Thank you very much.
Thank you.
1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2
1, 5, 3, 2, 1
5, 3, 2, 1
5, 3,
2, 1
5, 3,
2, 1
5, 3, 2,
1, 5, 3
1, 5, 3, 2, 1
5, 3, 2, 1
The book of John chapter 1. John chapter 1, and we will only be reading verse 1 down to verse 18. John chapter 1, please say amen if you're there. Amen. Let's wait for the others.
Amen. John chapter 1, verse 1.
The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came into his own, and his own received him not. 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.
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of men, but of 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.
John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I speak. He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me, and of his fullness of all we received, and grace for grace.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man had seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Bless the reading of God's word. Let us pray.
Lord God in heaven, we thank the Lord for the statement given to us.
The prayer of the Lord is due to the peace and bless the Lord for this day.
Give us good weather for our soul, really, and the fellowship later on.
Please bless the preaching and the preaching of your word, Lord, this day. We love you Jesus and we pray. Amen.
Alright, we're here in John chapter 1, and we're continuing our series, The Alphabet of Bible Doctrines.
We're going to talk about this phrase, only begotten in the Bible. Only begotten.
Now this sermon is going to be a pretty deep sermon. It's a very doctrinally based sermon, and it is a very important topic.
And I might ask some questions that you've never thought of before, you know, they've never kind of come to your mind.
And so this is an important topic. Now, we believe in our church in the Trinity.
We believe that there are three persons in the Godhead and one God, as it says in 1 John 5-7.
But even above that, we believe that this relationship is eternal.
We believe in what would be called the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ, that Jesus has always been by nature the Son of God the Father, and that will never change.
Now this topic very much ties into this with this phrase, only begotten, because what we believe about this is very different than someone that would deny the Trinity or believe in oneness.
And what they would traditionally believe is that Jesus became the Son at the incarnation or the virgin birth, which we do not agree with.
And I'll show you why here today. We believe in the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ. What I'm saying is, by nature, God is the three-in-one.
He cannot become four, He cannot become two, He cannot become five. He is the three-in-one by His very nature. It will always be that way.
Now notice what it says here in John 1, verse 14.
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.
Now it's obvious this is referencing Jesus Christ because the only begotten of the Father, referencing God the Father, and the Word was made flesh.
Think of God was manifest in the flesh, right? Obviously that's not Apollo Kibbeloy, it's not Felix Manalo, it's nobody else.
It is Jesus Christ that the Bible's referring to. Here in verse 14, He's the only begotten of the Father, and the Word was made flesh, as the Bible says.
Now this is one of only six references to the phrase, only begotten, in our King James Bible.
There are only six references to this phrase, only begotten.
Now let me say this. When I originally wrote this sermon, half the sermon was going to be about the first begotten, and half about the only begotten.
Instead, next week I'll preach about the first begotten, because this is just too in-depth to preach in half a sermon.
First begotten and only begotten are very different. And the name should tell you that, because if you're the only begotten, there's not two that are begotten in that way.
First begotten implies what? Well, you're the first, but others are going to come.
And the first begotten is a direct reference to the resurrection, which we get the glorified body at the rapture, so Jesus is the first begotten of the dead, but we will also be resurrected at the rapture.
So the rapture will get the glorified body. That is next week's sermon.
So there are phrases that talk about begotten, and people try to tie that into the only begotten, when it's actually a reference to the resurrection, which according to Acts 13, Psalms 2, and all the verses in Hebrews are talking about the first begotten of the dead at the resurrection very clearly.
We'll talk about that next week.
But this phrase, only begotten, it appears only six times in our Bible, and one of those references is with Abraham and Isaac, which is unrelated for this sermon.
So there's basically five references to this in the Bible.
Here's the first reference. It says, the only begotten of the Father. Well, who is the Word that is the only begotten of the Father?
Verse 1. John 1, verse 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
We look at that where it says the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and we say, well, the Bible is referencing the Trinity, because Jesus, the Son of God, was both with God, and yet Jesus is God. Right?
Now, this is the way they interpret it when they believe in oneness. In the beginning was the Word. This is the way they interpret it.
Now, I agree Jesus is the Word, and he's synonymous with the Word, but this was not Jesus Christ at the beginning, just merely words, and then all of a sudden, one day, he becomes the Son.
That's what they teach with oneness, that at the beginning, there's God and only one person in the Godhead, according to them, and then at the virgin birth, God decided to become the Son,
and then Jesus said, if I don't leave, then I'm not going to send the Comforter, and then when Jesus leaves, he becomes the Holy Ghost.
That's not what we believe about God. We believe God is the three in one, and eternally, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ.
Go back to verse 14. Verse 14.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, that glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Verse 15.
John bare witness of him and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake. He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me.
Now verse 14 is the narrator. Verse 15, John the Baptist is speaking.
So the narrator tells us that Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father, you know, that's what the narrator is saying about him, and he's in the beginning.
In the beginning was the Word, and he was the only begotten of the Father from the beginning.
Then John comes here in verse 15, right after that, and he says, He that cometh after me, why was Jesus after John the Baptist?
