"Firstborn" (prototokos)
Jeff Shirton
The following is posted without specific permission, although I'm
quite sure James would not mind it again being circulated (with
proper attribution, of course). James has circulated this and
other tracts on international BBS' (including FIDONET, where you
can usually find him), and in fact I got this copy from a posting
to talk.religion.misc some months ago.
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From James White, Alpha and Omega Ministries:
1-602-973-3739 (14.4 )
PROTOTOKOS ("Firstborn"): Its Meaning and Usage in the New Testament
The Apostle Paul left us two great passages expressing his
teaching concerning the person of Christ in His pre-incarnate state:
Philippians 2:5-7 and Colossians 1:15-17. It is interesting that both
passages provide quite a challenge to the translator, though their
meaning undoubtedly was clear to their original audiences. In the
Colossians passage, Paul describes the Lord Christ as "the image of
the invisible God, the first-born of all creation." (New American
Standard Bible). He then goes on to ascribe to Jesus the creation of
"ta panta," all things, i. e., the universe and all that is in
it.(1)
How, then, are we to understand Paul's use of the phrase, "first-
born"? What does this word tell us about Jesus Christ? How is it
used in the New Testament?
The word under consideration is "prototokos." It is made up of
two words, "protos," meaning first,(2) and "tokos" from "tikto," "to
give birth."(3). There is little evidence that the word "prototokos"
was used extensively before the time of the Septuagint.(4) Its basic
meaning is the first one born, the first born child. However, it must
be examined in its context to determine its true meaning.
"Usage in the Septuagint"
The word "prototokos" is used approximately 130 times in the
Septuagint (LXX). About 70 of those instances will be found in the
genealogical lists of Genesis and Chronicles, and here it retains its
literal meaning of "first-born."(5) The Hebrew word "bekor" is
consistently translated by "prototokos" in the LXX. It must be
remembered that the "bekor," the first-born, was entitled to the
double portion (Deuteronomy 21:17), to the blessing (Genesis 27), and
to special treatment (Genesis 43:33).(6) An etymological study of
"bekor" reveals that it is not related in its root meaning to either
the ideas of "protos" or "tokos," and hence the meanings might have
become "detached altogether from the idea of birth or the whole
question of origin."(7)
This idea of "prototokos" is seen clearly in the Old Testament.
For example, the Septuagint translators utilized "prototokos" in their
rendition of Exodus 4:22: "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says
the LORD, "Israel is My son, My first-born." ' " (LXX: "prototokos").
Obviously here the emphasis is on the primacy of Israel's relation to
God. Of all nations, Israel is chosen specially by God to occupy a
place of high honor and esteem. In 1 Chronicles 5:1-2 we read of
Reuben, the first-born of Israel, losing his birthright for his sin.
Here the idea of first-born carries with it much more than just
temporal ascendancy.
In Jeremiah 31:9 the Scriptures record God as saying, "I am a
father to Israel, and Ephraim is My first-born." Passages such as
this provided a basis for the later Rabbinic interpretation that
referred to the nation of Israel as God's "first-born" in the special
sense of Israel's superiority and exaltation above the nations of the
earth. Seemingly the most significant passage is to be found at Psalm
89:27: "I shall also make him My first-born, the highest of the kings
of the earth." This highly Messianic passage paves the way for a
solid understanding of the use of "prototokos" in the New Testament,
especially in relation to the Messiah, Jesus. In this passage, a
clear emphasis on the pre-eminence and superiority of the coming
Messiah is emphasized.
"New Testament Usage"
In the New Testament we find the word "prototokos" used a total
of eight times. Six of these instances are in the singular and refer
to the Lord Christ, two are in the plural form.(8) These passages
are: Luke 2:7, Romans 8:29, Colossians 1:15 and 1:18, Hebrews 1:6,
11:28, 12:23, and Revelation 1:5. The first passage, Luke 2:7 of the
Christmas narrative, refers to the basic meaning of the word as it is
used in the genealogy lists of the Old Testament. The other
references, however, take on a far greater meaning.
