THE ONLY SON
JOHN 1:14B-18

The ‘only Son’;
LUKE 7:12
12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow…

LUKE 8:42
42 for he had an only daughter…and she was dying…

LUKE 9:38
38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.”

JOHN 3:16, 18
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life…whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

1 JOHN 4:9
9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

JUDGES 11:34
34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter.

HEBREWS 11:17
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son…

GENESIS 22:2
2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

We can become sons by adoption. Christ is the Son by nature. And His Sonship by nature is accented in His suffering and vicarious death.

The Son in whom His Father is well pleased;
MARK 9:7 (Also: Matt. 3:17, 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22, 9:35)
7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

God’s own Son;
ROMANS 8:32
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

The eternal Son;
JOHN 17:5 (Also: John 17:24; Heb. 1:5, 5:5)
5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Granted by the Father to have life in Himself;
JOHN 5:26
26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

Possessing of special and unique relationship to the Father;
MATTHEW 11:27 (Also: Luke 10:22)
27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Equal in honor to the Father;
JOHN 5:23
23 …that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

Co-Creator with the Father;
JOHN 1:3
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Co-Redeemer with the Father;
JOHN 5:21
21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
Giving authority to judge all the world;
JOHN 5:27
27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

Possessing a unique one-ness with the Father;
JOHN 10:30
30 “I and the Father are one.”

Holding of a divine Kingship;
JOHN 16:15 (Also: John 17:10)
15 “All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

Christ is true Israel;
EXODUS 4:22
22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son…”

JEREMIAH 31:9
9 …for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Jesus is not just God’s messenger, He is God’s message. To see God, we look to Jesus.

“Full”;
ACTS 6:3
3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

ACTS 6:8
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

ACTS 7:55
55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

ACTS 11:24
24 …for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith…

Full of grace and truth;
EXODUS 33:20–23
20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

EXODUS 34:6
6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…

In Christ, the gracious and truthful nature of God are fully revealed and fully fulfilled.
The way to experience fullness of grace is to believe the truth. The only way to not be crushed by truth is to receive grace.

Midweek Discussion Question:
John is teaching the most profound truths of the Christian faith. Are these truth just for the scholarly, or do they have meaningful impact on the Christian’s daily life?

Read Philippians 2:3-8, Hebrews 4:12, and Romans 12:4-5.

Think about the impact of the Incarnation of Christ in these passages.


9/7/2025