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1. Christ was God's Son. Notice the several attestations of this great truth. That of John Baptist (John 1:34); of Nathaniel (John 1:49); Peter (Matthew 16:16); the Centurion (Matthew 27:54); the Eunuch (Acts 8:37); Martha (John 11:27); the devils themselves (Matthew 8:29; Mark 3:11). Christ often asserted His Sonship; and the Father in a most solemn and open manner attested it (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5).

2. But Christ is here said to be God's "own Son." In the original it is "the Son of Himself," or His "proper Son" (as ver. 32). God is Christ's proper Father (John 5:18). He is not barely a son, but a son in a peculiar manner.Consider Him —

I. COMPARATIVELY. And so He is thus styled to distinguish Him from all other sons. For God hath sons —

1. By creation, as e.g., the angels (Job 1:6; Job 38:7), and Adam (Luke 3:38).

2. By the grace of regeneration and adoption (John 1:12, 13; James 1:18; Galatians 4:3; Ephesians 1:5).

3. By nature; one that is a son of another rank and order. In this respect God hath but one, namely, Christ. Upon which account He sometimes appropriates the paternal relation in God unto Himself (Luke 10:22; John 14:2). And elsewhere He distinguishes betwixt God as being His Father and being the Father of believers (John 20:17).

II. ABSOLUTELY, and abstractedly from all other sons, so He is God's own proper Son. The expression points to His being eternally begotten, and to His being begotten in the Divine essence. As to the latter, the Son was begotten in that essence rather than out of it. And some tell us that here we are not to consider Christ essentially as He is God, but personally as the Divine essence subsists in Him as the second person. In the first consideration as He was God He had the Divine essence in and of Himself, and so He could not be begotten to it, for He was God "from Himself." In the second notion, as He was God personally considered, or as He was the second person and the Son, so He was of the Father and not of Himself; for though He was God of Himself, yet He was not Son of Himself (see John 7:29; Psalm 2:7; Proverbs 7:22-30; Micah 5:2; John 1:14, 18; John 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). There are three properties belonging to Christ in His Sonship which are incommunicable to any other.

1. He is a Son co-equal with His Father (John 5:18; Philippians 2:6).

2. He is a Son co-essential with the Father (John 10:30; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3).

3. He is the co-eternal Son of God the Father (Revelation 1:8; Revelation 2:8; Hebrews 1:5, 8).

Application:

1. Is Christ thus God's own Son? I infer then —

(1) That He is God. Not a God by office only, not a made God, but God truly, properly, essentially (1 John 5:20). Generation is always the production of another in the same nature; like ever begets like; as it is said of Adam he begat a son in his own likeness after his image (Genesis 5:3), and must it not be so here in the Father's begetting of Christ?

(2) That He is a very great and glorious person. Though Christ's dignity and preeminence is not the ground of His Sonship, yet His Sonship is the ground of His dignity and preeminence.

(3) That the work of redemption was a very great work, for God sent His own Son about it. The greater the person who is employed in a work the greater is that work.

2. Was Christ God's own Son? Let me from hence urge a few things upon you.

(1) Study Christ much in this relation, that you may know Him as the proper, natural, essential Son of God (1 Corinthians 2:2; Philippians 3:8). But —

(a) In all your inquiries be sure you keep within the bounds of sobriety (1 Corinthians 4:6). Do not pry too far into those secrets which God hath locked up from you; content yourselves with what He hath revealed in His Word and stay there.

(b) Join study and prayer together. He studies this mystery best who studies it most upon His knees. This is not savingly to be known without special and supernatural illumination from Christ through the Spirit (Matthew 16:16, 17; John 1:18, John 5:28).

(2) Believe Him to be such, and believe on Him as such. The first we call dogmatical, the second justifying and saving faith.

(3) How, then, should all honour and adore Him? Certainly upon this Sonship the highest, yea, even Divine adoration itself is due to Him (John 5:23). Give Him —

(a)  The honour of worship (Hebrews 1:6).

(b)  The honour of obedience (Matthew 17:5).

(4) Admire and wonder at the greatness of God's love in His sending of Him.

(T. Jacomb, D. D.)

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KJV: For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

WEB: For what the law couldn't do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh;