Notice that Jesus is making a clear connection between the
two phrases "born of water" and "born of the flesh" to show
that they mean one and the same thing. He then makes a
similar connection between the two phrases "and of the
Spirit" and "born of the Spirit", showing that these also
are referring to the same thing. Despite these very obvious
connections, some Christians today still hold to their
erroneous understanding of these passages in order to
justify their doctrine of making water baptism a necessary
part of Salvation. I discuss this topic more fully in the
article "Water Baptism: Is It Really Necessary?" One final
Greek word which is metaphorically used to denote this
spiritual rebirth, and which is translated as "begat", is
the word "apokueo" which is pronounced ap-ok-oo-eh'-o. While
it is normally used to imply physical childbirth, here we
see it being used in connection with the word "firstfruits".
As we have already seen, Jesus is the Firstfruits of the
Resurrection, and we will one day follow in His footsteps:

"Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we
should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."
(James 1:18, KJV)

Thus far we have seen that Jesus is truly unique, or "a
single of a kind", in two very special ways. First, He is
"the only begotten Son of God" due to the fact that He was
willing to be born, or begotten, by human means; and second,
as Paul says, He is the "first begotten of the dead" as
well; that is, He is the Firstfruits of the Resurrection.
The second act would not have been possible without the
first. Jesus was begotten of the flesh, and He was begotten
of the Spirit, just as we are too, by faith, when we accept
Him. It is because of the very fact that He was willing to
leave His Heavenly Abode and make this double Sacrifice for
us, that we are told in the Gospels that He is the beloved
Son of His Father:

"And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased."
(Matthew 3:17, KJV)

"While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed
them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."
(Matthew 17:5, KJV)

"Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will
send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when
they see him."
(Luke 20:13, KJV)

The fact that Jesus is beloved of His Father points to an
inevitable truth which will be difficult for some to accept.
This English word "beloved" is derived from the Greek word
"agapetos", pronounced ag-ap-ay-tos', which means beloved,
esteemed, dear, favourite, or worthy of love. Do you see the
implication here? If not, allow me to make it clearer for
you. To be beloved, esteemed or the favourite implies a
degree of comparison. This is clearly brought out in the Old
Testament. Consider the following examples where the word
"beloved" is used. In all cases, it is being used to show a
comparison, to show a different degree of love between two
or more people:

"If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated,
and they have born him children, both the beloved and the
hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated: Then
it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which
he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved
firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the
firstborn:"
(Deuteronomy 21:15-16, KJV)

As can be seen, in this first example, "beloved" is used to
show a degree of comparison between two women. In other
words, as its New Testament meaning reveals, "beloved" is
used to show who is one's favorite in terms of being loved.
We find another very clear example in the story of Joseph
and his coat of many colors. Consider the following verses:

"Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because
he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of
many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father
loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and
could not speak peaceably unto him."
(Genesis 37:3-4, KJV)

At first glance, some legalists might argue that "beloved"
and "loved more" are not the same word; however, a quick
check with the Hebrew lexicon reveals that the same exact
word is used in both of the preceding examples. It is the
word 'ahab'. This is not the only Hebrew word which has been
translated into English as 'beloved'; there are several
others. Allow me to give you one more example to again show
that 'beloved' is used to show a degree of comparison
between two or more people. In the following example, the
word used is "yediyd", pronounced yed-eed'; and it is used
to show a higher degree of love for the descendants of
Benjamin than for those of his eleven brothers. After
pronouncing the blessings upon the descendants of some of
the older sons of Jacob, Moses then states concerning
Benjamin:

". . . The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him;
and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall
dwell between his shoulders."
(Deuteronomy 33:12b, KJV)

To give you one final example in the New Testament, consider
that despite the fact that the Apostle Paul knew many of the
brethren in the First Century Church, he viewed Timothy as
one of his most favorite sons in the Faith. This is because
Timothy was one of his constant travel companions as is
revealed throughout the Book of Acts, as well as in the
Epistles. In fact, Timothy was eventually ordained as the
first Bishop of Ephesus. For this reason then, Timothy was
Paul's "beloved son", just as Jesus is God's "beloved son".
There is absolutely no difference in the usage of this word
"beloved" in all of the verses I have presented. In every
case, it means a comparative love between two or more
people:

"To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace,
from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord."
(2 Timothy 1:2, KJV)

"For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my
beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you
into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach
every where in every church."
(1 Corinthians 4:17, KJV)

"The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with
you. Amen. [The second [epistle unto Timotheus, ordained
the first bishop of the church of the Ephesians, was written
from Rome, when Paul was brought before Nero the second
time.]"
(2 Timothy 4:22, KJV)

Thus we see that while Paul had many sons in the Faith,
Timotheus, or Timothy, was his "beloved son", which means he
was held in special preference above all of the others. The
reason I am sharing all of this information with you is
quite simple. We have already seen what is truly meant by
referring to Jesus as "the only begotten Son of God".
Through the Scriptures I have just shared with you, we have
also just learned what is truly meant by the term "beloved
Son" when it is referring to Jesus Christ; and that is that
He is God's most favorite Son, BUT, He is not the only Son
of God! If He were God's only Son, then He could not
possibly be His most favorite or beloved Son, as there would
be no other sons with which to make this comparison.

While we see Jesus being referred to as "the only begotten
Son of God", nowhere in the four Gospels do we find Him
making the claim that He is the ONLY Son of God. Neither do
we find anyone else in the entire New Testament making that
claim either. The term "only son" is used one time in the
entire New Testament, and it is in reference to the dead son
of a widow in Luke chapter seven. A close reading of the
Scripures will reveal that Jesus simply said that God was
His Father, and that He was the Son of God. In fact, I
should also point out to you that the article "the" was used
at the discretion of the English translators. We honestly do
not know if Jesus actually said "the" or "a".

Based on the Scriptural evidence I have uncovered, I tend to
believe that whichever word Jesus may have used, He did not
mean it to be understood that He is the ONLY Son of God. In
fact, He may have been implying two things. First of all,
the Lord may have been stating that He is but one of many
spiritual sons of God who already existed in the Heavenly
Realm; and second, He may have also been stating that He is
the Firstborn of many future sons of God who were yet to be
born and adopted through belief in His name. According to
the Apostle Paul, and according to Jesus Himself in the Book
of Revelation, He was the beginning of the Creation of God;
He was God's Firstborn. This implies that others were
created, or will be created after Him. If you doubt this,
here is the proof straight from the Scriptures:

"And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the
world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits,
and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he
saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of
righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved
righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy
God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows."
(Hebrews 1:6-9, KJV)

Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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