Lord’s Day 13
Q33. Why is he called God's only-begotten Son when we also are children of God?
Because Christ alone is the eternal, natural Son of God. We, however, are adopted children of God—adopted by grace through Christ.
Scripture Proofs — King James Version
John 1:1, 14, 18
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 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. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared .”
John 3:16
“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.”
Hebrews 1:1–2
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”
John 1:12
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
Romans 8:14–17
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.”
Ephesians 1:5–6
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
Modernized Commentary — Zacharias Ursinus (1616)
This question addresses the deity of the Son of God, and it deserves careful consideration. Before proceeding, however, we should address an objection that arises naturally from the way the question is framed: whoever is the only begotten Son has no brothers; yet Christ does have brothers, since we too are sons of God; therefore He cannot be the only begotten Son of God. The answer lies in recognizing that Christ and we are sons of God in fundamentally different senses, a distinction that is essential to keep in mind throughout this discussion. Christ is the only begotten, natural, proper, and eternal Son of God; we, by contrast, are sons of God whom the Father has adopted by grace for Christ's sake.
To make this clear, we need to briefly explain who is called a son and in how many ways that title is used, and then consider who actually are the sons of God and who is called such.
They are called sons if they are either born as sons or adopted as such.