Is Eternal Generation in the Bible?

“Eternal generation” is not a sentence in the Bible. It is the church’s name for the claim that the Son is from the Father without a beginning, begotten and not made. The creed of 381 says that. Scripture says he is the only begotten, that the Father has given him to have life in himself, and that Psalm 2:7Psalms 2:7 · King James VersionI will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.Psalms 2:7 · King James VersionOpen source, “this day have I begotten thee,” is said of him. It does not define a moment when the Son began.

Key Points

• The creed of 381 says the Son is “begotten of his Father before all worlds,” “begotten, not made,” “of one substance with the Father.” (1)
• John 3:16John 3:16 · King James VersionFor God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.John 3:16 · King James VersionOpen source and 1 John 4:91 John 4:9 · King James VersionIn 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.1 John 4:9 · King James VersionOpen source call him the only begotten Son. The Greek word is μονογενής. Readers dispute whether it means “only begotten” or “one of a kind.”
• John 5:26John 5:26 · King James VersionFor as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;John 5:26 · King James VersionOpen source says as the Father has life in himself, so he has given the Son to have life in himself.
• Psalm 2:7Psalms 2:7 · King James VersionI will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.Psalms 2:7 · King James VersionOpen source says, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” Acts 13:33Acts 13:33 · King James VersionGod 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.Acts 13:33 · King James VersionOpen source and Hebrews 1:5Hebrews 1:5 · King James VersionFor 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?Hebrews 1:5 · King James VersionOpen source quote it of Jesus.
• Proverbs 8:22–25Proverbs 8:22–25 · King James Version^8:22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. ^8:23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. ^8:24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. ^8:25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:Proverbs 8:22–25 · King James VersionOpen source is Wisdom speaking of being brought forth before the earth. The chapter does not name Jesus. The church has read it of the Son. That identification is a reading, not a label in the text.
• The Church of God General Conference calls Jesus the only begotten Son and says he came into existence at his conception. (8) “Only begotten” in that statement is the birth from Mary.
• Jesus is God. Generation names how the Son is from the Father. It does not name a time when he became God.

What the Creed Says

The council of 381, ratifying the faith of Nicaea, confessed one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. (1) “Before all worlds” is the council’s way of saying the begetting is not an event inside creation. “Not made” is the council’s refusal of the claim that the Son is a creature. “One substance” is the council’s way of saying the Son is what the Father is: God.

Those three phrases are creed, not a verse number. The Trinity is the confession they protect. A reader can ask whether the verses teach the same thing without pretending the creed is a quotation from John.

Monogenēs

John 1:14John 1:14 · King James VersionAnd 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.John 1:14 · King James VersionOpen source says the Word was made flesh, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. John 1:18John 1:18 · King James VersionNo man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.John 1:18 · King James VersionOpen source in the King James Version says the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared him. John 3:16John 3:16 · King James VersionFor God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.John 3:16 · King James VersionOpen source says God gave his only begotten Son. 1 John 4:91 John 4:9 · King James VersionIn 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.1 John 4:9 · King James VersionOpen source says God sent his only begotten Son into the world.

The word is μονογενής. μόνος is “only.” The second half is the disputed part. The King James Version hears γένος in the sense “begotten,” and translates “only begotten.” Other readers hear “one of a kind,” “unique,” with no act of begetting in the word. Both readings have to deal with the rest of the sentence. In John 1:14 the unique Son is “of the Father.” In John 3:16 he is the Son the Father gave. The word alone does not carry the creed’s “before all worlds.” The creed uses “only begotten” and then adds the timing the Gospel does not spell out.

The Church of God General Conference calls Jesus the only begotten Son and says he came into existence at his conception. (8) That is one way to hear “begotten”: the virgin birth. Luke 1:35Luke 1:35 · King James VersionAnd the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.Luke 1:35 · King James VersionOpen source says the holy thing that is born of Mary will be called the Son of God. The conception is a real begetting of the man Jesus. The creed’s claim is that “Son” is also true of him before that conception. Did Jesus Exist Before He Was Born? is the verses that put him before Bethlehem.

Psalm 2:7 and John 5:26

Psalm 2:7Psalms 2:7 · King James VersionI will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.Psalms 2:7 · King James VersionOpen source says, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” “This day” is a day in the psalm, the day of the king’s decree. Acts 13:33Acts 13:33 · King James VersionGod 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.Acts 13:33 · King James VersionOpen source quotes the line of the resurrection: God raised up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm. Hebrews 1:5Hebrews 1:5 · King James VersionFor 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?Hebrews 1:5 · King James VersionOpen source quotes it to say the Son is not an angel. Hebrews 5:5Hebrews 5:5 · King James VersionSo also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.Hebrews 5:5 · King James VersionOpen source quotes it again of the Son becoming high priest.

