Firstborn of the Three

This posting was inspired by a post from Andy Fritchey, a good friend of mine. His blog is called For Your Encouragement (FYE) and it's located at http://bit.ly/qndvNI. He's got a bunch of great links and tools for ministry, so you might want to check it out. That site seems to be growing every minute.


As a side note, I have a much uglier site that is similar in concept. I might consider dusting it off and linking it to We Talk of Holy Things. We'll see how that goes. But now, the post:




Colossians 1:15-18
¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.


Romans 8:29
²⁹ For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; ³⁰ and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.


These passages describe Christ as the Firstborn. This is distinct from the Only Begotten of the Father. The Only Begotten is an exclusive term, the Firstborn is an inclusive one. That being said, while it is exclusive, there is certainly an heir of preeminence in the term. The Firstborn was a position of entitlement. responsibility and honor. That is exactly what these passages ascribe to Jesus.

Last Sunday night, a brother preached on the Colossians passage. His goal was to describe the relationship of the Father and the Son, and encourage us to view ourselves differently in light of this relationship. However, before going into his main topic, he dealt with the idea of Eternal God--Jesus--becoming the firstborn. Through use of original language we know that Col. 1:15 does not group Jesus with all other creation(s), but means that He was a special case in which the ethereal became material on His own accord. Therefore, He was not created and His Deity remains unimpeachable.

Further, when discussing verse 18, that term lumps Christ in with the many dead, for He truly did die and rose again corporeally. He was the first to do so and earned the privilege of the Firstborn in the process.

Finally, in Romans we see a truth that comes even closer to home. Christ is the Firstborn of many brethren, those many brethren include all who place their faith in the power of His work. We are now fully integrated into the family of God through the work of the Only Begotten, who became the Firstborn.

The Firstborn of all Creation has bought back ultimate authority in the physical realm. The Firstborn of the dead has bought back ultimate authority in the spiritual realm. The Firstborn of many Brethren has endeared Himself to the self-willed beings He has created.

The first two have no choice but to subject themselves to Him. But we do. What do you choose?