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Firstborn
(From Forerunner Commentary)

We need to define firstborn, beginning with the English definition. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, reads, "first brought forth: eldest." Born means "brought forth as by birth," and birth means "the emergence of a new individual from the body of its parent." So a person is born when the fetus is separated from the womb. And the firstborn is the first in order to emerge as a new individual from the body of its parent. The Greek equivalent of "firstborn" is prototokos, defined by Strong's Exhaustive Concordance as: "Firstborn (usually as noun, lit. or fig.): —first begotten." Thayer's Lexicon reads, "In the same sense, apparently, he [Christ] is called simply the prototokos, Heb. i.6; . . . the first of the dead who was raised to life" (p. 556). Our Savior is called "firstborn from the dead" twice (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5). Prototokos is used in Matthew 1:25. "And [Joseph] did not know her until she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus." According to Matthew 13:55-56, Mary had at least four other sons (James, Joses, Simon and Judas) and three daughters ("all," verse 56). But only one was the firstborn, the prototokos, the one who opened the womb, Jesus of Nazareth. In Hebrews 11:28, the author writes that God slew the firstborn (prototokos) of Egypt. Who or what did God allow to die on that Passover evening? God killed those born first into a human family and those born first to an animal. Colossians 1:15 describes Jesus Christ: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." Lately, some have said that firstborn here means "preeminent." Undoubtedly it can be used as such, but its more natural meaning is "the first to open the womb." Creation (ktisis) "denotes a particular created thing" (Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament, p. 897), meaning in this case, "humans" or "humanity." This phrase, then, could be translated: "the first born of humanity." But was not Adam (or more technically, Cain) the firstborn of humanity? This does not seem to fit Jesus Christ. He was the firstborn of Mary, but He came four thousand years after Adam and Cain! What does Paul mean here? He is not discussing preeminence, especially when he links it to "the image of the invisible God." Man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). Paul is writing about humanity being born into the Family of God! Jesus Christ is indeed first! He is the first of all humanity to be born as God. Three verses later he writes, "He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18). It is so obvious! He is writing about a resurrection, a birth from physical to spiritual, from humanity to God! John W. Ritenbaugh You Must Be Born Again!

Genesis 15:17-21  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) For the events of Genesis 15:17-21, the sun has gone down, and it is dark. In the crucifixion sequence, by dark the Son was in His grave. This is now the 15th of Nisan, the day that became the first day of Unleavened Bread, the part known as the Night To Be Much Observed, "the selfsame day" of Exodus 12:41. Numbers 33:3 confirms Israel left Egypt on the 15th of Nisan, but Exodus 12:42 specifically states Israel began its departure at night, and God names that night the "Night To Be Much Observed." Its significance is that, because the firstborn of the Egyptians have been slain, the descendents of Abraham are released from their bondage and free to leave Egypt. The firstborn of Egypt thus become a type of the True Firstborn, Jesus Christ, the sacrifice for our sins that enslave us to spiritual Egypt. John W. Ritenbaugh Countdown to Pentecost 2001

Genesis 15:17  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Now it was dark. In the antitype, the Firstborn, Christ, is in His grave. Therefore, time-wise we are now into Abib 15. We have come all the way from ben ha arbayim, at the beginning of Abib 14, and the events progressing one after the other through Genesis 15. At verse 17, Abib 15—the First Day of Unleavened Bread—begins. What occurs in Genesis 15:17 is the actual beginning of the Night To Be Much Observed. Exodus 12:41-42 merely records a fulfillment of this first Night To Be Much Observed. Genesis 15:17 is the point from which the 430 years began, and they ended in Exodus 12:41—down to the very day. It was the beginning of Abib 15. This is a night of great significance in the salvation story of God's people. Because the firstborn of the Egyptians had been slaughtered, and the descendants of Abraham had been released from their slavery to leave Egypt, the firstborn of Egypt thus become types of the Firstborn, Jesus Christ—the Sacrifice for our sins that enslave us to spiritual Egypt. John W. Ritenbaugh The Wavesheaf and the Selfsame Day

