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necessitates eternity, absolute being; in this respect He is not ‘after’ the Father” (Moule).
The expression also suggests the thought of the deepest affection, as in the case of the OT
word
, variously rendered, “only one,” Gen. 22:2, 12; “only son,” Jer. 6:26; Amos
8:10; Zech. 12:10; “only beloved,” Prov. 4:3, and “darling,” Ps. 22:20; 35:17.
In John 1:18 the clause “the only begotten son, which is in the bosom of the Father,”
expresses both His eternal union with the Father in the Godhead and the ineffable
intimacy and love between them, the Son sharing all the Father’s counsels and enjoying
all His affections. Another reading is
, “God only-begotten.” In John
3:16 the statement, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son,” must
not be taken to mean that Christ became the only begotten son by incarnation. The value
and the greatness of the gift lay in the Sonship of Him who was given. His Sonship was
not the effect of His being given. In John 3:18 the phrase “the name of the only begotten
son of God” lays stress upon the full revelation of God’s character and will, His love and
grace, as conveyed in the name of One who, being in a unique relationship to Him, was
provided by Him as the object of faith. In 1 John 4:9 the statement “God hath sent His
only begotten son into the world” does not mean that God sent out into the world one
who at His birth in Bethlehem had become His Son. Cf. the parallel statement, “God sent
forth the Spirit of His Son,” Gal. 4:6,
RV
, which could not mean that God sent forth One
who became His Spirit when He sent Him.¶
For
ONSET,
Acts 14:5
,
RV
, see
ASSAULT
and
IMPULSE
For
ONWARD,
2 John 9
,
RV
, see
GO
, No. 10
OPEN, OPENING (for OPENLY, see below)
A. Verbs.
1.
(
&
, 455) is used (1) transitively, (a) literally, of “a door or gate,” e.g.,
Acts 5:19; graves, Matt. 27:52; a sepulchre, Rom. 3:13; a book, e.g., Luke 4:17 (some
mss. have No. 4); Rev. 5:2-5; 10:8; the seals of a roll, e.g., Rev. 5:9; 6:1; the eyes, Acts
9:40; the mouth of a fish, Matt. 17:27; “the pit of the abyss,” Rev. 9:2,
RV
; heaven and
the heavens, Matt. 3:16; Luke 3:21; Acts 10:11 (for 7:56, see No. 2); Rev. 19:11; “the
temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven,” Rev. 15:5; by metonymy, for that
which contained treasures, Matt. 2:11; (b) metaphorically, e.g., Matt. 7:7-8; 25:11; Rev.
3:7; Hebraistically, “to open the mouth,” of beginning to speak, e.g., Matt. 5:2; 13:35;
Acts 8:32, 35; 10:34; 18:14; Rev. 13:6 (cf., e.g., Num. 22:28; Job. 3:1; Isa. 50:5); and of
recovering speech, Luke 1:64; of the earth “opening,” Rev. 12:16; of the “opening” of the
eyes, Acts 26:18; the ears, Mark 7:35 (in the best mss.; some have No. 2); (2)
intransitively (perfect tense, active, in the Greek), (a) literally, of “the heaven,” John
1:51,
RV
, “opened;” (b) metaphorically, of “speaking freely,” 2 Cor. 6:11.
2.
(
&
, 1272), “to open up completely” ( , “through,” intensive,
and No. 1), is used (a) literally, Luke 2:23; Acts 7:56, in the best mss.; (b)
metaphorically, of the eyes, Mark 7:34; Luke 24:31; of the Scriptures, v. 32 and Acts
17:3; of the mind, Luke 24:45,
RV
(
KJV
, “understanding”); of the heart, Acts 16:14.¶
3.
(
/
, 71), “to lead,” or “to keep or spend a day,” is so used in Acts 19:38: see
KEEP
,
Note
(2).