Bible Verses About the Only Begotten Son: 12

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

— John 3:16 (NIV)

People who search bible verses about the only begotten son want Scripture on John 3:16's gift of the Father's one and only Son — not only the only-begotten inventory alone, not Jesus alone, and not Christ alone. This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about only begotten, Bible verses about Jesus, Bible verses about Christ, Bible verses about hope, Bible verses about faith, Bible verses about God's love, Bible verses about worship, Bible verses about truth, and Bible verse of the day. Only begotten Son here means John 3:16's ton huion ton monogenē — the unique Son given for the world — distinct from a bare only-begotten word study and general Jesus inventories alone.

Word study (lead theme). In Greek, μονογενής monogenēs (Strong's G3439; Bible Hub G3439) means only / unique / one-of-a-kind. John 3:16 joins it to Son — the Father gave his one and only Son so that believers would not perish. This list tracks that only-begotten-Son gospel line and related "gave his Son / believed in the Son / sent his Son" language centered on John 3 and 1 John, not every only-begotten occurrence alone.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 3 presses that God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son — that whoever believes should not perish (Bible Hub MHC John 3; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on John 3). (Only-begotten and Jesus live on those pages; this list centers John 3:16's only-begotten-Son gift.)

12 Bible verses about the only begotten son

1. John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." He gave his one and only Son — the title itself. See Bible verses about God's love.

2. John 3:17. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." God did not send his Son… to condemn… but to save. See Bible verses about hope.

3. John 3:18. "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." Believed in the name of God's one and only Son. See Bible verses about faith.

4. John 1:14. "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." The glory of the one and only Son. See Bible verses about only begotten.

5. John 1:18. "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." The one and only Son… has made him known. See Bible verses about truth.

6. 1 John 4:9. "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him." He sent his one and only Son into the world. See Bible verses about God's love.

7. 1 John 4:10. "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." Sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice. See Bible verses about faith.

8. Romans 8:32. "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" He who did not spare his own Son. See Bible verses about hope.

9. Galatians 4:4-5. "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship." God sent his Son, born of a woman. See Bible verses about Jesus.

10. John 5:19-20. "Jesus gave them this answer: 'Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.'" The Father loves the Son. See Bible verses about Christ.

11. John 17:3. "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. See Bible verses about worship.

12. Hebrews 11:17. "By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son," His one and only son — the type that points forward. See Bible verses about faith.

How to use these verses

Pick one verse when you need the only begotten Son — not twelve as a grind. If you need John 3:16's gift itself, start at John 3:16. If you need the Prologue's glory of the one and only Son, open John 1:14 or 1:18. If you need the Father's sending love, open 1 John 4:9-10. For the bare only-begotten word inventory, open Bible verses about only begotten. For Jesus broadly, open Bible verses about Jesus. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.

Questions people ask

What is a good Bible verse about the only begotten son?

John 3:16 (he gave his one and only Son) is the clear starting place; John 3:18 and 1 John 4:9 press the same only-begotten-Son gift.

How do Bible verses about the only begotten son differ from only-begotten alone?

Only-begotten pages track monogenēs occurrences broadly. This list centers John 3:16's Son gift — the Father gave his unique Son for the world.

How do Bible verses about the only begotten son differ from Jesus alone?

Jesus pages inventory titles and life of Christ broadly. This list centers the John 3:16 only-begotten-Son gospel claim.

What Greek word sits under only begotten son?

Monogenēs (G3439) — only / unique — joined to Son in John 3:16.

Where should I start if I only read one page?

Start here for the John 3:16 title; open only begotten for the word inventory; open God's love for the love that gave the Son.