ASK THE PASTOR WITH DALE RATZLAFF |
Q. In a recent conversation with a reader of Proclamation! it was stated that he did not agree with the presentation of the Trinity in the May/June, 2007, Proclamation!. He said that Christ was only the “image of the invisible God,” and was “the first-born of all creation.” (Col. 1:15). Therefore, he felt that the early leaders of Adventism were correct in their Arian position that Christ was the first-created being and then was later exalted by the Father. What does Colossians 1:15 mean, “And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation”?
Two things are necessary for a correct understanding of this verse. First, we must unpack the triple meaning of “first-born” as used in the Old Testament; and second, we must understand the Greek concept of demigods.
In 1 Samuel 16:11–13 we find that David was the youngest of his brothers. Samuel anointed him, and “from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.” In Psalm 89:19, 20, 27 we read, “I have found David My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him…I also shall make him My first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth.” David is called “first born” because God exalted him to be “the highest of the kings of the earth.” Here we see that “first-born” has to do with rank, not time. David, the youngest son, is considered “first-born” because he was exalted to be the highest of the kings of the earth.
Here we see that “first-born” has to do with rank, not time. David, the youngest son, is considered “first-born”…
In Genesis 41:50-52 we find that Manasseh was the older of the two brothers. Yet in Jeremiah 31:9, 20 we find that “Ephraim is My first-born”. Why? Because Ephraim was the “dear son” and the “delightful child.” So here again, “first-born” is not used for first-in-time, but one who is “most loved” and “most delightful.”
A third concept is found by comparing, Genesis 25:25, 32:26-28, and Exodus 4:22. We find that Jacob was the younger of the two brothers. However, because he was “victorious” with the Divine messenger, his name was changed to Israel. After that event he was called the “first-born”, meaning the “most victorious”.
Combining these three Old Testament usages of “first-born” we can say that by using this term, Paul meant that Christ is the most exalted, the most loved, the most delightful, the victor over all Creation.
Demigods
The Greeks believed in demigods—an inferior god, or a series of lesser gods—that one had to go through to get to the supreme god. Unlike a demigod, however, Jesus is the “first-born”, as Colossians 1:15 states. Thus, the New Testament proclaims that “There is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). He is not a ‘lesser god”. He is exalted, loved, and victorious, and He opened a new, living way to the Father (Hebrews 10:20).
Jesus is also said to be “first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Jesus is not only the “first-born” of creation (Col. 1:15). In Hebrews 1: 6-8 we read, “And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, ‘And let all the angels of God worship Him.’ And of the angels He says, Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.” But of the Son He says, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.” Jesus is also said to be “first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood” (Rev. 1:5).
We conclude, therefore, that the New Testament designations of Christ as the “first-born” of creation, of the Father, and from the dead, are NOT designed to show that Christ was a created being or in any way inferior to God; rather they show His superiority as the victorious, exalted, only beloved Son of the Father, who is God in the flesh and is our one and only mediator who has released us form our sins! Yes, indeed, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself…” (2 Cor. 5:19) †
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