Genesis 25:34  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) In our culture, because we do not deal with patriarchal inheritances, it is difficult to understand "birthright." Since we live in an individual-oriented society, perhaps we can grasp the concept of "opportunity" more readily. Advertisers inundate us with offers to learn about a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." It usually ends up in a meeting where a motivational speaker tries to recruit us for another network-marketing "opportunity." Or, it may be a chance to buy a franchise of a promising new chain of restaurants or stores. After a few of such pitches, we can become jaded to the fact that God truly offers us an incredible "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to end all others. Indeed, most of humanity from the days of Adam will never be given the opportunities God offers us. Our birthright is a once-in-eternity opportunity, offered by One who cannot lie! What is our fantastic opportunity? Not many will rise in the first resurrection, the small first harvest of God's children. Yet, those who attain to this resurrection will receive promises never again to be offered or repeated. We could be the very Bride of Christ, if we do not despise our calling. We could work intimately with the King of Kings as a leader and ruler of several cities of our own in a glorious Millennial world, if we do not sell out for our "bowl of lentils." We could be crowned with a diadem designed by the Master Designer with our new name inscribed on it, if we do not become blotted out of the Book of Life because of rebellion against God. God has called us to eternal life full of joyful, pleasurable experiences for all eternity (Psalm 16:11). God says, "The meek inherit the whole earth" (Psalm 37:11; Matthew 5:5), but He does not stop there. He has already told us that we are not to inherit just some land here on earth, but we are co-heirs with Jesus, slated to inherit and rule over everything (Hebrews 2:8)! Drive out into the country one clear night and get far away from city lights. Now look at the starry expanse above. Those stars, nebulae, and galaxies could be ours—or we could give them up for the temporary pleasure of sin that lasts for a moment now. We could hear our Master announce, "Well done, good and faithful servant," or we could hear, "Depart from Me, I have never known you." The choice is largely ours at this point. God calls us His children, and therefore we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ of everything God has and everything God is (Romans 8:16-17)! So how are we doing with God's once-in-an-eternity offer? Are we showing by our actions that we are treasuring it or despising it? When people recognize a true opportunity, they give up everything else to be sure they get it. Jesus says a man would give up everything he has to obtain a pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). Paul says many run the race, but most are not doing what it takes to win. He says he is racing after an incorruptible crown, keeping his passions well controlled, lest in the end, he be just another castaway and lose out (I Corinthians 9:24-27). Inheriting birthrights sometimes means having to sacrifice profoundly and give up the pleasures and desires of the here and now, as Moses did (Hebrews 11:24-27). Moses took the long view, "for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible" (verse 27). We have to see God in all this and recognize what He is handing to us. Then, we humbly accept it and hang on to it for all its worth! Staff What is Your Bowl of Lentil Stew?

Exodus 13:11-13  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The word redeem means "buy back." If a family's firstborn donkey was critical to their livelihood, they could buy it back from God by offering a lamb in its place. Of course, God did not demand that His people offer their firstborn children as literal human sacrifices. They, too, were to be bought back by means of a lamb sacrifice. John Plunkett The Law of the Firstborn

Exodus 13:14-15  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) What does this mean to us? The Old Testament answer is only symbolic of its New Testament principle. God has brought the people of His church out of this sinful "world held captive." Verse 15 now takes on new meaning: And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animal. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem. The firstborn animals represent the Egyptian firstborn. God released Pharaoh's strong grip on Israel—His Old Testament firstborn—by killing Egypt's firstborn on that first Passover night. Likewise, God released Satan's grip on the people of His church—His New Testament firstborn—by allowing His Firstborn Son, Jesus Christ, to be killed as our Passover (I Corinthians 5:7). We are then free to escape this world and our sins, just as Israel left Egypt on the first day of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:37-42). Can the Egyptian firstborn symbolize our Savior, the slain Lamb of God? Though it seems an unworthy comparison, God inspired the apostle Paul to write that Jesus allowed Himself to be degraded to the bottom of the barrel—to become the lowest of the low—to personify a curse and sin itself. Notice Galatians 3:13-14: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), . . . that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." The redemption or "buyback" of the Israelite human firstborn is a reminder of the miraculous preservation of their firstborn on the first Passover night. It also looks forward to the church's redemption by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who became sin like the lambs that represented Egypt and the Egyptian firstborn. Paul says in II Corinthians 5:21, "For He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Because Jesus willingly became sin for us, He has become our Firstborn Elder Brother: · For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29) · He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. . . . And He is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:15, 18) · But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, "Let all the angels of God worship him." (Hebrews 1:6) · . . . and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. . . . (Revelation 1:5) John Plunkett The Law of the Firstborn