In the New Testament usage, the emphasis is placed not on the
"tokos" but instead upon the "protos." The word stresses superiority
and priority rather than origin or birth. This can be seen as early
as the LXX usage, where it has been pointed out that Israel, as God's
first-born, certainly can not be seen as the first creation of God,
but rather His special choice and pre-eminent people. The Bauer,
Arndt, Gingrich, Danker Lexicon says, "This expression...is also used
in some instances where it is uncertain whether the force of the
element "-tokos" is still felt at all...Col. 1:15."(9)
In Romans 8:29, the Lord Christ is described as "the first-born
among many brethren." These brethren are, of course, the glorified
Christians. Here the Lord's superiority and sovereignty over "the
brethren" is acknowledged, as well as His leadership in their
salvation. "As the brethren of Christ, all Christians will share his
destiny (c.f. Heb. 2:10-17), and Christ is the pre-eminent Son among
the sons of God (c.f. 1:3)."(10) In Hebrews 1:6 we read, "And when He
again brings the first-born into the world, He says, "And let all the
angels of God worship Him." Here the idea of pre-eminence is obvious,
as all of God's angels are instructed to worship Him, a privilege
rightly reserved only for God (Luke 4:8). The term "prototokos" is
used here as a title, and no idea of birth or origin is seen.
In both Colossians 1:18 and Revelation 1:5, Christ Jesus is
called the first-born of the dead (or "from" the dead). These would
refer especially to the leadership of Christ in bringing about the
resurrection of the dead and inauguration of a new, eternal life. Some
think that Colossians 1:15-20 is an ancient Christian hymn, and the
Greek words "prototokos" and "proteouon" are a play on sound.(11)
The greatest amount of discussion and exegesis has centered
around Paul's use of "prototokos pases ktiseos" of Christ in
Colossians 1:15. The early Church Fathers argued it, and modern
scholars have spent more time discussing this use than all seven other
instances combined.
In commenting on this passage, Kenneth Wuest said:
The Greek word implied two things, priority to all creation
and sovereignty over all creation. In the first meaning we
see the absolute pre-existence of the Logos. Since our Lord
existed before all created things, He must be uncreated.
Since He is uncreated, He is eternal. Since He is eternal,
He is God. Since He is God, He cannot be one of the
emanations from deity of which the Gnostic speaks...In the
second meaning we see that He is the natural ruler, the
acknowledged head of God's household...He is Lord of
creation.(12)
It seems the eminent Greek scholar J. B. Lightfoot was behind at
least the outline of Wuest's comments, as he provides much the same
information in his commentary on the usage of "prototokos" in
Colossians 1:15. He would opt for interpreting the phrase in which
the word appears as a genitive of relation.(13) He sees a definite
connection between Paul's use of "prototokos" here and its LXX usage
at Psalm 89:27. He discusses both the aspects of priority to all
creation as well as sovereignty over all creation. Lightfoot quotes
one Rabbi Bechai, who gives us an example of how some of the Jewish
Rabbis viewed "prototokos." R. Bechai described God as the
primogenitus mundi, i.e., "hos estin prototokos tou kosmou" as
translated into Greek. Certainly R. Bechai did not mean that God had
a beginning or origin, but that He was supreme over all the world.
Hence Lightfoot says, "God's first-born, is the natural ruler, the
acknowledged head, of God's household."(14)
"The Expositor's Greek Testament" defines "prototokos" in this way:
..."prototokos" in its primary sense expresses temporal
priority, and then, on account of the privileges of the
firstborn, it gains the further sense of dominion.(15)
R. M. Clark put it succinctly:
<continued>
"Prototokos", first-born...The original meaning of the word is
giving birth for the first time. Later it came to mean the
first-born or first in rank. This is the N. T. meaning. In
the N. T. the "-tokos" element is clearly implied only in Luke
2:7, in other places it tends to recede into the
background.(16)
The "Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament" by Fritz Reinecker and
Cleon Rogers, distills down the scholastic information and says, "The
word emphasizes the preexistence and uniqueness of Christ as well as
His superiority over creation. The term does not indicate that Christ
was a creation or a created being."(17)
"Contextual Considerations"
The context of Colossians 1:15, and the phrase in which we
encounter "prototokos" should weigh heavily in our interpretation of
the word. Many would disagree with the interpretation and above
definition due to the connection of "prototokos" with "pases ktiseos."
These would interpret this phrase as being a partitive genitive,
making the "prototokos" a part of creation, a created thing, rather
than superior over all things. It is admitted that this could be
construed as a partitive genitive, but "this is excluded by the
context, which sharply distinguishes between the Son and "ta panta,"
and for this idea Paul would probably have used "protoktistos.""(18)
The well-known scholar, A. T. Robertson, wrote:
The use of this word does not show what Arius argued that
Paul regarded Christ as a creature like "all creation ("pases
ktiseos"...) It is rather the comparative (superlative)
force of "protos" that is used...Paul is here refuting the
Gnostics who pictured Christ as one of the aeons by placing
Him before "all creation" (angels and men)...Paul takes both
words to help express the deity of Jesus Christ in his
relation to the Father as "eikon" (Image) and to the universe
as "prototokos" (First-born).(19)
It does sound strange to the mind accustomed to reading Paul to
imagine him thinking of the One Whom he called "kurios," Lord, as a
creature - a mere creation. For no matter how exalted or glorified a
creature might be, it is still as far removed from the glory of God
Almighty as can be imagined.