Well, who gave birth first, Elizabeth or Mary? Right? John the Baptist was born first, and then Jesus was born after.
So he's saying, He that cometh after me is preferred before me. Why? For he was before me.
He's saying, You know what? Jesus Christ is both after me and before me.
Well, it's right in the context of being the only begotten of the Father. He's saying, He came after me, but even before me, He's the only begotten of the Father.
Before me, He existed as the Son of God. Right? I mean, that's what it's saying very clearly.
There's a reason why verse 14, then you have verse 15. He's like, He was after me. He was also before me. Right?
Verse 16, And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
No man hath seen God at any time.
Now look, if you were to just repeat this phrase by itself, it would be very confusing.
No man hath seen God at any time. I thought Jesus Christ was God.
And obviously Jesus is God, but no man hath seen God the Father at any time.
See, sometimes in our Bible when you see the word God, it might be referencing God the Holy Ghost, might be referencing God the Son.
Here it's referencing God the Father. How do you know that? Because it says the only begotten Son right afterwards.
The only begotten Son of God the Father.
So no one's seeing God the Father at any time. But did they see God in the Old Testament in the form of the Son of God?
That person of the Godhead? Absolutely, because the Son of God Jesus is there throughout the Old Testament. Right?
The Son of God has declared God the Father, but no one's seen God the Father. I mean, you can't look upon Him and live.
But you know, God appears in the Old Testament, but it's God the Son that's appearing. Okay?
Not God the Father when He's talking face to face with various people. Okay?
No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.
So once again here in verse 18, it refers to Jesus as the only begotten Son of God the Father.
These are the first two references to the only begotten in our Bible.
Now what's interesting is, right before I should say it mentions the only begotten Son, we have a couple very famous verses in John 1 about salvation.
What are those verses? John 1, verses 12 and 13.
Right? I mean, I'm sure there's probably people in this room that use John 1, 12 in their normal soul-willing presentation.
I don't use it in every presentation, but I certainly do from time to time, because this is a great reference to how to be saved.
John 1, verse 12.
But as many as received Him. Received who? The only begotten of the Father. Right?
Received Jesus Christ. Received the Son of God.
As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.
And so the first and second references, out of five to only begotten, right before that, it talks about us becoming sons of God by believing on who?
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God the Father. Right?
It's interesting, it mentions us becoming children of God, and it mentions Jesus Christ being the Son of God.
Right? When you say the Son of God, it's obvious who you're referring to.
You're not referring to me or you that believe on Christ. You're saying the Son of God, because there is a difference between us being children of God and Jesus Christ being the Son of God.
Right? When you get saved, you don't become God by nature, as some of these Eastern philosophies believe.
That you can become omniscient. Right? When you get saved, you're still a sinner. You still make mistakes. You're still going to grow old and die.
Right? You do not become God when you get saved. You do become the Son of God, but not in the same way that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the only begotten Son.
He is the only begotten Son. We do not become begotten sons when we get saved. Okay? And we'll talk about this as we go.
Verse 13, which were born not of blood. So it doesn't matter who your mom and dad are. It doesn't matter who your parents, what they believed.
It doesn't matter your physical heritage. It doesn't matter biologically or genetically who your parents are. Now, Jesus Christ is of God the Father.
We, though, we're just sinners born into this world, and we have to receive Jesus Christ and be born into God's family. Right?
Which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
So it's interesting because the first two references to only begotten are linked with the second most famous passage about us becoming children of God.
Now, what's the most famous passage on us being born again and becoming children of God? John 3. Turn to John 3. John chapter 3.
I mean, the Bible's giving you a comparison how Jesus is the Son of God and how we are sons of God.
There is a huge, huge, huge difference, and we're going to talk about that. And it ties into this phrase, only begotten.
Let me show you the other references to this before I get into that, though. John 3, the most famous passage on being born again.
John 3, verse 3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
If you are not born into God's family, you will not go to heaven. Right? The Bible's very clear about that.
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?
Nicodemus is saying, I thought you only got born once. And it's like, yes, physically you get born once, now you've got to be born how? Spiritually.
He says in verse 5, Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Now people take verse 5 and they say, well see, you've got to be baptized to go to heaven. I didn't see the word baptism here in verse 5.
I don't see the word baptism in the context here. I see born of water. Now what question is Jesus trying to answer of Nicodemus?
He's trying to help him understand the physical birth. And he refers to the physical birth as being born of water.
Why would he refer to it as being born of water? Well, what is the big event that usually takes place before the labor starts?
The water breaks. That is what he's referencing here in verse 5 very clearly.
And then he says, you've got to be born physically Nicodemus, born of water, but then you've got to be born of the Spirit, and if not, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Then he says, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, physical birth, and that which is born of the Spirit is spiritual birth.
So he's saying, Nicodemus, you've got to be born physically. That's the first birth. No, you can't enter the second time into your mother's womb and be born.
The water already broke. It's not going to unbreak. You're already born once.
Then he's saying, now you've got to be born spiritually by believing on Jesus Christ.
