In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
John 1:1-3,14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 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.
Most people are familiar with the verse that says that God gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. What does it mean for Jesus to be the only begotten Son of God, and what does that mean for Christians?
To be "begotten" means to come from, like a son takes his origin in his father. And while a "son" litereally means a "male child", scripturally speaking, it is the son who receives the inheritance from his father, and if there is more than one son, the firstborn receives twice as much of the inheritance as his brothers do. Men are not referred to in the Old Testament as being sons of God. The only one referred to as being God's son is the nation of Israel. It is written in Exodus that "Israel is my son, even my firstborn" and by the prophet Hosea "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt". The verse in Hosea is referenced in Matthew as referring to Christ, and it could be understood that the references to Israel as God's son are talking about when God would send His own Son into the world. This is why the Psalms say "Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth." and "I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.".
So what is the God's inheritance that He gives to His Son? In the old Testament it is first the people of Israel. Moses asked God to "take us for thine inheritance", and then when God was going to destroy Israel for making the golden calf, Moses made his petition for Israel to not be destroyed "For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt". Samuel told Saul that the Lord had anointed Saul to be captain over His inheritance. Solomon ended his prayer at the dedication of the temple asking God to hear the prayers of the people and to forgive their sins "For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt". There are also references in the Psalms such as "Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance" and "Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed". There are also a couple of references to God inheriting the nations like "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." and "Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations." The inheritance that is given to God's poeple in the Old Testament is always the promised land that they were brought out of Egypt in order to inhabit.
So if a son being begotten from his father means that the Father is the source from which the Son comes, then when we call Jesus the Son of God, we are saying that He comes from God, has everything pertaining to the divine nature, and receives the inheritance of His Father. The first chapter of John tells us that in the beginning the Word was with God and was God, and that Word became flesh and dwelt (literally "tabernacled") among us. When Mary asked how she would conceive at the annunciation, the angel told her "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.". This is why Jesus said that "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself" and that He proceeded forth from God. It is written in Colossions that "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." and that he is "the image of the invisible God". This is why Jesus said that he who see Him sees the Father and Paul writes that the knowledge of the glory of God is "in the face of Jesus Christ". God the Father testifies of this truth, both at Christ's baptism and at the transfiguration on the mountain, when He says "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". Even the demons recognize Jesus as being the Son of God when they meet Him in the gospels.
If God's inheritance in the Old Testament was His people, then the inheritance that Christ receives from His Father is the Church and all the people that would be reconciled to God through Him. This why He prays "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.".
As God's people in His Church, we are told that "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 man, but of God". This is why we are told that we must be "born again" of "water and of the Spirit". This is done in baptism where we are "buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." and Peter writes that God has "begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead". While Christ is begotten of the Father with the same divinity as the Father, we are told that "the Word became flesh" and elsewhere that in all things He became like unto His brethren, so He shares in our human nature in all things but sin. By uniting Himself to us, it is through Him that we "receive the adoption of sons" and become "an heir of God through Christ". It is the "Spirit of adoption" received in and through Christ that allows to cry out to God "Abba, Father"
Our inheritance in Christ is that we shall be like Him and see Him as He is, inherit everlasting life, the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world, incorruption, and redemption through His blood. To live as a son of God in union with the Son of God, we must be "led by the Spirit of God" and suffer together with Him in this life if we are to be glorified together with Him when He returns. We also must be willing to forsake houses, family, and lands for Christ. We must also continually maintain Peter's confession of faith that He is "the Christ, the son of the living God". We also must always keep the attitude that Peter confessed toward Christ when Peter said "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.". We must also constantly strive to purify ourselves because "every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.".
May the Son of God, the Word made flesh, Who has the words of eternal life grant me the strength to endure suffering with Him and purify myself with hope in Him that, having received the Spirit of adoption, I may be glorified together with Him when He returns.
