In the course of His conversation with Nicodemus in John 3, the Lord Jesus used a relatively rare word. Even more rare than the Greek word itself is the way it is translated in that passage. “For God so loved the world that he gave his ONLY BEGOTTEN Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the ONLY BEGOTTEN Son of God.” Obviously, the Lord was pointing to Himself when twice He said, “the only begotten Son of God.” And with that statement He drew a line in the sand. He said, “those whose faith is in the only begotten Son of God will be delivered from divine judgment. Those whose trust is not in the Son, remain in their condemned condition and will be damned.” The Greek word translated “only begotten Son” is “monogenes.”
The Apostle John may or may not have been listening to that conversation between his Master and Nicodemus. I say that because in the introduction to his gospel he used the same word, and it has been translated the same way. Christ, the Word, “came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made 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.” Once again we see that same line drawn, this time separating the children of God from those who are not. Those who receive the only begotten Son of God become children of God, and those who reject Him, will die as spiritual orphans, eternally separated from the blessings of the Lord. Added to the equation is that only the “monogenes” displays the true glory of the Father. John uses this word one more time in his First Epistle 4:9 – “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” Again we see the line: only in the only begotten Son is life.
The final time this word is translated “only begotten” is once again in John 1 when John the Baptist says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is the bosom of the Father, he hath declared Him.” Once again we see the unique relationship between God the Father and God the Son.
Honesty compels me to say that “monogenes” is used a few other times when speaking of human children, but the word isn’t translated the same way (with one exception). For example, “when (Jesus) came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her” (Luke 7:12). In Luke 8:42 a man came to Christ for help, “For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying.” And Luke 9:38 – “Behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.” (I think it’s interesting that each of these “monogenes” were only children and they were dead.) The only time “monogenes” is translated “only begotten” when not referring to the Lord Jesus is in Hebrews, which coincidentally is actually a type, or picture, of Christ. “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.”
When “monogenes” is used in relation to Christ Jesus, it is a statement about His unique, one of a kind, unprecedented relationship to God the Father. And this is suggested in our scripture in I Peter, even though the same word is not used. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Christ did not become the Son of God at His incarnation; at His resurrection, or any place in between. According to I John 4:19, God sent into the world, the One who was already His only begotten Son. And Christ is not the “monogenes” of God as merely a special title or official position either. It speaks of the unique relationship of the Father to Son, making Him pre-eminent over any and all others.
With that let’s return to our text and our message for this morning. Having introduced Christ Jesus, “the ONLY BEGOTTEN,” I’d like to speak to you of “the OTHER begotten.” “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten US again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Let’s consider Who, What, Where, When and Why.
WHO hath begotten us unto this lively hope? It is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is important to remember the people to whom Peter was writing. This is not an evangelical letter. He is not preaching the gospel to unbelievers. This is addressed to people who already received the Saviour by faith. And as such they had already been begotten again; they had received eternal life through Christ. And it is as 21st Century Christians that we are reading and studying this book.
Who had begotten those people and brought them into this spiritual life? Who hath begotten US? It is Jehovah, the “I am,” the loving, covenant-making God. Or to use another Hebrew name for the Lord: “Elohim” – the God of Gods – the Almighty God. What Peter is discussing required something miraculous – like bringing life out of a rock. This is like Jesus’ miraculously restoring life to the body being carried out of the city of Nain. “Now when (Jesus) came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her” (Luke 7:12). And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up and began to speak.”
Who hath begotten us again? The omnipotent and sovereign God. It was not we ourselves, because there is nothing a dead man can do except rot and stink. Remember John 1: Christ “came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but God.” No one has ever been born again simply because they chose to be born. Before that birth, they were begotten, and that required a Father. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
And WHAT did the Father do? He begat us again unto a lively hope.
Is it possible to be too persnickety when it comes to studying the Word of God? By that I mean: is it possible to spend too much time looking at the details of the Bible? Personally, I don’t think so. Someone once said, “God is in the details.” Why didn’t Peter simply say, ”Blessed be God by whom we have been born again?” It certainly is the truth. But isn’t there a difference between “begotten” and “birth?” between the conception and delivery of the baby? I believe so. I certainly believe in the virgin birth of Christ, but Jesus’ birth was essentially just like every other birth. It was His conception, His begetting, which was miraculous and unique.
And in regard to ourselves, we must go back to the very beginning, looking at the same sort of thing. Paul introduced his epistle to the Ephesians in a manner very much like Peter did here. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love; Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself.” The choosing and election of the believer took place before the creation of the universe. At some point there was conception, the begetting, of that child of God; then years later there was the birth. Following that there was the predestinated adoption of that child. Ultimately will come the arrival of all the spiritual blessings in heavenly places. “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” Before the birth there was the conception.
What should we do with that word “again” which Peter uses: “God hath begotten us again.” We could take it back to the origin of all things when God brought to life His plan to create life. God breathed into the first man the breath of life and Adam became a living soul. But then that man chose to rebel and sin against the Lord. According to God’s promise, Adam immediately died, and all his children have been born spiritually dead. But in salvation the Saviour brings the dead back to life; He hath “begotten us AGAIN” to life.
That is sometimes called “regeneration.” What is it to generate something? I have a friend who manages the operations at the Grand Coulee Dam. The primary purpose of that dam is to generate electricity – to produce or make electricity. Paul said to Titus, much that Peter tells us here. “After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of REGENERATION, and renewing odf the Holy Ghost.” What is re-generation? Isn’t it the producing of something a second time? Life? “Regeneration” is a term often used to speak of “the new birth” which takes place after our physical birth. Jesus said, “Except a man be born AGAIN, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” God begat again the people to whom Peter was writing; He regenerated them; they had been born again. Have YOU been born again? Without regeneration you will never enjoy the Kingdom of God.
