To understand who Jesus is, we must read what was said of him in John 3:16-17, "For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life."

Only begotten! What does that mean? Is it because he was born of Mary? No! John said that God gave "his only begotten son", so Jesus was already the only begotten son of Jehovah before he came into the world. How, then, could Jesus be the only begotten Son of God if a woman was not involved? We must go to the Bible, to Colossians 1:15, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation."

The apostle Paul described him as the "firstborn of all creation," telling us two things: 1) that Jesus was created, and 2) that he was the first thing to be created. John agreed with this in Revelation, 3:14, writing, "To the angel of the congregation in Laodicea write: 'These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God:'"

John also said in his gospel, (John, 1:1) that, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence."

Because of these two passages from the writings of John, we understand that the creation of a spirit person who eventually became Jesus, was the first thing Jehovah did: he was the beginning of the creation of God. Then, John says that the Word, the spirit who became Jesus, created everything else. There was nothing made without him, so we are sure that Jehovah did not directly create anyone or anything else. In this sense, therefore, Jesus is the "firstborn" son of God, because he is the only thing directly created by Jehovah himself. The other sons of God, the angels, were not directly created by God, but by Jesus, though he obviously had to receive the ability, power and authority to do so from Jehovah, his Father. Let us note that in the Bible, Jesus repeatedly calls Jehovah his Father, a proper term in the sense that Jehovah created him.

Who is Jesus?

He is Jehovah's Word, the firstborn of the whole creation, and the only begotten son of God. We should listen to him.

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