The following scriptures are used by the Apostle John to describe the relationship between God and Jesus:  

Jesus is called the “only begotten son” of God in John 1:18, John 3:16, 18, and 1 John 4:9. The most accurate, word-for-word translations of the Bible translate Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #G3439 monogen?s as “begotten” son. This translation is supported in the KJV, NKJV, NASB, AS, RVIC, YLT and others. In some of the looser, paraphrased Bibles, the translators inserted their own theologies, and we believe the original thought of those scriptures is lost. Jesus was brought into existence by the Father. Being “begotten,” Jesus had a beginning.

The Father has no beginning. Psalms 90:2, “…from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” 

God always refers to Jesus as a son:
Matthew 3:17, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” 
Matthew 17:5, “…a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” 
Acts 13:33, “Thou art My son, this day have I begotten thee.” 

Jesus always referred to God as his Father: 
Luke 2:49, “…Why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” 
Matthew 16:16,17, “Simon Peter answered and said, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” 

Here we have scriptural proof that God and Jesus have a father/son relationship.

Since Jesus was begotten of the Father, we conclude that there was a time when Jesus did not exist, and God the Father was God alone.

Tracing the nature of Jesus throughout the Bible: 

  • He was created (“begotten” in John 3:16) by the Father and was called a Morning Star (Revelation 22:16) along with Lucifer.
  • He was “the firstborn of all creation” in Colossians 1:15. 
  • He was a spirit being who willfully agreed to become fully human to pay the ransom price for Adam’s sin. (“In Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” – 1 Corinthian 15:22) 
  • Because of his faithfulness in fulfilling the Law and because of the things which he suffered (Hebrews 5:8), he was rewarded with immortal spiritual life, on an even higher plane of existence than he was originally created. (This was beyond what Jesus asked for in John 17:5 – “Now, Father, glorify me with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”) After his resurrection, Christ is an immortal being on the right hand of God. (Hebrews 1:3, John 5:26 – “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the son also to have life in himself.”)