Verse 7, marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.
Now why does he say that in verse 7? He's like, don't be shocked. Don't be surprised you need to be born again.
Why? Because doesn't the Bible speak about people being sons of God in the Old Testament?
It's not a new concept, becoming children of God. Nobody is born into this world saved.
They are born safe. And then when they reach a certain age, they must believe on Jesus Christ and be born again into God's family, become a child of God.
This is the most famous passage on being born again, and go down to verse number 14. Let's look at the context of the chapter.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.
The most famous verse in the Bible. 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.
So the Bible says God so loved the world, he loved the entire world that he gave his Son, God the Son, to die and pay for his sins.
And it refers to him as the only begotten Son. Right?
Now this verse in and of itself speaks about us being sons of God because when we receive everlasting life, it's our spiritual birth into God's family.
We get born again into God's family. We receive everlasting life. We become children of God.
That's the spiritual birth that's being referenced in John 3.16. The same verse speaks about Jesus being the only begotten Son.
There is a comparison between the only begotten Son and how we are sons of God.
And you know, what's interesting about this is that there's a lot of famous passages on being saved.
Think about Acts 16. Acts 16 is probably my big passage I turn to. It's the first thing I show when I preach the gospel after I show the resurrection.
But here's the thing in Acts 16. It doesn't say we get born again. It doesn't say we get everlasting life. It doesn't say eternal life. What does it say?
It says we get saved. What it also does not say is believing in the only begotten Son.
Now, of course, when you believe on Jesus, you're believing on the only begotten Son.
And of course, when you're getting saved, you're receiving everlasting life or eternal life.
But why is it when it speaks about being born again, it links it to only begotten Son?
But in Acts 16, it references neither because the Bible is trying to make a comparison about how we as saved people are sons of God,
how we get the spiritual birth, how we're born into God's family and receive everlasting life,
and how Jesus says the only begotten Son, the Son of God.
Verse 17, For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. Why?
Because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
So the Bible says very clearly here you must believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
The two most famous references to being born again are John 1 and John 3, correct? No doubt about it.
And four of the five references to the only begotten Son in reference to Jesus are in John 1 and John 3.
I mean, you'd have to be a fool not to see the link between how we get born into God's family and how Jesus is the Son of God.
Go to 1 John 4. I'll show you the last one and I'll explain what I'm talking about.
1 John 4. 1 John 4.
And as you're turning there, I'm going to read to you John 3.16 and the NIV.
For God so loved the world, and by the way, in case you're not aware, which I think everybody is,
the NIV is full of errors. It's full of heresy. It's called people making it to make money,
making changes to the Word of God. And is this the biggest mistake in the NIV?
No, it's not. But when you change the most famous verse and screw it up, that shows you what's in the rest of the NIV.
In the NIV, John 3.16, For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.
You say, Brother Stuckey, what's the problem with one and only Son?
Because this chapter speaks about us becoming sons of God.
So if Jesus is the one and only Son, then how are we sons of God? It doesn't make any sense.
And even in the verse itself, when you keep reading that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life,
receiving everlasting life, as the King James says there, or receiving eternal life, is your spiritual birth.
That's when you start your spiritual life into God's family.
So in one verse they say, hey, you must believe in the one and only Son in order to become a son of God.
It's like that doesn't make any sense. One and only and only begotten are not the same thing.
Now, I've talked to a lot of people and had people ask me questions about this phrase, only begotten,
and a lot of people debate about, well, how do we translate this into Tagalog?
One of the issues with translating this into the Filipino language is people don't understand it in English.
So how are you going to translate something into another language that you don't understand what it's talking about?
Because, look, if you type in only begotten on Google, which I would not recommend,
most are probably going to say, well, it's at the virgin birth because of the fact Jesus is the only one born of the Virgin Mary.
Now, is it true that Jesus is the only one born of a virgin? Yes, that's true.
But is that what it's referring to in John 3?
People say, well, it says only begotten because Jesus is unique compared to us.
Yes, He is unique compared to us.
Is that what it's saying, though? If you just simply translated God gave His unique Son,
would that really give the whole meaning of what's being said?
Right? So before you translate, you really have to understand, well, what is the Bible actually referring to when it says only begotten?
What I'm showing you is there's certainly a link between us becoming children of God and Jesus being the Son of God.
1 John 4, verse 9, I'll show you the last reference here.
And this was manifested, the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him.
Here in His love, and by the way, God sent His only begotten Son.
And if I said, you know what, I'm going to send Brother Ehrman to do something.
Let's say we're picking up a roasted chicken or whatever, I don't know.
And I said, I'm going to send Brother Ehrman.
Well, that means Brother Ehrman already exists.
He can't send someone who doesn't exist.
And so when he's sending his only begotten Son, he's saying, well, the only begotten Son exists before the virgin birth.
This is basic, basic, basic English grammar right here.
You're sending someone, and okay, well, now he's going to become the only begotten Son.
When I'm going to send this person, and he's not Ehrman yet, but he's going to become...
