Daily Devotional For Monday, December 16, 2024

The word of Christmas we are looking at today is “begotten.” The Bible says that Jesus is God’s “only begotten son,” and it’s not just in John 3:16. That term, “only begotten Son,” is found in several New Testament verses and it always refers to Jesus Christ. When John wrote about the coming of Christ to earth, he wrote in John 1:14, “And the Word (that’s Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (NKJV). And later, John wrote in 1 John 4:9, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (NKJV).

The term “only begotten” means “the only one of its kind.” Some Bible translations use the phrase “one and only” Son. So Jesus is the only Son of God. There is no one else like Him. What else does the Bible tell us about God’s only begotten Son? Look at Colossians 1:15-17:

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, (16) for through Him, God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see — such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him. (17) He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together (NLT).

And it is this only begotten Son, the Creator, the Word, the second member of the Godhead, the exact image of the invisible God — it is this only begotten Son that the Father gave for you. This is who came at Christmas. This is who was born of a virgin. This is who was laid in a manger. This is who died on Good Friday. This is who rose from the dead on Easter. And it is this only begotten Son, our Savior, whose return we long for.

Why did God send His only begotten Son? God sent His only begotten Son so that we might become adopted sons and daughters of God. Every person is created by God. But not every person is a child of God. The only way to become a child of God is by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible says this in John 1:12, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God (NIV). Through Jesus — and only through Jesus — you become God’s child. The Bible says in Galatians 4:4-5: “But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. (5) God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children” (NLT).

God didn’t make us slaves. He made us His children. Romans 8:15 says, “You haven't received the spirit of slaves that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the spirit of God's adopted children by which we call out, “Abba! Father!” (GWT). That’s why Jesus came. And that is the greatest news about Christmas: God sent His only begotten Son so that you might become an adopted son or daughter of God.

Pastor and author J.C. Ryle writes this:

“Who can estimate the value of God's gift, when He gave to the world His only begotten Son? It is something unspeakable and incomprehensible. It passes man's understanding. Two things there are which man has no arithmetic to reckon, and no line to measure. One of these things is the extent of that man's loss who loses his own soul. The other is the extent of God's gift when he gave Christ to sinners. ...Sin must indeed be exceeding sinful, when the Father must give His only Son to be the sinner's Friend!” (Source: J.C. Ryle).

Scripture To Meditate On: 1 John 4:9, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (NKJV).

Prayer To Pray: “Father, how can we ever thank You enough for giving Your only begotten Son for us? It is beyond imagination that You would do such a thing. Jesus, how can we ever thank You enough for coming to forgive us, to save us, and to adopt us into Your family? We will be eternally grateful. Thank You for this greatest Christmas gift of all. I love You Jesus. In Your name we pray. Amen.”

I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly