Upon refuting the argument that Jesus' having been called "the firstborn of all creation" means He was the first being God created (
Wrestling With the Watch Tower: Jesus, the Only-Begotten Son), the Christian may be asked by the Jehovah's Witness at the door to turn to John 3:16 which reads, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son..." The argument continues in the Watch Tower publication, "What Does the Bible Really Teach?" in the chapter, "Who is Jesus Christ?" in the section, "Where Did Jesus Come From?":
There is something else that makes this Son special. He is the “only-begotten Son.” (John 3:16) This means that Jesus is the only one directly created by God. (http://www.watchtower.org/e/bh/article_04.htm)
The word "begotten" comes from the word "beget" which means "to procreate or generate". The Jehovah's Witness, then, would argue from this passage that while Jesus created
everything else, He himself was created by the Father, and thus is not eternal nor equal with God.