That doesn't make any sense.
You're sending someone that already exists, right?
And so when he sent his only begotten Son, verse 9 is proof that the only begotten Son already exists before the virgin birth.
Why? Because of the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ.
Now here's the thing.
If you don't believe in the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ, you must pick a moment where He becomes the Son.
And this right here proves He was already the Son before the virgin birth.
Because 99% of the time they'll look at the virgin birth and say, well, that's where He becomes the Son.
People that believe in oneness.
Or the other one they'll say is at the resurrection.
Now why is it people don't believe in the resurrection view?
Because He's called the Son of God a million times before the resurrection.
Right?
It talks about Him being the first begotten at the resurrection, but the only begotten is not referencing the resurrection.
He's already the only begotten Son before He's sent into the world.
Verse 10, here in His love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son.
So, Jesus is already the Son before He's sent.
And by the way, if He was sending Himself as the Son, it would word it very differently.
Right?
He doesn't say, I'm sending myself to manifest as the Son.
It's not, well, God manifested Himself as the Son.
No, no, no. God was manifest in the flesh.
The Son of God already existed and the Son of God was born of the Virgin Mary and took on human form.
But the Son of God already existed before that time.
He's not sending Himself.
He's sending His only begotten Son into the world to be the propitiation for our sins.
So this is the fifth reference and the last to being the only begotten.
Notice what it says in verse 7.
Let's look at the context.
Let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
So the Bible speaks in verse 7 of us being born of God, born again, becoming children of God.
And that is linked with how Jesus is the Son of God.
There's no doubt about it.
In all five references in the context, it speaks of us being children of God when it speaks about Jesus being the Son of God.
There it says in verse number 9.
Now turn to Galatians 4.
Galatians 4.
So what is the comparison being made?
What does it mean by only begotten?
And I want to read you this article from the most famous oneness teacher that there is.
I think it's David Bernard. I believe he's the most famous.
And let me see. I got this picture somewhere, I think.
Alright.
David Bernard is the most famous oneness teacher.
And what oneness teaches, in case you're confused, is God exists as one person.
That God is one.
And God can manifest Himself in different forms.
So basically He can become as the Son and then after the Son He became as the Holy Ghost.
But God is one and He just takes on different forms.
That's actually the same teaching of Hinduism.
In Hinduism they have a belief in one God, believe it or not.
And it's kind of surprising because their one God, which is either Brahmin or Brahma, I always get those two confused,
manifests Himself in hundreds of millions of different forms.
But they believe in one God that has a lot of manifestations.
The oneness teaching is, well, there's one God that manifests Himself as three different forms.
That's not what we believe. We believe God is the three in one by His very nature.
He can't separate that from God. That is who God is.
There's God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost.
All three have always existed. All three always will exist.
You say, well, Brother Stuckey, at the resurrection of Jesus, didn't Jesus cease to exist and now it's the Holy Ghost?
No, the Bible still speaks about Him sitting beside the Father in heaven.
You still see the Son of God.
And here's what's foolish about this, as I'm going to read this here in a second.
If Jesus first becomes the Son of God at the virgin birth like oneness teaches,
then what you're saying is that people became sons of God in the Old Testament before Jesus became the Son of God.
Does that make any sense?
How is it that people got born into God's family before Jesus Christ?
You've got to believe in the only begotten Son of God and you can get saved by believing in Him before He becomes the only begotten Son of God.
It's like, what?
Now, people in the Old Testament, they look forward to the coming Messiah, but they were believing on the only begotten Son.
And they did not become sons of God before Jesus because Jesus has eternally been the Son of God.
This is what David Bernard says.
Bernardan oneness advocates argue based that begotten means to procreate.
Because obviously the word begat is in our Bible many times, like, I begat Zephaniah, right?
Or if you have a child, you begat them.
And they say, well, it means to procreate to father or to sire, and it denotes a definite point in time.
That the Father must have come before the Son and then begotten the Son.
So what he's saying is this, that, you know what, if you beget someone, it happens in a moment of time.
Meaning it can't be eternal because there had to be a moment where God the Father begat God the Son.
This is the biggest argument that people that support oneness and deny the Trinity have.
Even verses like, hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, which is an argument they make many times.
Well, there's one God, there's one God. We agree with that.
We believe there's three persons in that one God.
Their biggest argument is, well, the Bible says only begotten.
The Bible says begotten, which means it has to happen in a moment of time.
It cannot be eternal.
They try to logically understand this, and they arrive at major heresy.
Now, let me show you what takes place when we become children of God.
Galatians 4.
And we'll come back to what this guy said here in a second.
Galatians 4, verse 4.
But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son.
So, by the way, he's already the son, made of a woman, made under the law.
It's not saying once he's made of a woman he becomes a son because he's already the son when he's sent.
It's saying God the Son took on human form, made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons.
The adoption of sons.
The Bible says that when we get saved, we get adopted into God's family.
We are not born children of God.
We're not born with the nature of God.
The Bible says we must be adopted into God's family.
And when we get saved, what takes place is we are adopted into God's family.
