For example, in his book entitled On First Principles, Origen described Jesus as ‘the only-begotten Son, who was born, but without any beginning.’ And he added: ‘His generation is eternal and everlasting. It was not by receiving the breath of life that he is made a Son, by any outward act, but by God’s own nature.’

Origen did not find this idea in the Bible, for the Scriptures teach that Jehovah’s only-begotten Son is “the firstborn of all creation” and “the beginning of the creation by God.” (Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14) According to religious historian Augustus Neander, Origen arrived at the concept of “eternal generation” through his “philosophical education in the Platonic school.”

For instance, though most of Origen’s wild speculations were later rejected, his views about the “eternal generation” of Christ helped to lay the foundation for the non-Biblical doctrine of the Trinity.