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The New Testament occurrences of monogenes fall into three groups:
(1)
The son of a widow, 'the only son of his mother' (Luke 7:12).
The daughter of Jairus, 'For he had one only daughter' (Luke
8:42).
The son of a man in the company, 'he is mine only child' (Luke
9:38).
(2)
Isaac, the type of Christ, 'he ... offered up his only begotten
son' (Heb. 11:17).
(3)
Christ 'The only begotten' (John 1:14,18; 3:16,18; 1 John 4:9).
The references to Christ sometimes stress the 'Father', sometimes 'God' and
sometimes 'the Son', viewing the revelation of the Incarnation from different
points of view:
(1)
The word 'Father' is added, but the word 'Son' is omitted.
'Glory as of the only begotten of the Father' (John 1:14).
(2)
The word 'Son' is added.
'The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father'
(John 1:18).
'He gave His only begotten Son' (John 3:16).
'God sent His only begotten Son' (1 John 4:9).
(3)
The name 'God' is added.
'The name of the only begotten Son of God' (John 3:18).
From these passages we perceive that the Lord Jesus Christ was the Only
Begotten Son of His Father -- God. We shall therefore be obliged to keep
this fact in mind, when we read that Christ is 'the Son', in those passages
where the writer does not use either the words 'only begotten', 'Father', or
'God', for it is the same blessed Person Who is spoken of in every passage.
The word 'son' is the translation of the Greek huios, and is used of
Christ in a series of combinations with other terms. Dr. E.W. Bullinger has
made a list of eight such combinations of which we give a summary:
(1)
Ho huios, 'The Son', where the article is used.
(2)
Huios Theou, without the article, 'Son of God'.
(3)
Ho huios (or huios) tou Theou, 'The Son of (the) God'.
(4)
Ho huios tou anthropou, 'The Son of (the) man'.
(5)
Ho huios tou patros, 'The Son of the Father'.
(6)
Huios hupsistou, 'Son of the Highest'.
(7)
Ho huios tou eulogetou, 'The Son of the blessed'.
(8)
Huios Dabid, 'Son of David'.
Number (2) is used of His birth (Luke 1:35), and sets forth the Saviour
as the man, Christ Jesus.
Number (3) indicates Him as the Messiah, and is never used of His
supernatural birth; it is a relation, in virtue of which the humanity of
Jesus possesses its special significance.
Number (4). This title is never used by the disciples (and not until
the Saviour is exalted in glory is it used by Stephen, Acts 7:56). Here He
is set forth as 'the Seed of the woman' and as 'the Second Man' and 'the last
Adam'.
'The glory of Gethsemane' (Heb. 5)