Month: April 2025

TADB 134: Who is Jesus? Begotten not Made

If we misunderstand who Jesus is, we misrepresent the gospel. His divine nature is non-negotiable. The gospel stands or falls on the true identity of Christ. Do you know the difference between begotten and made?

The gospel demands a radically new understanding of God — one that stretches beyond human categories. Scripture reveals God as a singular plural—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The word Trinity never appears in the Bible, yet the reality is unavoidable.

With the incarnation, Jesus is presented as fully God and fully man, without compromising either. We may not fully understand this, but that doesn’t make it untrue.

The first disciples struggled to replace their preconceived ideas of the Messiah with the reality Jesus revealed. Sixty years after Christ’s ascension, John writes his Gospel to present Jesus as the one and only incarnate God-man:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1–2).

The Titles of Jesus in John 1

In the first chapter of his Gospel, John gives ten titles for Jesus, each revealing His identity:

  • The Word (v. 1) – The eternal, divine communication of God.
  • God (v. 1) – Deity, not a lesser being.
  • Light (v. 9) – The true light entering the world.
  • Jesus Christ (v. 17) – The one in whom grace and truth come.
  • Lamb of God (v. 29) – The sacrifice who takes away sin.
  • Rabbi (v. 38) – Teacher and guide.
  • Messiah (v. 41) – God’s anointed deliverer.
  • Son of God (v. 49) – Unique divine Sonship.
  • King of Israel (v. 49) – The promised ruler.
  • Son of Man (v. 51) – A title Jesus favored, rooted in Daniel 7, pointing to His humanity and messianic role.

The Jewish concept of Messiah did not include deity. But Jesus’ claim as Son of God clearly did.

The Meaning of “Son of God” and “Only Begotten”

The Bible uses son of God in several ways:

  • Humanity as God’s children (Luke 3:38).
  • Israel as God’s firstborn son (Exodus 4:22–23).
  • Angels as sons of God (Job 1:6; 38:7).

When applied to Jesus, however, Son of God means God the Son—equal with the Father in nature and essence.

In John 3:16, the term only begotten (or “one and only Son”) clarifies this. To “beget” is to produce one of the same kind. As C.S. Lewis illustrates in Mere Christianity:

“A man begets human babies; a beaver begets little beavers; a bird begets eggs that turn into little birds. But when you make something, you make something of a different kind.”

Humans were made in God’s image, but Jesus was begotten, sharing the same divine substance. He was not created. This is why some prefer the title God the Son—to mirror “God the Father” and “God the Spirit” and affirm the full Trinitarian reality.

Why This Matters

What people believe about Jesus is not a side issue. A recent Ligonier survey showed that 73% of those in our churches believe Jesus was created by God—a view that, in the fourth century, would have excluded someone from baptism or communion.

This confusion has real consequences. Without the biblical Jesus, there is no biblical gospel.

Case Study: The Hindu Student

Suraj Nepali, a missionary to Hindu students, shares a revealing exchange:

SN: “Do you believe in Jesus?”
HS: “Yes, I do.”
SN: “Do you believe He died for our sins?”
HS: “Yes.”
SN: “Do you believe He rose from the dead?”
HS: “Yes.”

The student affirms each point,; he sounds like a Christian—but still remains Hindu, believing in many gods. In his worldview, Jesus is simply the god for the forgiveness of sins.

This mirrors a troubling reality in Western churches: people profess belief in “Jesus” but not the Jesus of Scripture. Without clarity on His true nature, discipleship and transformation falter.

Conclusion

If we misunderstand Jesus’ nature, we misrepresent the gospel. The New Testament demands that we see Him not merely as a moral teacher, a spiritual helper, or a created being, but as God the Son—eternal, begotten, not made.

In the next article, we will explore how the gospel reveals the third Person of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit.

Discussion Questions

  1. Why do you think the idea of the Trinity is hard for people to understand and accept?
  2. Of the ten titles John gives Jesus in chapter 1, which one speaks to you most—and why?
  3. What’s the difference between humans being “made in God’s image” and Jesus being “begotten of the Father”?
  4. Why is it dangerous to think of Jesus as a created being rather than eternal God the Son?
  5. How does the story of the Hindu student illustrate the importance of clarity about who Jesus really is?
  6. If someone asked you, “Who is Jesus?”—how would you explain it in light of John 1?