Our next question is WHERE, and for this I must stretch my outline beyond the reasonable.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again…” In what atmosphere did our spiritual conception take place? In what room within God’s palace did our begetting occur? Was it the armory where He keeps all His weapons? Was it the Virgin Mary’s apartment as the Catholics try to tell us. Was it in the room of the angels with their encouragement and incentive? Was it the dungeon? Trying to avoid getting too ridiculous, “it was according to God’s abundant mercy” He saved us. It was in the warmest, most beautiful, most wonderful room in the house of God. It was in the room with the name plate “mercy” on the door.
God our Saviour wasn’t motivated by pride to redeem us. He didn’t save us to make a point to Satan, the one who successfully tempted our first parents to sin. God wasn’t trying to make himself feel good after failing in Eden. He didn’t fail at anything. It wasn’t justice which prompted the salvation of sinners.
I think that Peter could have used any of three words in this verse, and they would all have been appropriate. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant MERCY hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” “Blessed be the God… which according to his abundant GRACE hath begotten us again…” “Blessed be the God… which according to his abundant LOVE has saved us.”
I reserve the right to return to this point for its own particular message, but let me summarize. Out of abundant mercy the Lord has begotten and saved us. If it was not for divine mercy every last child of Adam would spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. But scripture after scripture magnifies God’s love, mercy and grace in this regard. Psalm 86: “Thou, LORD, are good, and ready to forgive; plenteous in MERCY unto all them that call upon thee.” “Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in MERCY and truth.” In Ephesians Paul offers praise to “the glory of (God’s) grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his GRACE; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom ajnd prudence.” God “is rich in MERCY, for his great LOVE wherewith he loved us.”
I have several books, some classic books, on the subject of the Attributes of God. One of them is over a thousand pages, touching on all the characteristics which make God God. Out of all those attributes only the three I’ve already mentioned take us to the source of our salvation. The omnipotence of God was certainly a part of our salvation, but not at its conception. The holiness of God underlies everything else about the Lord, but it didn’t directly bring about our salvation. Only through God’s grace, mercy and love have any of us been saved.
And notice in passing the adjective Peter uses in referring to that mercy: “abundant.” Sometimes that word refers to size – “God is rich in mercy for his GREAT love wherewith he loved us.” Sometimes it speaks of quantity – “In my Father’s house are MANY mansions.” Sometimes it refers to quality – Paul said, “I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is FAR BETTER, or to stay in this world serving as His ambassador. In the case of I Peter 1:3 it doesn’t matter which way we look at the word. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his (super-sized, fabulously rich and his abounding) mercy hath begotten us again…” However you cut it, it is by the mercy of God that any of us have been born again.
And WHEN did this begetting take place?
As I’ve already suggested, it was before the history of man began to be written. It took place in the mind of God, who is not bound by the clicking of the clock. Peter does not tell us exactly when this conception of salvation occurred. But later in this chapter he expands on our text saying that Christ “verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in the last times for you, who by him do believe in Christ, that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God.”
Our final question for the morning is: WHY did God beget us?
It was that our faith and hope might be in God. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” If the rabbit, out in the field, had the ability to hope, which I doubt he has, what would be his ultimate hope? Wouldn’t it be that his death would be quick and painless, as from the talons of a diving of a hawk? And what would be the ultimate hope of the 8 inch Kokanee in Lake Pend Orville. It wouldn’t be that he’d be tricked into swallowing a hook and to have his guts ripped out. Wouldn’t it be to die a quick death from a huge Kamloops shooting up from the darkness below? There is not much difference between a Kokanee or a rabbit and any lost man when it comes to hope. The man without the Saviour has nothing to look forward to beyond death, so his hope ought to be to die in a car wreck. The man with only death in his future, better hope to die quickly and painlessly. The only hope he has is a dead or a deadly one, not a lively one.
But those who have been begotten by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, have been given a life with the added blessing a lively hope. The word “lively” speaks of a living, breathing hope; a hope which lives in the power of the Almighty. It is not a wish or a dream based in the fairy tales of ancient fableists. It is not a hope like the theories of those who believe in reincarnation: I hope I turn out better in my next life. It’s not the hope of the mathematician or the actuary as he measures the odds for living a long life.
Peter is talking about a Biblical hope, guaranteed upon the miraculous resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Paul helps him out by saying, “This hope of God maketh not ashamed;” no one will be sorry who possess this hope, because it is guaranteed by the God who cannot lie. He prays in Romans 15: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, though the power of the Holy Ghost.” The writer of Hebrews clarifies this hope by saying, “God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” The people to whom Peter was writing had their souls anchored to the sure and steadfast hope of the resurrected Christ, who has entered into the Heavenly Holy of Holies on our behalf. The people to whom Peter was writing could expect to be pulled into that Heavenly port by the anchor chain firmly connected to the Saviour.
The only begotten Son of God came to this earth for the purpose of giving His life a ransom for many. He died on the cross in order to complete the plan of the Father which included God’s begetting other sons and daughters. That conception resulted in the spiritual birth of thousands of sinners who been dead in sin. That spiritual begetting eventually produced children of God with a living hope which extends beyond the ups and downs, the good and bad, of this earthly life. That spiritual conception was empowered by the death, burial and resurrection of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it came to fruition in the regeneration of millions of sin-dead souls.
One added question remains: Are you among those who have spiritual life through the Saviour? Do you possess an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven? I implore you to turn to the Saviour in humbleness and faith. Repent before God and put your faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.