The Watchtower, in its quest to convince its followers that Jesus is a created being, will often rest upon the term “only-begotten” saying this means Jesus was born, He was created. Here is how they put it:
The angels of heaven are sons of God even as Adam was a “son of God.” (Ge 6:2, Job 1:6, 38:7; Lu 3:38) But the Loʹgos, later called Jesus, is “the only-begotten Son of God.” (Joh 3:18) He is the only one of his kind, the only one whom God himself created directly without the agency or cooperation of any creature. He is the only one whom God his Father used in bringing into existence all other creatures. He is the firstborn and chief one among all other angels (Col 1:15, 16; Heb 1:5, 6), which angels the Scriptures call “godlike ones” or “gods.” (Ps 8:4, 5) Therefore, according to some of the oldest and best manuscripts, the Lord Jesus Christ is properly described as “the only-begotten god [Gr., mo·no·ge·nesʹ the·osʹ].”—Joh1:18, (Insight on the Scriptures vol.2 p. 556-557, WTBTS, 1988)
Some of what they say is true, of course. Jesus is unique, one of a kind. But, is that the whole story?
The term “only-begotten” (“monogenes” in Greek) appears nine times in the New Testament. Most notably, we see it in John 3:16 where some translations say Jesus is God’s “only begotten” Son. Some newer translations are not translating “monogenes” as “only” rather than “only begotten.” The Complete Word Study Dictionary by Spiros Zodhiates (AMG Publishers; August 1, 1992) says this about “monogenes”:
John alone uses monogenés to describe the relation of Jesus to God the Father, presenting Him as the unique one, the only one (mónos) of a class or kind (génos), in the discussion of the relationship of the Son to the Father (John1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:0). Génos, from which genés in monogenés is derived, means race, stock, family, class or kind, (The Complete Word Study Dictionary – New Testament).
So, “only- begotten” isn’t necessarily speaking of birth but of “one of a kind”, “unique.’ When the Watchtower tries to say Jesus was the only begotten, only-born, son of God, they’re not being honest with the Greek. Here is how a more modern translation translates John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (English Standard Version, Crossway, 2011)
“Only-begotten” is no longer understood as pointing to birth but to the uniqueness of the individual. It’s a little clearer when we look at how the ESV translates Luke 8:42:
for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. (English Standard Version, Crossway, 2011)
“Monogenes”, “Only-begotten” here is pointing to an only (monogenes) daughter. It was the only daughter Jairus had, his sole and unique daughter. This helps us to see how the word is used.
The Watchtower’s claim that “monogenes” forces the understanding of created or born simply is not the case.
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