Is Jesus the first-begotton son of God?

.:IS JESUS THE FIRST-BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD? – Is Jesus the product of a physical act between Heavenly Father and one of His Wives?

PSALM 2:7: “…Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”

MORMON POSITION:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that humans have the same origin as Lucifer (now known as Satan) and his “eldest brother,” Jesus Christ. Claiming that we are all the spiritual offspring of an exalted Man called “Heavenly Father” and his spiritual Goddess wife, known as “Heavenly Mother,” they claim: “Every person who was ever born on earth was our spirit brother or sister in heaven. The first spirit born to our heavenly parents was Jesus Christ … so he is literally our elder brother … Because we are the spiritual children of our heavenly parents, we have inherited the potential to develop their divine qualities.”—Gospel Principles, 1995, p 11

Using passages such as Psalm 2:7 and John 3:16, Mormons argue that Jesus is called God’s “only begotten Son” because they believe He is not only the spiritual offspring of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother in the pre-existence, but his human body was “begotten” by Heavenly Father through Mary. One LDS Church manual explained it this way:

“When Jenny was asked what she had learned, she replied, ‘Daddy, I’m confused. The teacher talked about Jesus being God’s only son. I thought all of us were God’s children.’ … Have you ever wondered about this question? … Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God in the flesh. Well, now for the benefit of the older ones, how are children begotten? I answer, ‘Just as Jesus Christ was begotten of his father … We must come down to the simple fact that God Almighty was the Father of His Son Jesus Christ. Mary, the virgin girl, who had never known mortal man, was his mother. God by her begot His son Jesus Christ … But who was his real father (Heavenly Father)? So you see, Jesus is the only person who had our Heavenly Father as the father of his body.” —Family Home Evening, 1972, pp. 125-126

BIBLICAL RESPONSE:

While it is true that in Scripture, the term “begotten” often refers to the physical offspring of parents, this term does not always imply this when it is used in reference to Jesus Christ. “It was thought that the term came from monos, meaning ‘only’ and gennao, meaning ‘begotten.’ However, further research has determined that the term is derived not from gennaw but from genos, meaning ‘kind’ or ‘type.’ Hence the better translation, ‘unique’ or ‘one of a kind’ ” (The King James Only Controversy, p. 259). Therefore, when the Bible refers to Jesus as the “only-begotten Son,” or “only-begotten God” (as other translations not of the King James Version tradition note), it is literally speaking of Jesus’ uniqueness as the “one and only unique” God the Son. So what is the Bible referring to when it speaks of Jesus being “begotten” of God? Hebrews 1:5 states: “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?” Acts 13:30, 33 explains how this passage was fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ.

“But God raised him [Jesus] from the dead … God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.”

Since this passage points to Jesus’ resurrection as the fulfillment of the prophecy in which God would say to Jesus, “this day have I begotten thee,” this demonstrates why “begotten” in reference to Jesus Christ cannot refer to a physical conception between Heavenly Father and His “wives.”

Contrary to Mormon arguments, the Jewish people in Jesus’ day understood the term “son of…” to mean “of the order or nature of…” Therefore, when Jesus claimed to be the “Son of God,” the Jews understood Him to be claiming to be God Himself “of the order and nature of God.” Note the following passages:

· 1 KINGS 20:35: “Sons of the prophets” means “of the nature of the prophets.”
· NEHEMIAH 12:28: “Sons of the singers” means “of the order of the singers.”
· EPHESIANS 2:2: “Sons of disobedience” means “having a disobedient nature.”
· JOHN 6:62: “Son of Man” means “of the order and nature of Man.”
· JOHN 5:18: “Son of God” means “of the order and nature of God.”

“For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.”—John 5:18

“The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.’ ”—John 19:7

Thus, Jesus is not the  “first” of many procreated “sons” of God, nor is He Lucifer’s brother. Rather, He is God Himself, the preeminent one over God’s creation who created “all things” including mankind, Lucifer and his angels.   As God the Son, He is Lucifer’s Creator, not his brother.

For more information see:

 Is the Jesus of Mormonism the Same Jesus of the Bible?