An honest reading says the apostles apply “this day” to what God did in raising and installing Jesus, not only to a timeless begetting. The creed does not quote Psalm 2:7 as a calendar date for the origin of the Son. It says “before all worlds.” The psalm’s “this day,” in Acts, is a day. Both can be true if the Son who is eternally from the Father is, on a day, declared Son in power by the resurrection. Romans 1:4Romans 1:4 · King James VersionAnd declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:Romans 1:4 · King James VersionOpen source says he was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. “Declared” is not “created.”

John 5:26John 5:26 · King James VersionFor as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;John 5:26 · King James VersionOpen source is the verse that comes closest to a giving of life inside God: as the Father has life in himself, so has he given to the Son to have life in himself. The Son’s life is given, and it is life in himself, the Father’s kind of life. The verse does not say the giving happened at conception, and it does not say the Son was once without it. The Church of God reading takes the giving as the start of a human life. The creed takes the giving as the eternal relation of Son to Father. The verse says “given” and “life in himself.” It does not settle the adverb “eternally” by itself.

Proverbs 8

Proverbs 8:22–25Proverbs 8:22–25 · King James Version^8:22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. ^8:23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. ^8:24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. ^8:25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:Proverbs 8:22–25 · King James VersionOpen source is Wisdom’s speech. The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way. I was set up from everlasting. I was brought forth when there were no depths, before the mountains were settled. The speaker is Wisdom, personified through the chapter, crying at the gates and rejoicing in the world. The chapter never says “this is the Messiah.”

Readers have identified that Wisdom with the Son, because John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source calls him the Word and 1 Corinthians 1:241 Corinthians 1:24 · King James VersionBut unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.1 Corinthians 1:24 · King James VersionOpen source calls Christ the wisdom of God. Other readers refuse the identification, because the poem is about wisdom as the LORD’s companion in creation, and “brought forth” in a poem is not a christological formula. This page does not treat Proverbs 8 as a verse that names Jesus. It records that the church has used it, and that the text’s own speaker is Wisdom.

The New Testament’s creation lines do not need that poem. John 1:3John 1:3 · King James VersionAll things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.John 1:3 · King James VersionOpen source, Colossians 1:16Colossians 1:16 · King James VersionFor by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:Colossians 1:16 · King James VersionOpen source, and Hebrews 1:2Hebrews 1:2 · King James VersionHath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;Hebrews 1:2 · King James VersionOpen source say the worlds were made by the Son. Hebrews 1:10Hebrews 1:10 · King James VersionAnd, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:Hebrews 1:10 · King James VersionOpen source addresses him as the Lord who laid the foundation of the earth. Those sentences are about the Son. Proverbs 8 is about Wisdom unless a reader makes the further step.

What Scripture Does Not Say

Scripture does not contain the phrase “eternal generation.” It does not narrate a moment, before creation, when the Father produced the Son the way Mary conceived. It does not say the Son is a part of the Father, or a second god, or a creature promoted later. The creed’s “begotten not made” is a fence around those mistakes. The fence is only as good as the verses. The verses say the Word already was, that he is the only Son of the Father, that the Father has given him life in himself, and that “begotten” in Psalm 2 is applied to the resurrection and the priesthood as well as to sonship.

Does 1 Corinthians 8:6 Mean Only the Father Is God? is the verse that says one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things. The creed copies that shape and adds “true God from true God.” The addition is the council’s judgment that “by whom are all things” fits a Son who is God, not a Son who began in Mary. What Is Biblical Unitarianism? is the other judgment, in the churches’ own words.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Christians Have to Use the Phrase?

The phrase is the church’s. The confession it names is the creed’s: the Son is God from God, not a creature, not a second god. A person can say that in John’s words, the Word was God, without using “eternal generation.” Dropping the phrase does not make the Son a creature.

Is the Virgin Birth the Begetting?

It is the begetting of his human nature. Luke 1:35Luke 1:35 · King James VersionAnd the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.Luke 1:35 · King James VersionOpen source says so. The creed’s “before all worlds” is a claim about the Son as God. John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source is the verse that claim rests on, more than Proverbs 8.

Keep Reading

• The Trinity
• What Is the Incarnation?
• Did Jesus Exist Before He Was Born?
• What Is the Deity of Christ?
• What Is Biblical Unitarianism?
• What Happened at the Council of Nicaea?