Jesus is the one and only begotten Son of God.
The word “begotten” is misunderstood by many. They think it means created and not eternal. That is not the meaning. Jesus is eternal.
John 1:14 (KJV)
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten [μονογενὴς monogenēs], of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:18 (KJV)
No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten [μονογενὴς monogenēs], Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
The original Greek word in the Bible is μονογενὴς (monogenēs).
Monogenēs is made from two Greek words. Monos means “alone, only, sole.” Genos has a range of meanings: “offspring, family, relation, lineage, race, kind, species,” etc.
Accordingly, the Greek-English lexicon define monogenēs as something “that is the only example of its category.”
Put more simply, monogenēs means “one of a kind.” Jesus is unique and one of a kind. There is nothing else like Jesus in the universe.
John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [μονογενὴς monogenēs], that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life