Now, I want to give this to you as an illustration.
I'm going to have Zion come up here now.
And I want to illustrate the difference between how we're children of God and how Jesus is the Son of God.
So we're going to stand up here so everybody can see.
And so let's say, for example, that I adopted Zion today.
I asked Mark for approval to have him as an example.
I did not ask if I could adopt your son.
We already have three young kids. I'm not looking to adopt a fourth.
But let's say I adopted Zion as my son today.
How old are you, Zion?
Fifteen.
That would mean he spent the first fifteen years of his life not being my child.
Right?
When you look at Zion and you look at me, do you see a strong resemblance?
No.
You say, why? Because I didn't begat him.
He's not my child genetically or biologically or by nature.
If I adopted him as my son, he spent the first fifteen years not being my son.
And he does not genetically have my nature.
He does not biologically have my nature.
He does not have my blood running into him.
Why? Because he's not biologically my child.
I just adopted him as my child.
Right? Now, that's fine. I appreciate it. Thank you.
So that's all I need you for. Okay?
But see, here's what I'm saying.
If I adopted him as my son, he doesn't by nature just turn into me genetically, by nature, biologically.
Why? Because he's not by birth my son.
I just adopted him as my son.
Now I'm going to have Zeph and Christabel come up here now.
And I want to show you the difference here.
All right, Zeph, Christabel. All right. They're excited. Good job, Zeph. Come on.
Where's Christabel? All right. We've got the little guy here.
Where's Christabel? Is she shy?
Ah, she's asleep. No excuses. No, I'm just kidding.
I begat Zeph. Right?
If you look at Zeph, you can see a resemblance to me.
Obviously, you can see a resemblance to my wife as well, but you can see a resemblance.
If you had never met, like, let's say somebody was a first-time visitor, an online listener, and they came,
and they don't know what my children look like.
They could look at him and think, hey, that might be Brother Stuckey's son.
Why? Because you can see the resemblance. Why?
Because genetically, biologically, by nature, he's my son.
Let me ask you a question.
Has there ever been a second in his life that he was not my son?
No. Since the moment of conception, he has been my child.
Nothing could ever change that.
I mean, a child could say, you know what? I hate you. I'm running away from home.
They are still, by nature, your son.
I could pass away one day. He is still, by nature, my son.
Nothing could ever change that.
Right? All right. You can go back to mom. Good job, Zeph.
When we get saved, we are adopted into God's family.
How's that different from begetting a child?
Well, here's the thing. People that support oneness, what they'll say is,
well, if someone's begotten, there has to be a moment of time where that takes place.
Is that the comparison God's making?
Here's what I'm saying.
If you beget someone as a child, there's never a single second of their existence where they're not your child.
Now, here's the thing. People that believe in oneness say that Jesus Christ is from the beginning, just not as the Son.
That's not possible by the very word begotten.
I mean, if it says only begotten, that means the entire existence of Jesus Christ, He has been the Son of God.
It can't be otherwise because He's begotten.
And it means, by nature, genetically, He is part of God.
You say, well, Brother Stuckey, when did that take place? Eternally.
Because by nature, He is the Son of God, and that can't be changed.
When you're using the phrase begotten, it means the one that you begot has your very nature, and that will never be changed.
And their entire existence, they are your Son.
People that believe in oneness, what they say is,
well, Jesus was around at the beginning as a book with words.
And then He became the Son at the virgin birth.
Then at the resurrection, He turned into the Holy Ghost.
I mean, that's like one of the sci-fi movies you watch.
Right? I mean, this is ridiculous.
I remember being a kid, there's that Terminator movie, he touched something and he turned into another form.
That's what they're teaching about God.
That's not God. God by nature is the three in one.
Now turn in your Bible to Revelation 13.
Revelation 13.
So what does it mean by the only begotten?
It means exactly what you would think it would mean spiritually, not physically, in terms of begetting.
It means Jesus is the only begotten Son.
He's the only Son of God that has the very nature of God.
That's what it's saying.
See, there's a lot of adopted sons.
What the Bible's saying is, hey, you know what?
When you got saved, you had to be born again.
You had to be adopted into God's family.
Jesus never had to be born again.
He didn't have to get adopted into God's family because He is the Son of God by nature from eternity past.
That is the comparison the Bible's making.
We have to become a child of God.
Why? Because we're not born children of God.
Right? If I adopted Zion, I had to adopt him for him to become my son because I did not beget him.
But see, Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son.
There's a lot of sons of God.
In this room, we're filled with like 70 people that are sons and daughters of God.
But you know what? We're not a begotten Son of God.
We're not by nature a son of God.
I mean, we're by nature what? The children of wrath.
Right?
Not the children of God by birth.
It's not saved by race or saved by blood. It's saved by grace.
And you get born into God's family. You get adopted into God's family.
Now make no mistake. God treats you as a child.
And you know what? If you adopt someone and raise them, you are the father or mother of those children.
And the proof of that is, well, all of us are adopted sons of God.
And so you don't have to beget someone to really be the father or mother, but there is a difference.
