05/19/2026
The tried and true gospel
Jhn 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Jhn 3:17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him.
Jhn 3:18 He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Ask a Christian what the gospel is, and you will hear many different answers. Many will cite 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, which, of course, is correct. However, an answer that is not being given that much anymore is John 3:16. That's sad because it highlights the very heart of who Jesus is in identity and the Father-Son relationship between himself and Jehovah God.
I believe the reason John 3:16 isn't nearly as popular as it used to be is because of Christendom's increasing lack of attention to the heavenly Father and their conflating of Jesus with Almighty God. Also, the evangelical version of the Trinity doctrine teaches that Jesus' Sonship was only for the purpose of the incarnation and the plan of salvation, which teaches that it is not a true, real Sonship.
The very essence of the gospel is that Jehovah God had a Son and that he sent him to redeem the world from Satan's kingdom. The motivation for the plan of salvation was not wrath as some teach but rather love (1 John 4:9).
It's not just any son that Jehovah sent, for he has many (angels and those in covenant with him), but he sent his literal only begotten Son that he procreated in the womb of Mary (Luke 1:35). It's this very literal Father-Son relationship between Jehovah and Jesus that gives the gospel its beauty.
What's crucial is the end of verse 16, which says that whoever believes in God's only begotten Son has eternal life. The question many "Christians" have to ask themselves is, do they truly believe that Jesus is the real and true begotten Son of Jehovah God?
It is a question of eternal life, and while many of us in the dynamic Monarchian camp want to extend grace to those in Christendom regarding this question, it may not be ours to give, as eternal life is rooted in the fact that Jesus is truly the literal begotten Son of God.
Jesus didn't come to judge the world in the sense that he is coming at his second advent; however, those that don't believe in him as Jehovah's true and literal begotten Son are judged already, according to verse 18.
Those who believe in the "name" of the only begotten Son of God have eternal life and are saved. A "name" in ancient cultures represented a person's character, identity, and authority. "Only begotten Son" is a title which is rooted in Psalm 2:7, which is a Davidic Kingship coronation hymn. Therefore, the name of "only begotten Son" as given to Jesus signifies his identity as Jehovah's literal begotten Son, his authority as the now reigning Davidic King, and his character as the spotless lamb of God.
To believe in Jesus' name "only begotten Son of God" is not just a mere theological mental assent, but it is to truly believe that Jesus is all those things that the name "only begotten Son of God" represents. Eternal life is only for those who believe in the literal begotten Sonship of Christ and his now reigning Davidic Kingship, as well as his perfect virtue.