“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.” (John 3:16)
John 3:16 has been called “The Gospel in a nutshell” because it provides a stunningly succinct summary of the doctrine of the Christian faith.”
In John 1:1-2 , it is stated, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” This passage affirms that Jesus, as the Word, existed eternally with God and was Himself divine, setting Him apart from all other beings.
And that’s where the pagan dogma of the Trinity is overlaid upon the clear explanation in scripture.
John 1:1-2 clearly repeats Genesis 1 where the Word is the sound energy emanating from the Infinite Singularity God.
We must interpret all scripture by remaining consistent with previous scripture.
The phrase “only begotten” is not exclusive to John 3:16.
“By faith Abraham…offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called [your Melchizedekian heirs]:” (Hebrews 11:17-19)
And as exemplified in Abram’s two heirs, “only” is not in the numerical sense of “singular” but in the conceptual sense of a specific inheritance, while every begotten son is also granted an inheritance.
“And God said unto Abraham,
- I will give thee a son …Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him…and with his seed after him.
- Ishmael…I will make him a great nation [dynasty, lineage, forever living on in his seed].” (Genesis 16:3-15, 17:15-21)
“no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest / God’s representative; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, TODAY have I begotten thee / invested thee with the promised inheritance.” (Hebrews 5:4-6)
Jesus Christ of the New Testament can only be understood as the “only begotten son of God” in the context of the everlasting covenant God made with Adam to have humanity – not the hyperdimensional sons of God – represent him in his image and likeness.
I propose that we are so focused on the fact that Jesus is the mono-genes, the uniquely begotten Son of God that we are overlooking that, as the example of Abraham proves, there can in fact be other, just genos, begotten offspring sons of God. This is, after all, how biblical salvation is achieved.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,” (I Peter 1:3-4)
If we New Covenant sons of God don’t understand that our predecessor Old Covenant sons of God define the role that we are expected to fill, we won’t be fully functional.
For example, God’s promise to be a father to David’s son is the guarantee of the joining of identities for the purpose of legitimacy and empowerment.
“Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations…I have found David my servant…With whom my hand shall be established…He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.” (Psalm 89:4, 20-26)
The big deal in the commitment God made with David is not that he would be his father – that is standard practice for theocratic kings – but that David’s royal house / dynasty would endure forever.
Those who filter this Old Testament statement through a New Testament lens of the finished work of Christ often interpret “forever” as avoiding hell and living in heaven after we die, with most of Christians going about life on earth as if nothing extraordinary happened when we accepted Jesus as our savior.
But both the Old and the New Testament writers clarify that we believers in the Promised Savior from sin and death are empowered by the priest-king Melchizedek of the whole world to defeat sin and death in this lifetime.
“we wrestle…against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report…Who through faith subdued kingdoms, obtained promises, wrought righteousness, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured…And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented…these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not THE promise [of restoration of eternal life]…that they without us should not be made perfect [complete, whole as a body of believers].”
“Wherefore seeing WE also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let US lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset US, and let US run with patience the race that is set before US…consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye [unlike the preceding list] have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” (Hebrews 11-12)
What it means to be priests and kings in the order of Melchizedek is that it is our responsibility to take dominion over the territory granted to us by God. We have to FIGHT to win it back from Satan, who currently has control over much of the earth and its population. He is in fact the king of the kings of the world and “the god of this world [who] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” (II Corinthians 4:4)
Like Hitler, and now President Trump of America, Satan is catapulted to the highest position of government by humans who, lured by his lies promising power and wealth, put themselves under his authority.
“…every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:14-15)
These passages are all examples of spiritual law – unalterable consequences – just like the laws of physics. As described in earlier posts, Yahweh’s Appointed Savior, the man Christ Jesus, legally reversed the human action that transferred dominion to Satan, thereby transferring dominion back to himself as a human, and to all humans who identify with him when he stayed faithful to God through unimaginable suffering, abandonment and death.
And this is how we mere humans get out from under Satan’s tyranny, experienced in human bondage and misery in drug addiction, emotional disorders, broken families, financial ruin and political chaos. We obey God’s Word. Don’t over-spiritualize the following passage.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God [that’s exactly what we do when we make ourselves the authority of our life choices]: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and…humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:6-11)
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal 5:16-21)
“If we suffer [prove our loyalty and commitment like every fairy tale prince and princess], we shall also reign with him:” (II Tim 2:12)
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” (Rev 20:4)
Kingdom Come 