Exodus 22:29-30  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Here, God tells the Israelites that their firstborn cattle and sheep must be offered to Him on the eighth day of life. Likewise, the firstborn of the Israelite children—or rather the redeeming sacrificial lambs with which the parents bought back their newborn babies from God—must be offered on the babies' eighth day of life. In the case of a boy, this coincides with the day of his circumcision. The baby was "presented" to God at this time, and, although the parents had redeemed the baby, God still claimed the firstborn as being special to Him and still belonging to Him! Note that the eighth-day presentation and offering were peculiar to the firstborn and was in addition to the sin offering and burnt offering (pigeons, turtledoves, or lambs) that were required for every other newborn baby and for the ritual purification of the mother: "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. . . . And on the eighth day [he] . . . shall be circumcised'" (Leviticus 12:2-3). John Plunkett The Law of the Firstborn

Numbers 3:12-13  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Originally, it appears that God set apart all firstborn children as His to be used in His service. When He instituted the Levitical priesthood, however, He substituted Levite priests for His service in place of the firstborn of the other tribes. John Plunkett The Law of the Firstborn

Romans 1:1-4  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) What this section shows is that Jesus actually became a born-again Son of God through a resurrection from the dead. Before His resurrection He was a son of David, born into that line by physical birth. His ancestry is meticulously recorded, showing His descent from Adam, the son of God (Luke 3:23-38). Thus, He was indeed the Son of God prior to the resurrection of the dead by means of human birth. Though Romans 1:3 plainly shows His physical generation, verse 4, in contrast, shows His spiritual generation. We see Christ in two different positions, born first as a human, then born as God. Why did Paul differentiate between the two if a birth is not involved in each? He is showing that at the resurrection, our Lord and Savior became the Son of God just as we will—by a resurrection from the dead! Paul writes more about this birth in Romans 8:29, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son that He might be the firstborn [prototokos] among many brethren." Who are His brethren? His disciples, members of His body, the church! We will be born again! We have already been born one time, even as Jesus was born to Mary. But He was declared to be a Son, born by spiritual generation, and we will follow that pattern. Jesus Christ was born again! He is the pattern. His brethren, converted Christians, will go through the same born-again experience that He did. Consider that He never had to repent, be baptized (although He was, to set an example for us), have hands laid on Him to receive the Spirit, or be converted, yet He was born again. But He was not born again until He was composed of spirit. This reveals when being born again takes place! For us, it occurs precisely when it occurred for the pattern, Jesus Christ. He was not a born-again Son of God until His resurrection from the dead, and we will not be born again until our resurrection from the dead (I Corinthians 15:50-54)! Since Jesus did not have to be converted, and since He was declared God's Son by His resurrection, being converted is not being born again. All of God's children will follow the same pattern as the Firstborn. We will be born again the same way, by the resurrection from the dead. "And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together" (verse 17). When did Christ become glorified? At His resurrection! We will be glorified together. When? At our resurrection! We will follow the pattern. John W. Ritenbaugh You Must Be Born Again!

Romans 8:29  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) This verse is a powerful statement against the idea that one is immediately "born again" when first converted. Christ was born first, and He will be followed by many others, who will be His brothers. If we to be conformed to His image, how can we be anything except what Jesus Christ is—especially when we consider the New Testament emphasis for us to change to be as He is! Does Paul not say that we are to grow to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13)? This more than implies a period of spiritual growth or maturity. John W. Ritenbaugh The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 1)