One of the most telling contextual clues to Paul's use of
"prototokos" is the ascription of the creation of all things to Christ
in the following two verses. The phrase used in these verse, "ta
panta," is quite revealing. Paul used this term as a synonym for the
universe and all it contains. It has been well said, "In Him "ta
panta" were created. From this it follows that the Son cannot be a
creature, for creation is exhausted by the "all things" which were
created in Him."(20)
Hence it is seen that the great majority of modern scholarship
sees "prototokos" in the New Testament pointing to the superiority of
the Christ above and over all creation. This is not only the
background of the word from the Old Testament, but it is also demanded
by the contexts in which it is found. Only Colossians 1:15 could be
seen to allow any other kind of interpretation whatsoever, and this
passage safeguards itself through the immediate context, by ascribing
to the "prototokos" all creation.
"Patristic Usage"
Another clear clue as to the meaning of "prototokos" in the days
of the New Testament is the manner in which the early church Fathers
used and interpreted it. Since these Fathers spoke and read Greek,
and lived in the same culture to which Paul and the Apostles wrote
their letters, their interpretation and understanding of "prototokos"
is important. How did they understand the Pauline passage at
Colossians 1:15?
Justin Martyr, in his "Dialogue with Trypho," wrote, "...so that
we know Him to be the first-begotten of God, and to be before all
creatures:"(21) Notice that Justin was very careful to make sure that
his readers knew that Christ was "before all creatures." It should
also be recalled that at this early time, the Fathers were not
exceedingly interested in discussing the relationship between the
Father and the Son, due to the absence of a great deal of
Christological heresy in the Church.
The most complete discussion of "prototokos" in the early Fathers
comes a number of years after Justin, in the writings of Tertullian as
he battled the early heretic Marcion. Here are his comments:
If Christ is not "the first-begotten before every creature,"
as that "Word of God by whom all things were made, and
without whom nothing was made;" if "all things were" not "in
Him created, whether in heaven or on earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or
principalities, or powers;" if "all things were" not "created
by Him and for Him" (for these truths Marcion ought not to
allow concerning Him), then the apostle could not have so
positively laid it down, that "He is before all." For how is
He before all, if He is not before all things? How, again,
is He before all things, if He is not "the first-born of
every creature" - if He is not the Word of the Creator?(22)
A later Church Father, Dionysius of Rome, said this:
Oh reckless and rash men! was then "the first-born of every
creature" something made?...Finally, any one may read in many
parts of the divine utterances that the Son is said to have
been begotten, but never that He was made.(23)
Lightfoot gives a list of the Fathers that support this view, and
says, "All the fathers of the second and third centuries without
exception, so far as I have noticed, correctly refer it to the Eternal
Word and not to the Incarnate Christ, to the Deity and not to the
humanity of our Lord."(24) It was only after the Arians latched onto
this verse to attempt to teach their doctrines that the Church leaders
began to change their exegesis of this passage.
We have seen that the use of "prototokos" in the Septuagint, in
the New Testament, and in later Patristic writings refers to 1) the
first-born, as in Luke 2:7, and, 2) the one who is pre-eminent and
sovereign, always in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, the
Lord of Glory is the Sovereign of all the Universe, the First-born of
all Creation.
Footnotes:
1. A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, (Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House, 1931), 4:478. See also, W. Robertson Nicoll, The
Expositor's Greek Testament, (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1983), 3:502-503.
2. F. W. Gingrich, "Leads from a Lexicon," Bible Translator, 10
(January 1959) :84 also mentions that protos can also mean "of
greatest importance, rather than first."
3. Walter Bauer, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature, 2nd ed., (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1979) p. 816.
4. Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of
the New Testament, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids:
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), 6:872.
5. Ibid.
6. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Bruce K. Waltke, Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980)
2:109.
7. Ibid., p. 873.
8. Moulton, Geden, Moulton, Concordance to the Greek Testament,
(Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1978) p. 875.
9. Walter Bauer, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament
and Other Early Christian Literature, p. 726.
10. Dale Moody, "Romans," The Broadman Bible Commentary, (Nashville:
Broadman Press, 1970) 10:223.