We are adopted sons of God. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Right?
People that believe in oneness say, well, Brother Stuckey, I get your point. You have an argument, but here's the thing.
Because this is their biggest argument.
We're looking at the biggest argument people that believe in oneness have.
And I say this phrase, only begotten proves the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ.
If you understand the comparison being made of us being sons of God and Jesus being the Son of God.
But they'll say, but it had to happen in a moment of time. Really?
Revelation 13 verse 8.
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, whose names are not written in the book of the life of the Lamb,
slain in around 2000, or slain, you know, just a few years ago. Is that what it says?
Slain 50 years ago. Is that what it says? No, slain from the foundation of the world.
The death of Jesus Christ is outside of time.
You say, but Brother Stuckey, it happened 2000 years ago. We were created inside of time.
We have a moment where we're born, a moment where we die.
And we look at things in this course of time that we have. God's outside of time.
And the death of Jesus Christ, it's eternal. Slain from the foundation of the world, the Bible says.
Go in your Bible to Hebrews 1. Let me show you one other reference to something that is outside of time.
Hebrews 1.
Not only was Jesus slain from the foundation of the world, but He rose again from the foundation of the world as well.
The resurrection is outside of the course of time as well.
Hebrews 1, verse 5.
And by the way, in Hebrews 1, in all the verses you see in Hebrews, when it's talking about begotten, it's referring to being the first begotten, which is different than only begotten.
This is a reference to the resurrection. I don't want to preach next week's sermon, but Hebrews 1 is a reference to being begotten of the dead, the resurrection, where we get the glorified body.
So He's the first, but we will also get the glorified body. People don't understand the difference between first and only begotten.
I mean, honestly, there's a lot of confusion. People don't realize these are different things.
Obviously, first and only are very different words that mean very different things.
And a lot of famous people, besides cults, have taught the incarnational sonship.
John MacArthur's probably the most famous one. The first half of his ministry, before he changed because everyone said he was a heretic,
he denied the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ. He said he became the son at the virgin birth, and he changed his mind because everybody said you're a heretic.
You're not exactly going to be popular with this view that everybody's against, but that's what he taught.
And I read his article a few days ago, and I was thinking, man, the guy still doesn't understand the difference between only and first begotten.
Because he's referencing Hebrews 1 here, trying to link it to only begotten. It's like first begotten, only begotten.
First and only. Those are very different words teaching very different things.
Only means you're the only one. Jesus is the only one, the only child of God with the very nature of God.
First means you're not the only one. These are very, very different words.
Hebrews 1, verse 5.
For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day by begotten thee, and again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son?
And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him.
Now the first begotten is a reference to the resurrection, because the Bible speaks about being the first begotten of the dead, the first fruits of the resurrection.
That is a reference we'll see next week to the resurrection, and when he brought Jesus into this world, he was already the first begotten.
It's as if he was already resurrected. You say, why? Because God is outside of time. He created us in time, but God is outside of time.
Here's the thing. When I was a kid, I remember asking my parents this question. Where did God come from?
Boy, that is a tough question for parents to answer. There's probably a lot of parents in this room that, yeah, you know, my child's asked me that question before.
How do you explain that? The only way you can explain it is, God has always existed, and that's true.
But can you logically, perfectly understand that? No, you can't. Why? Because God created us inside of time,
so it makes no sense to understand something that exists outside of time. We're just never going to understand it.
Now, it makes sense to me that I cannot fully understand it, because if God created me in time, I cannot understand something outside of time.
The example I've heard before is, like, let's say you created a two-dimensional world, and then you stick your finger into a two-dimensional world.
They're not going to see a three-dimensional object. They're going to see, basically, a circle. They're not going to see a cylinder,
because they can't understand the concept of three dimensions because they're in a two-dimensional world.
This is not a perfect example, nor do I think we should try to philosophically understand God, but here's what I'm saying.
God is outside of time. We cannot fully understand how God is outside of time.
Well, here's the thing. Jesus Christ is eternally begotten. When did it take place? Outside of time. He's eternally begotten.
He has always been the begotten Son of God. You say, well, that doesn't logically make sense.
There are some things in the Bible you just take by faith, and I'll tell you what.
These people that deny this, here's what's interesting. They know there's a lot of verses that say this,
and what their big argument is, along with the Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses, it doesn't make sense to me.
Well, here's my question, though. Even though it doesn't make sense to you, is it what the Bible teaches?
Because there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Just because something seems right doesn't mean it is right. You know what used to seem right to me?
It used to seem right to me that living a good life would get me to heaven.
That's what I thought when I was a teenager. It made sense to me.
I thought, of course you can't just go out and do whatever you want. You can't just believe.
That's too easy. That's too simple. That's what seemed right to me at the time.
And now I look back at myself and say, boy, how foolish was I?
And you know you felt the same way once you got saved. How foolish was I before?
Look, Jesus is eternally the Son of God. Why? Because since God is outside of time,
this process of being begotten is outside of time.
What people that believe in oneness do, they really don't believe in the deity of Jesus.