Romans 8:29  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Think of this in terms of humanity. My wife is from a family into which nine children were born. One died in infancy; eight brothers and sisters grew to adulthood. The firstborn was a son, eight others were born after him. Were those born after the firstborn intrinsically any different from the firstborn? They were all humans, just as the firstborn was! Transfer this analogy into the spiritual realm, into the Family of which we are already considered to be a part. We are God's children (Romans 8:14; I John 3:1). Our inheritance is to enter that Family by being born again (John 3:3). Jesus Christ is the Firstborn, and He is God (John 1:1; 20:28). We are to be conformed to His image. When we are born into the God Family, will we be any less than He is? No, we are going to be God. We have come later, but we will be just like the Firstborn. John W. Ritenbaugh The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 13)

Colossians 1:15  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Some have said that firstborn here means "preeminent." Undoubtedly it can be used as such, but its more natural meaning is "the first to open the womb." Creation (ktisis) "denotes a particular created thing" (Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament, p. 897), meaning in this case, "humans" or "humanity." This phrase, then, could be translated: "the first born of humanity." But was not Adam (or more technically, Cain) the firstborn of humanity? This does not seem to fit Jesus Christ. He was the firstborn of Mary, but He came four thousand years after Adam and Cain! What does Paul mean here? He is not discussing preeminence, especially when he links it to "the image of the invisible God." Man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). Paul is writing about humanity being born into the Family of God! Jesus Christ is indeed first! He is the first of all humanity to be born as God. Three verses later he writes, "He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18). It is so obvious! He is writing about a resurrection, a birth from physical to spiritual, from humanity to God! John W. Ritenbaugh You Must Be Born Again!

Hebrews 2:10-11  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) A key word in these verses is "author" from the Greek word archegos, which is translated variously as "captain (KJV), author, pioneer, trail-blazer, and founder." One basic concept threads its way through all of the uses of this word: An archegos is one who begins something so that others may enter into it. An archegos can found a school that others may follow him into learning. An archegos can found a city that others may dwell in. An archegos can blaze a trail that others may follow. An archegos can begin a family that others may be born into it. If a ship is foundering on the rocks, and the only way to save the crew and passengers is for someone to swim ashore with a line and secure it on a tree or a rock so that others may follow him to shore, the one who swims with the line is the archegos. He did a deed so that others may follow. Jesus is the archegos of our salvation! He blazed the trail! He set the pattern! He entered into a Family that others may follow! And in the process of blazing the trail, of setting the pattern, of entering into God's Kingdom—He too was perfect! That is what the verse says. The author of our salvation was made perfect through suffering. He was made complete as our Savior and High Priest. He is fully able to be the pioneer of our salvation, to ensure that we also will enter salvation and to be as He is. According to this verse, this was done to bring many sons to glory—the same glory as the Trailblazer, the Pioneer, the Author, the Captain has. John W. Ritenbaugh We Shall Be God! (Part 1)

1 John 5:19-20  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The very fact that we know these things—that we are of God, that Satan is the unseen ruler of this world, and that we know God and His Son Jesus Christ—is evidence that we have been given an understanding. This knowledge is not something we have determined on our own; the sovereign God has given it to us to fulfill His purpose in us. And in His sovereignty He has withheld it from others. Other passages, in more specific areas of our profession, show the uniqueness of our calling to an even greater extent. For example, Paul writes in II Thessalonians 3:1-2, "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have [the] faith." From our own experiences we know his statement is true. Not everyone has faith. It is obvious that some believe and others do not. Even within the church we are at different stages of faith. Acts 13:48 adds important ramifications to this subject of God's sovereignty, our calling, and faith: "Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." The implications of Luke's words are rather startling. Only those whom God appointed or predestined to eternal life believe the preaching of Paul and Barnabas! The rest, though they also hear the word of the Lord, persecute and expel them from the region. They do not believe what they hear, and it angers rather than converts them. We must conclude that God triggers something in the minds of those He calls, making the Lord's words agreeable, so they will believe what they are hearing. This agrees perfectly with Ephesians 1:5—"[God] predestined us to adoption as sons by [through] Jesus Christ"—and Romans 8:29-30, which explicitly states the whole panorama of His purpose: For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. God has the whole process planned out, and He is so confident of His ability to accomplish it that He perceives it as already done! He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). John W. Ritenbaugh The Sovereignty of God: Part Six

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