11. Ibid.
12. Kenneth Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies in the Greek New Testament,
(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981)
Ephesians and Colossians: p. 183.
13. J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to
Philemon, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978) p.
148.
14. Ibid., p. 147.
15. W. Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Greek Testament, p.
502.
16. R. M. Clark, "Words Relating to the Lord Jesus Christ," Bible
Translator, 13 (April 1962) :84.
17. Fritz Reinecker, Cleon Rogers, Linguistic Key to the Greek New
Testament. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982). p.
567.
18. Nicoll, The Expositor's Greek Testament, p. 502.
19. Robertson, Word Pictures in the Greek New Testament, p. 478.
20. Nicoll, The Expositor's Greek Testament, p. 503.
21. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, ed. The Ante-Nicene
Fathers, 10 vols. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company,
1981) 1:249.
--
Jeff Shirton (VE3OJS) McMaster University Shir...@McMaster.CA
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"He didn't sound like a baseball player. He said things like 'Nevertheless,'
and 'If, in fact.' " -- Dan Quisenberry on Ted Simmons
Charles dowis
James White, a prominent anti-Mormon, writes:
<snip>
> The Greek word implied two things, priority to all creation
> and sovereignty over all creation. In the first meaning we
> see the absolute pre-existence of the Logos. Since our Lord
> existed before all created things, He must be uncreated.
> Since He is uncreated, He is eternal. Since He is eternal,
> He is God. Since He is God, He cannot be one of the
> emanations from deity of which the Gnostic speaks...In the
> second meaning we see that He is the natural ruler, the
> acknowledged head of God's household...He is Lord of
> creation.(12)
> ..."prototokos" in its primary sense expresses temporal
> priority, and then, on account of the privileges of the
> firstborn, it gains the further sense of dominion.(15)
> R. M. Clark put it succinctly:
> <continued>
> "Prototokos", first-born...The original meaning of the word is
> giving birth for the first time. Later it came to mean the
> first-born or first in rank. This is the N. T. meaning. In
> the N. T. the "-tokos" element is clearly implied only in Luke
> 2:7, in other places it tends to recede into the
> background.(16)
first one born, the pre-eminent one, first in rank, etc. All of these
describe our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He is also the Father, the
Creator, the Bridegroom, and many other titles.
Christ is indeed "uncreated" and eternal, as indeed are we all. We are all
children of God and are eternal beings. Christ received a body, as we all
did, and had a divine Father and mortal mother. We on the other hand have
mortal parents.
This reply was sent using "NewsCIS", a Usenet Newsgroup Offline Reader
--
It's only a hobby...a hobby...a hobby
Kerry Shirts
And just so we understand that the LDS also understand this ideao f Jesus
Christ being the
Firstborn, I did some browsing and found this idea....
Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, Vol.1, p.15 - p.16
CHRIST OUR ELDER BROTHER. Another expression finding its place among us,
especially on the part of speakers and writers on gospel themes, is to
refer to our Lord as the Christ. Of course there is, and can be, no other.
We have been given the information, however, that his name is
Jesus Christ, and that he is the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh,
but the Firstborn in the spirit. He is our Elder Brother and was honored
by the Father with the fulness of authority and power as a member of the
grand Presidency, of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He was commissioned,
before the world was framed, to come to this earth and here offer himself a
sacrifice, through the shedding of his blood for the sins of mankind, on
condition of their true repentance, and for the transgression of our
first parents which brought our fallen, mortal state.
Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.23
We have sung the carol "Joy to the world, the Lord is come," as well we
should (Hymns, 1985, no. 201). In our premortal state we shouted for joy
as the plan of salvation was unfolded to our view
(see Job 38:7). It was there our elder brother Jesus, the firstborn in
the spirit of our Father's children, volunteered to redeem us from our
sins. He became our foreordained Savior, the Lamb
"slain from the foundation of the world" (Moses 7:47). ("Keeping Christ
in Christmas," Christmas Devotional, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1 December 1985.)
James R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, Vol.4, p.203
The Father of Jesus is our Father also. Jesus Himself taught this truth,
when He instructed His disciples how to pray: "Our Father which art in
heaven," etc. Jesus, however, is the firstborn among all the sons of God
the first begotten in the spirit, and the only begotten in the flesh. He is
our elder brother, and we, like Him, are in the image of God. All men and
women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are
literally the sons and daughters of Deity.
