Anyone who wants to
argue that μονογενης in John 1:18 means “unique” would have to translate
ο μονογενης θεος as “the unique God.” But this goes against the
christological use of the phrase. The phrase ο μονογενης θεος is not applied to the one divine essence of the
Godhead but specifically to the Son as the second person of the Trinity. Just
consider the phrase in light of its context: “The only begotten God, who is in
the bosom of the Father” (ο
μονογενης θεος ο ων εις
τον καλπον του πατρος).
Because of the relative clause, “who is in the bosom of the Father,” the
referent of ο μονογενης θεος is
clearly not the single divine essence but the Son as distinct from the Father. (Charles
Lee Irons, “Only Begotten God: Eternal Generation, a Scriptural Doctrine,” in On
Classical Trinitarianism: Retrieving the Nicene Doctrine of the Triune God,
ed. Matthew Barrett [Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2024], 409)
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