"Christ as the Exegesis of God: A Historicalgrammatical Examination of Monogenēs and the Revelation of the Father in the Son

This paper examines the biblical concept of Jesus Christ as the complete exegesis (ἐξηγέομαι, exēgeomai) of God the Father through a historical grammatical hermeneutical lens, focusing primarily on John 1:18 and related New Testament passages. The study investigates how Jesus uniquely reveals the invisible God through His incarnation, addressing the theological implications of monogenēs (μονογενής) and its role in early Christological controversies, particularly during the Arian debates of North Africa. Through detailed lexical analysis of exēgeomai and examination of key texts (John 1:18; 3:16; 5:30; 14:8-10; Colossians 1:15-17; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:1-3, 7-10), this paper demonstrates that Christ is the singular, definitive special revelation of God's nature and character. The research argues that while God's glory remains unapproachable to humanity directly, and while general Revelation through creation provides knowledge of God's existence and power, Jesus Christ—as the incarnate Logos—serves as the sole mediator who makes the invisible God's personal nature and redemptive purposes fully visible through special revelation, thereby completing God's self-disclosure to humanity. The paper concludes that Christ's role as divine exegete transcends propositional revelation, encompassing relational and experiential knowledge of God through the incarnation.