Topical Studies
Prototokos
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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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!
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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!
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Romans 8:29-30 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Note that a process is moving from stage to stage. The goal of that process is to be conformed to the image of His Son! The firstborn, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God! Others are to be conformed to His image—they are to be God as well! When a baby is born, is it any less human than its parents? Certainly, it lacks the age, the experience, and the authority of its parents. It is less developed, its skills are not honed, and it lacks the knowledge the parents have. But is it any less human? No, it is not. The Greek word for "firstborn" is prototokos. The Greek prefix, proto, means "first; earliest; in front; beyond; ahead." In every case, it indicates others are following. The proto is out in front and others are following. (We use this same Greek prefix in an English word, "prototype," the model after which everything that follows it is based.) Jesus Christ is the prototokos, the firstborn (the root word in prototokos means "born"—thus, firstborn). He is in front of others who are going to be born. They will be conformed to the image of the One who was firstborn. We can tie to this Colossians 1:18, where Paul says Jesus was ". . . the firstborn [prototokos] from the dead [by a resurrection]. . . ." The others who follow will follow exactly the same pattern as the One who went first. The archegos (Hebrews 2:10) who passed through all the trials of life, died, and was resurrected as the firstborn of God, into the Family of God (Ephesians 3:15). Behind Him are many sons who will follow exactly the same pattern and be born, by means of a resurrection, into the exact same Family that He was born into. As Christ was transformed and renewed and glorified by the resurrection, so will His younger brethren! The thought in Hebrews 2:11-12, 17 shows that Jesus Christ, as a human being, fully shared in our human lot. Romans 8 is the reverse side of the coin—that even as Jesus shared our human lot, we will share his godly lot. Even as He was human, we are going to be God! It is a beautiful, clear, awesome picture!
John W. Ritenbaugh
We Shall Be God! (Part 1)
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