They just believe in the human form of the Son of God.
They don't believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God by nature. They are denying actually who Jesus Christ is.
Now, this is a deep topic. It's a complicated topic.
And there are people that get confused about things like this, which is why it needs to be preached.
But teachers like this guy, I don't care what he says about salvation, because here's the thing.
You must believe that Jesus is who he says he was to be saved.
And when you deny that he's the Son of God, you deny he's God.
He just took on a human form, but he is not God by nature. You are denying the true salvation.
You're denying the deity of Jesus. You're denying the Trinity. You're denying what the Bible says.
Turn to John 6. John 6.
The phrase only begotten, it proves the eternal sonship of Jesus.
Because when you beget someone, it means their entire existence, they are your child.
By nature.
Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son.
That's not referencing the virgin birth.
It's saying he has the very nature of God.
And that has never changed. It will never change.
Why? Because what they say is, well, Jesus was around at the beginning as the Word,
and then the Word becomes the Son of God, then the Son of God becomes the Holy Ghost.
No, because when you beget someone, their entire existence, they are your child.
And by nature, they are your child.
Only begotten actually proves the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ.
And here's the thing. Is that my biggest argument for the eternal sonship of Jesus?
No, it's not, but that's their biggest argument.
And their biggest argument actually disproves the incarnational sonship
when you understand what the Bible is actually stating.
Because they can't deny that Jesus has been around from the beginning.
I mean, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
They can't deny that.
They'll say, well, he just existed in a different form.
You know, this was the Son of God a long time ago.
And then all of a sudden, he becomes the Son of God.
He wasn't the Son of God back then.
And then, whoops, he leaves, and now he's gone,
even though there's still references to Jesus after the resurrection,
sitting on the right hand of God.
They still exist. There's three persons, not one, in the Godhead.
Let me show you a couple of references that do not say the phrase,
only begotten, but it's referencing the same thing.
John 6, verse 46.
Not that any man hath seen the Father.
John 6, verse 46.
Not that any man hath seen the Father,
save he which is of God.
He hath seen the Father.
The Bible says, save he which is of God.
He hath seen the Father.
Let me turn there myself.
And, yeah, you know what? It wasn't in my notes.
I just thought about it. I was like, isn't it John 6, verse 47,
the famous verse on believing to receive everlasting life?
So once again, verse 47, it's how we become children of God,
and in verse 46, it's basically saying Jesus is the only begotten Son, right?
He which is of God, he has the very nature of God,
he's the only begotten Son, and if you believe on him,
you receive everlasting life.
You get born again, but not in the same way as Jesus,
because he's the only begotten Son.
Turn your Bible to John 8, John 8, John chapter 8.
Now, look, when we go soul winning,
if people say they believe that Jesus is God,
they believe he's the Son of God, they believe in the Trinity,
I don't try to push it in a really deep philosophical level
to make sure they understand all the little bits,
because quite honestly, most saved people do not have
a full comprehension of all this, and that's fine.
I mean, when I got saved, I didn't have a full...
I had no idea what incarnational sonship meant, right?
I didn't know all of these deep things.
I'd never heard of oneness before when I got saved.
I'd heard of the Trinity. I didn't even know there was an argument against it,
because there's three persons. I just figured everybody believed that.
And so I'm not saying when we go soul winning,
hey, you need to spend 10 minutes explaining the nature of God.
We don't live in India.
Now, maybe if you're preaching the gospel to a Hindu, you need to do that.
But to the normal Catholic, they believe Jesus is the Son of God.
They believe in the Trinity. They believe in one God.
Do they have a full understanding of it? No, but probably none of us do,
because great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh.
God, oh man, well, that doesn't logically make perfect sense to me.
Yeah, it doesn't logically make perfect sense to me either.
Because in our human perspective, it's like I'm 100% man.
How could I be 100% God? Right?
But that's what the Bible teaches.
Now, of course, we know He's God because God the Father, born of the Virgin Mary,
He doesn't have a sin nature passed down like all of us do from our fathers.
But it's not something we have a full, perfect understanding of.
We may need to to be saved, but here's what I'm saying.
When you have these teachers that attack the doctrine of the Trinity,
and they understand what the Bible teaches, but they don't believe what the Bible teaches,
the three in one, it's because they're not saved.
When they can look at 1 John 5.7 and say,
well, you know what, it says three, but it's not really three bearing record.
It's just God taking on different forms at times.
It's like, no, you're just denying 1 John 5.7.
When you say, I don't believe that God sent His Son,
it's like you're just denying the Bible.
Right? I mean, that He gave His only begotten Son.
That's the most famous verse in the Bible, that God the Father gave His only begotten Son.
Well, I don't believe that. It's because you're not saved.
That's the truth.
John 8, verse 42.
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love Me,
for I proceeded forth and came from God.
I proceeded forth and came from God.
And right afterwards, I don't have this in my notes either,
but it talks about becoming children of the devil in verse 44, right?
And so it's like, well, you can't become a child of God
because you're a child of the devil
because you don't believe I proceeded forth and came from God.
