksaengja stands close to this tradition. By contrast, the New Korean Standard Version and the Common Translation render John 3:16 as "only son."

Meaning in the Whole of Scripture

Genesis 22:2 calls Isaac "thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest." Christian interpretive tradition has read the account of Abraham offering his son (the burnt offering on Mount Moriah) in light of the love of God, who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up (Romans 8:32). In the Johannine writings, "only begotten Son" distinguishes Jesus' sonship from believers' becoming "the sons of God" (John 1:12) and emphasizes the love of God in sending His Son.

Interpretations and Issues

• Eternal generation: The Nicene Creed confesses that the Son, as the "only-begotten," was "begotten of the Father before all worlds." This confession sought to safeguard the deity of the Son against Arianism, which regarded the Son as a creature, and it has been received by the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and most Protestants. Some evangelical scholars, citing the etymological reading "unique," hold that this word alone cannot prove eternal generation, while still confessing the deity of the Son and the doctrine of the Trinity on the basis of other texts.
• Manuscript variation in John 1:18: Manuscripts differ between "the only begotten God" and "the only begotten Son." The Korean Revised Version translates the phrase as "only begotten Son," while the New Korean Revised Version translates it as "the only begotten God."
• Jehovah's Witnesses: Jehovah's Witnesses maintain that Jesus is the only begotten Son in the sense that he is the only being created directly by God. Major denominations reject this interpretation as a denial of the Son's deity.

In the Korean Church

John 3:16 is often described as the most widely memorized verse in Korean churches and is frequently cited in evangelism and in Christmas sermons. The Apostles' Creed, recited in worship, expresses the same confession in the words "his only Son our Lord Jesus Christ."