TADB 133: The Gospel Reveals the Trinity

The Trinity isn’t a side issue. It’s the heart of the gospel. The church has fought for centuries to defend it—will we?

In today’s church, the question Jesus once asked His disciples—“Who do you say I am?”—is just as critical as it was in the first century. A recent Ligonier Ministries / Lifeway Research survey of self-identified evangelicals revealed alarming statistics:

  • 73% believe “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.”
  • 43% say “Jesus was a good teacher, but was not God.”

If these numbers are accurate, large segments of our churches are embracing a view of Christ that mirrors the ancient heresy of Arianism. This isn’t merely a theological debate—it’s a gospel issue. If we get Jesus wrong, we get the gospel wrong.

First-Century Bridges and Ditches

The gospel was no easier to accept in the first century than it is today. Paul wrote:

“Since God in His wisdom saw to it that the world would never know Him through human wisdom, He has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven, and it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom.”
(1 Corinthians 1:21-22)

As Michael Green observes in 30 Years That Changed the World, Jewish and Greek cultures provided both bridges and ditches to the gospel. The Roman road system, Jewish monotheism, and the Greek translation of the Old Testament opened doors for the message of Christ. Yet there were also deep “ditches”—obstacles that made acceptance difficult.

For Jews, the stumbling block was a Messiah who claimed equality with God rather than political deliverance. For Gentiles, it was the claim that there is one God who is also three persons—a concept foreign to both Jewish and Greco-Roman thought.

The Challenge of the Trinity

The idea that God is “one in essence and three in person” has no perfect earthly parallel. Common illustrations—like water as liquid, solid, and vapor—fall short and can even mislead.

The hardest step for both Jew and Gentile was accepting the incarnation: Jesus Christ as fully God and fully man. This truth has been denied, doubted, and debated from the first century onward. And it remains one of two essential doctrines that separate authentic Christianity from counterfeits (the other being salvation by grace through Christ’s finished work, not by human merit).

The Arian Crisis and the Nicene Creed

In the fourth century, a priest named Arius taught that Jesus was created by God the Father, and thus was neither coeternal with Him nor of the same substance. This heresy caused widespread confusion.

In 325 AD, Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea to bring unity and clarity. The resulting Nicene Creed affirmed that Jesus is:

  • “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father.”

The creed also declared the full personhood and deity of the Holy Spirit. Later councils, and the Athanasian Creed in the 6th century, further safeguarded the doctrine of the Trinity. Historically, baptism required affirmation of these truths.

Why This Still Matters

For nearly 1,800 years, mainstream Catholicism and Protestantism have stood united on the Trinity and Christ’s divinity. While we expect groups like Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormonism to reject these truths, the growing denial within evangelical circles is deeply troubling.

If today’s church allows confusion about Jesus’ identity to spread unchecked, we risk repeating history—not in defending the truth, but in tolerating heresy. The pressing question for every generation remains:

“Who do you say I am?”

Get this wrong, and you lose the gospel.

If Jesus is not fully God and fully man, then the gospel collapses. The church of every age must contend for this truth—not just in creeds and history books, but in the hearts and minds of its people today.

Looking Ahead

To guard the gospel, we must clarify what Scripture means by “Son of God” and “begotten.” These terms are key to understanding Jesus’ unique relationship to the Father and His eternal nature. We will explore these in the next article.

For Discussion

  1. Why do you think so many self-identified evangelicals today misunderstand or deny the full divinity of Jesus?
  2. What are the dangers of seeing Jesus as only a created being or just a moral teacher?
  3. Why is the doctrine of the Trinity essential to the gospel and not just a secondary issue?
  4. How would you personally answer Jesus’ question: “Who do you say I am?”—and why is that answer central to your faith?
  5. How can we explain the Trinity and the incarnation to others in ways that are faithful yet understandable?