THE ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON
‘The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father.’
So writes John, in this glorious introduction to his Gospel. He is about to tell, in the following Chapter s, of what the Man Christ Jesus did, and said, and suffered; how He called His disciples, how he sat wearied by the well, how He wept at the grave, how He died upon the Cross, and rose again. And here, then, first He tells us, plainly, solemnly, and sweetly, Who this Man was. He shows us His other nature, His Godhead, His eternity, His oneness with the Eternal Father—so that we may believe, and adore, and rest in and enjoy, the preciousness and power of all which as Man He did and bore; the wonder of His being Man at all; the loveliness and peace of the thought that He was made Man and slain for sinners.
Now part of this description of the eternal Nature, the Godhead, of Jesus the beloved Saviour, is this simply worded yet mysterious truth: that He is one with the Father, and the Beloved of the Father. Could it be more graciously conveyed than it is here: ‘The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father?’ This is one part, then, of what we know of the Saviour’s glory. Let us look at it just as it is set before us.
I. All is mystery in such a truth; yet all, in one respect, is simplicity and joy. All is mystery. If we ask how these things can be, the answer must be, ‘We absolutely cannot know.’ The being and Nature of God is in itself an unfathomable secret. He Who is from everlasting (think of it) and to everlasting; all knowing, Almighty; surely the how and the why of His Nature and His ways absolutely must be far above out of our sight? And so, when we read, on His own Word (and nothing less than His Word could be worth hearing about it) of this wonderful Fatherhead and Sonship which is in Him—of God the Father, one Person; and God the Son, another Person; both Eternal, both Almighty, because both God in the Scripture sense of God: and yet One, one God, in a oneness most deep and blessed—when we read of this, and try to think it out, in its how and why, by our knowledge of human fathers and human sons—thought fails; we feel we cannot tell; His ways are past finding out.
In this respect, all is mystery indeed. Clouds and darkness are round about that throne where from eternity to eternity the only begotten Son is—eternally is—in the bosom of the Father.
II. But then, on another side, how simple and how divinely comforting and gladdening is the revelation of this only begotten Son in the bosom of the Father.—We lay aside the vain, weary question, how it can be. We look here and see on the page of God’s book that, however it is, it is. And now what light it gives! The Son, the only Son, the beloved Son, the Father, the infinitely loving Father; such is the truth about the God Who made us. How simple indeed are the holy words ‘Father,’ ‘Son,’ ‘the bosom of the Father.’ Nothing is here but nearness, dearness, love. The golden words, ‘God is love,’ shine even brighter than ever when we think how Scripture, how God tells us of this union and endearment on the Throne, the eternally loving Father, the eternally beloved Son. Look simply again, I entreat you, on this truth, this mighty truth, of the inner Divine love. Does it not somewhat move and stir your heart, even if that heart is as yet a stranger to the love of God? Does it not show you that at least, whether you love God or not, God is lovable? Can you not believe, whether you ever felt it or no, that there is in such a God a heart to love you, dearly to love you? Ah! believe that there is such a heart in Him.
‘The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father.’
Such is the simplicity of the truth, whatever be the mystery. Christ the Saviour of sinners, Christ the welcomer of the weary, Christ the meek and lowly, is nothing less than this, the only begotten Son who is eternally in the bosom of the Father.
III. Who shall explore, and weigh, and fathom that love—the love of God the Father for God the Son?—We shrink from the question; we know it must be a love immeasurable as it is eternal; the love of the All-blessed for the All-blessed; of the All-holy for the All-holy; of God for God. I ask, who can explore and estimate that love—only that I may ask, in closing, one or two questions suggested by it.
(a) ‘The Father loveth the Son,’ with a love infinitely above what any creature can have for Him. Well, what then was the Father’s compassionating love for the sinful world, that He so loved it, yes, so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should have eternal life?
(b) ‘The Father loveth the Son’; then what an object of love must that Son be to them that find Him, to them, to us, to whom His Gospel comes! And what is obedience to the Son, but a life lived in the path of His most blessed will, under the light of His most precious love?
(c) ‘The Father loveth the Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father.’ Then what is the love of the Father by those who are led by the Holy Spirit to love the Son, to recognise and accept and love the Lord Christ Jesus as their pardon, their peace, their life, their hope, their righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption? Think of this, that it may attract you to your Lord.
Bishop H. C. G. Moule.