You don't believe I am who I said I was.
Because what's the big argument they have against Jesus in the Bible?
It's not really about work salvation, is it?
They're denying who Jesus is.
And He's saying, I proceeded forth and came from God.
Oh, you don't believe that? That's because you're your father of the devil.
That's what He says, right?
Go to John 16.
And I didn't finish that verse, but neither came I of myself, but He sent me.
Yeah, He sent the only begotten Son into the world.
He was already the only begotten Son before He was sent.
John 16, verse 27.
As far as I know, we don't have a problem at our church about this doctrine,
but we're preaching a doctrinal series,
and here's the reason, because originally I wanted to preach on oneness,
which it sounds like I'm preaching on oneness, but I'm speaking on a specific aspect
because oneness is too broad to preach in one sermon.
So basically, I'm taking out one of the 20 legs of oneness in this sermon.
I'm taking out one of the ten or whatever.
I'm hitting one of their big points and making it a whole sermon because it's very important.
Oneness versus the Trinity is way too complicated in one sermon to really hit.
You have to have a sermon series.
So what we're looking at is this phrase, only begotten,
and this is the big argument that people that deny the Trinity have.
This is their big argument. You can look online.
Other than arguments where it says, well, there's one God, one God, one God.
Yeah, we agree with you. What's your point?
But we believe that one God exists as three persons.
Their big argument is, well, if it's begotten, it has to happen in a moment of time.
No, it does not because if you beget someone, their entire existence,
they're your child and they have your very nature,
and Jesus has the very nature of God because He's the only begotten Son from eternity past.
John 16 verse 27. We'll look at two more places.
John 16 verse 27.
So He came forth from the Father before He came into the world,
meaning He's already the Son of God the Father before He came into the world.
Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.
So here's what's interesting about this.
Before He came, He's the Son of God the Father, and afterwards He's going to the Father.
Why? Because the Father and the Son relationship has always existed.
It doesn't stop when He goes up to heaven, and now He's the Holy Ghost.
That's not what the Bible teaches, right?
Go to John 17. John 17. John chapter 17.
Now, some people in this room are kind of like, man, I've never even heard of oneness.
I don't even fully... I agree with what you're saying, brother Sucky,
but I don't fully understand.
You know what? This is a growing belief, a denial in the Trinity,
because here's the thing. If you type in the oneness of God on YouTube,
the primary thing you're going to get is not actually within Christianity.
It's going to be on these Eastern religions talking about the oneness of God,
and what these religions believe and what they're teaching is that God is one,
and that He manifests Himself in different ways.
Well, once you say, well, God can manifest Himself in different forms,
what is stopping God from manifesting Himself to the Muslims as Allah and the belief in Muhammad?
And to India, He manifests Himself with Hinduism,
and with Buddhists, and in Thailand and in Cambodia,
He manifests Himself as Buddha or whatever. Nothing's stopping that.
That's where you get into these beliefs like Hinduism with all these avatars of Vishnu and all this weird stuff.
That's science fiction, my friend.
Jesus said He was the only way to heaven.
It's the three in one. It always has been that way.
It always will be that way, and it's never changed.
It's the three in one, as 1 John 5, verse 7 says.
John 17, verse 3, we'll close up here.
And this is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory,
notice this, which I had with thee before the world was.
Jesus says, you know what, I had the glory as the Son of you, God the Father, before the world was.
That's what the Bible teaches.
Now look, there's no doubt that we support and believe in one God,
and when we talk to cult members, we've got to make it clear, hey, there is one God, and Jesus Christ is God.
But we also believe in the Trinity.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost.
One God that eternally exists as three persons.
He cannot become a fourth.
You say, okay, he's three, but what if he becomes another form?
That can't happen.
Because God, by his very nature, is the three in one.
He is the only, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son.
Let's close in a word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and getting to see this deep spiritual truth.
Help us to have an understanding of who you are, but help us also realize we're never going to fully comprehend you,
as if that you are a math problem, God.
But help us just be willing to believe what the Bible says.
Help us to know the doctrines we believe, though, so we don't get tossed to and fro by any false teachers that might come in
and try to bring in heresy such as oneness or to deny the eternal sonship, God.
We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen for our last song. Let's turn to hymn number 150.
Hymn number 150, let's sing the song, My faith has found a resting place.
On the first ready, sing.
My faith has found a resting place.
God in divine sorbate, I trust the ever-living one.
Whose words for me shall be.
I need no other, I need no other plea.
It is enough, that Jesus can.
And God, enough for me, enough for me, that Jesus can.
This ends my fear and doubt.
A sinful soul, I come to Him, He'll never gas me out.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea.
It is enough, that Jesus can.
And that He died for all the earth, my heart is leaning.
The written word of God.
Salvation by my singer's name, salvation through His love.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea.
It is enough, that Jesus died.
And that He died, more or less.
My great decision, He is the sick, the lost, He came to save.
For He is precious, for He is light, He gave.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea.
It is enough, that Jesus died.
And that He died for me.
Amen.