God’s Only Son

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Can you imagine having an argument at the supermarket about whether Jesus Christ is God? Today, Christians every­where accept the fact that Jesus, God’s Son, is fully God. But in the early church, Christians argued vehemently about whether Jesus could be God if he was God’s only Son.

When we call someone a son, we naturally conclude that the father came first and the son came second. So when we refer to Jesus in the Apostles’ Creed as God’s “only Son,” are we somehow putting him in second place?

No. Since the fourth century the church has officially upheld what the Holy Spirit inspired John to write in our passage for today: “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”

We can’t fully comprehend the mysterious relationship of God the Father and his only Son. But by faith we believe that Jesus is God’s Son. By faith we believe, with John, that through God’s only Son all of creation was made (John 1:1-3). By faith we also believe that only God’s own Son, through his death, could bring us into a new life filled with everlasting peace and joy.

As we live in the love of God and his Son each day, we can look for ways, wherever we are, to share that love with ­others.

Jesus, we believe you are God’s only Son. Help us to share your love wherever we are. Amen.