John 3:16 calls Jesus the only begotten Son of God. However, many people use the phrase "eternal Son." Is this latter phrase correct? No. The Bible never uses it, and it expresses a concept contradicted by Scripture. The word begotten[/i] is a form of the verb beget[/i], which means to "procreate, to father, to sire". Thus begotten[/i] indicates a definite point in time- the point at which conception takes place. By definition, the begetter (father) always must come before the begotten (offspring). There must be a time when the begetter exists and the begotten is not yet in existence, and there must be a point in time when the act of begetting occurs. Otherwise the word begotten[/i] has no meaning. So the very words begotten[/i] and Son [/i]each contradict the word eternal [/i]as applied to the Son of God.
We have already discussed that the "Son of God" refers to the humanity of Jesus. Clearly the humanity of Jesus is not eternal but was born in Bethleham. One can speak of eternal existence in past, present, and future only with respect to God. Since "Son of God" refers to the humanity or to deity as manifest in humanity, the idea of an eternal Son is incomprehensible. The Son of God had a beginning.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
in the verse in Psalms, what day is he talking about? With God there is no time limit as He lives beyond time so He can't be held to a 24 hour day..here day means an eternal day..In other words Jesus did not become the Son of God at a certain time because He has eternally been in the process of being generated as the Son of God in God's eternal day..There has never been a time when Jesus was not the Son of God..
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wayne
"There's room at the cross for you."
Begotten or Eternal Son
