Is Jesus the only begotten Son of God?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16) (NIV).

The advocates of Trinity are stuck on the point of Jesus being declared as the only begotten Son of God. This is further compounded by Jesus’ inference that He had always been with His Father. But more so, how can the Father of Jesus be different from the Father of humanity? Those fixated on the idea that humanity originated from Adam would be quick to answer affirmatively—until shown what Jesus said to His disciples:

“And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven” (Mathew 23:9).

This throws most Bible advocates off-balance. Like Jesus, the disciples were not to call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for they had one Father, who was in Heaven. The entire Christian confusion emanates from the misunderstanding of this enigmatic Father and Son relationship. Apparently, if Jesus was God’s Son, so were His disciples called God’s Sons, as instructed not to call anyone on earth their father.

This appears difficult, but certainly not complicated at all, when clear of who Jesus was. This lies in the answer to the question: “When did Jesus become the Son of God?” Only the Bible reveals the answer. We cannot go to the Scholars and historians, alike, for perfect answers. This is revealed in Genesis:

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27) (NIV).

One of the laws of communication is the principle of duplication, before understanding. The wrong application is assuming understanding before duplication. What needs to be duplicated in the above Scripture is that God created man in His own image.

This implies that God created what would not be different from Him. Therefore, that which would be like Him would be outside time and space, just as God is outside time and space. There is no need to paraphrase, as what God says will always be true, in this age and in the age to come.

God is the creator of all the universes. This includes that which He created in His own image. This means that what God created in His own image cannot be likened to anything physical, as God is not physical. This is deep stuff for ordinary humans. One of the disciples, Philip, sought the answer, on behalf of the skeptics:

“Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:8-9) (NIV).

As human as He had been, Jesus had been the true image of God, as inferred in Genesis 1:26-27. After Adam’s sin, there is no record of any other human ever reflecting the true image of God, except Jesus:

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4) (NIV).

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him” (Colossians 1:15-16) (NIV).

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven” (Hebrews 1:3) (NIV).

Failure to duplicate and understand these Scriptures lies in an inability to duplicate and understand that humans were created in God’s image. The misunderstanding is, obviously, caused by what happened at the Garden of Eden. Jesus was the restorer of that which had been lost. The advent of Jesus is, therefore, intended to bring humanity to their original state of being God’s image.

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There are those, desiring to feel good, as to elevate Jesus to the status of being a member of Trinity. Apparently, this is what sustains Christian religion. But, those people miss the mark at the point of duplicating what God said about the nature of ordinary people around them. Regardless of their opinion, each of those people is a replica of God. In His image, they were created (Genesis 1:27).

“We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:19-21) (NIV).

Obviously, the rebuttal to John’s statement is spurred by those finding it impossible to love humans, in this world. I am aware that there are those gnashing their teeth when reading what is projected in this article. “Who does this fellow think he is?” Regardless of John’s statement. They may not do much about things appearing on the internet. But, certainly, those people cannot tolerate this kind of teaching. If intolerant of Jesus, there is no way they cannot disparage a mere man. But John continues:

“Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:15-16) (NIV).

The words of John were perfectly supported by Jesus:

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:40-46) (NIV).

Apparently, what Jesus said is not different from what He also said to Philip: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:8-9) (NIV).

Nothing can be clearer, as also compared with what Jesus also said in Matthew 25:40-46. The answer to the question as to whether Jesus was the only begotten Son of God is perfectly answered in these Scriptures. Anything else is as scandalous as anything that is designed to mislead people. The intention is to lead them to anything that is disastrous, rather than eternal life.

Jesus brought good news, while His enemies want to advance only the bad news. The merchants of chaos make the message of Jesus appear as impossible and not believable. One of the most interesting observations, regarding Christianity, is the anti-Christ thesis. Christian groupings have made counter-accusations against each other, as to who represents the antichrist. The admonition of John lays bare, the significance of the antichrist, as affecting everyone. It is easy to distinguish who is on the side of the Lord and who is not.

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world” (John 4:1-3) (NIV).

The Spirit of Christ can, actually, be tested in two ways. Firstly, it starts with a failure to see value in other fellow human beings, similarly to how Jesus saw value, as to die for humanity. The idea that everyone must die so that one lives, is exactly what is spurred by the antichrist. This is manifested in many facets of life, among human anti-survival activities. It must be borne in mind that there are people whose sole desire is to promote anti-survival activities, knowingly or unknowingly. They project the opposite of the gospel.

While others are outside Christianity, they are more within Christianity. Bear in mind that Judas Iscariot was one of the disciples, yet his sole purpose was to betray. Like-wise we have people vehemently appearing as promoting Christianity, yet advancing the opposite of what Jesus taught. The second aspect where the Spirit of Christ is tested is authoritarianism. This is where Jesus is considered not being part of humanity. Such merchants of chaos would tell you that Jesus was good, but all humans are bad, except themselves.

Those sold to this deception are found spreading such anti-survival activities, in the name of the Bishop, or Church leader. The poor people are easy targets, due to self-centeredness. The personal salvation philosophy is promoted ahead of the gospel of Jesus. Accumulation of wealth is considered as a sign of God’s blessings. See [Personal salvation versus God’s Kingdom].

The only way that determines what constitutes evilness is self-centeredness. In most of those popular Churches, a person is considered blessed, when living a fanciful life, where everyone else languishes in poverty. It is almost impossible for the gospel to penetrate areas where human leaders are given credence for promoting personal salvation. Yet the only description of poverty is found in the absence of God’s truth, whose emphasis is altruism.

Unfortunately, poor people are the ones promoting the philosophy of self-centeredness. This comes from their assumption that access to wealth is all about what God intended for humans in this life. The idea is for a person to respect those in authority so that one can access blessings. Christ advanced freedom from such authoritarian cultures when He became the only authority. He insisted that if anyone wanted to be great among His disciples, that person ought to be the servant of all. He demonstrated this by washing the feet of His disciples.

However, it is common among Christian organizations that each grouping is guided according to the denominational doctrines. Yet such leaders would be teaching the opposite of what Jesus taught. Careful scrutiny shows that the human leader would be highlighted more than Jesus. This is a façade that cuts across Christianity. Hardly can anyone find a Christian grouping that is not guided according to the doctrinal patterns of their respective denominations.

Of course, there is freedom of choice, as guiding the membership of any Christian grouping. But the question that remains unanswered is how the teachings of Christ affect those elevating their leaders ahead of Christ? The human appetite leads to destruction. Jesus, actually, emphasized this point, categorically.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14) (NIV).

The other begotten sons of God live among us today. Their lives are not lavish, just as the life of Jesus was not lavish. They preach the duplicate of what Jesus taught. They are criticized and demonized without reason. This world rejects them, as they are not part of this world. Only those on the side of truth can identify and be part of their crusade.

Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing relief to those having witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. In a simple conversational tone, most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long-awaited providential oasis of hope.

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