James R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, Vol.4, p.266
But President Young went on to show that our father Adam,—that is, our
earthly father,—the progenitor of the race of man, stands at our head,
being "Michael the Archangel, the Ancient of Days," and that he was not
fashioned from earth like an adobe, but "begotten by his Father in
Heaven." Adam is called in the Bible "the son of God" (Luke 3:38). It was
our Father in Heaven who begat the spirit of him who was "the Firstborn"
of all the spirits that come to this earth, and who was, also his Father
by the Virgin Mary, making him "the only begotten in the flesh." Read
Luke 1:26-35. Where is Jesus called "the only begotten of the Holy
Ghost?" He is always singled out as "the only begotten of the Father."
(John 1:14; 3:16, 18, &c) The Holy Ghost came upon Mary, and her
conception was under that influence, even of the spirit of life; our
Father in Heaven was the Father of the Son of Mary, to whom the Savior
prayed, as did our earthly father Adam.
James R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, Vol.5, p.25
"None of these considerations, [referring no doubt to their immediately
preceding discussion of Jesus Christ as the "Father" by divine
investiture of authority] however, can change in the least degree the
solemn fact of the literal relationship of Father and Son between Elohim
and Jesus Christ. Among the spirit children of Elohim the firstborn was
and is Jehovah or Jesus Christ to whom all others are juniors….
James R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, Vol.5, p.32 - p.33
None of these considerations, however, can change in the least degree the
solemn fact of the literal relationship of Father and Son between Elohim
and Jesus Christ. Among the spirit children of Elohim the firstborn was
and is Jehovah or Jesus Christ to whom all others are juniors.
Following are affirmative scriptures bearing upon this great truth. Paul,
writing to the Colossians, says of Jesus Christ: "Who is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things
created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things
were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him
all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the
church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that
in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the
Father that in him should all fullness dwell" (Colossians 1:15-19).
From this scripture we learn that Jesus Christ was "the
firstborn of every creature" and it is evident
that the seniority here expressed must be with respect to
antemortal existence, for Christ was not the senior of all
mortals in the flesh. He is further designated as "the firstborn
from the dead" this having reference to Him as the first to
be resurrected from the dead, or as elsewhere written "the
first fruits of them that slept" (I Corinthians 15:20,
<EL>EL>see also verse 23); and "the first
begotten of the dead" (Revelation 1:5; compare Acts 26:23).
The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews affirms the status
of Jesus Christ as the firstborn of the spirit children of
His Father, and extols the preeminence of the Christ when
tabernacled in flesh: "And again, when he bringeth in
the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let
all the angels of God worship him" (Hebrews 1:6;
read the preceding verses). That the spirits who were
juniors to Christ were predestined to be
born in the image of their Elder Brother is thus
attested by Paul: "And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. For
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he
might be the firstborn among many brethren"
(Romans 8:28, 29). John the Revelator was
commanded to write to the head of the Laodicean
church, as the words of the Lord Jesus Christ:
"These things saith the Amen, the faithful and
true witness, the beginning of the creation of God"
(Revelation 3:14). In the course of a revelation
given through Joseph Smith in May, 1833, the Lord
Jesus Christ said as before cited: "And now,
verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the
Father, and am the firstborn" (Doc. & Cov. 93:21).
A later verse makes plain the fact that human
beings generally were similarly existent in
spirit state prior to their embodiment in the flesh: "Ye
were also in the beginning with the Father;
that which is Spirit, even the Spirit of truth" (verse 23).
James R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, Vol.5, p.34
There is no impropriety, therefore, in speaking of
Jesus Christ as the Elder Brother of the rest of
human kind. That He is by spiritual birth Brother
to the rest of us is indicated in Hebrews:
"Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made
like unto his brethren, that he might be a
merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of
the people" (Hebrews 2:17). Let it not be forgotten,
however, that He is essentially greater than
any and all others, by reason (1) of His seniority
as the oldest or firstborn; (2) of His unique status
in the flesh as the offspring of a mortal mother
and of an immortal, or resurrected and glorified,
Father; (3) of His selection and foreordination
as the one and only Redeemer and Savior of the
race; and (4) of His transcendent sinlessness.
James R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, Vol.5, p.34
Jesus Christ is not the Father of the spirits
who have taken or yet shall take bodies upon this
earth, for He is one of them. He is The Son, as
they are sons or daughters of Elohim. So far as
the stages of eternal progression and attainment
have been made known through divine
revelation, we are to understand that only
resurrected and glorified beings can become parents of
spirit offspring. Only such exalted souls have
reached maturity in the appointed course of eternal
life; and the spirits born to them in the
eternal worlds will pass in due sequence through the
several stages or estates by which the glorified
parents have attained exaltation. THE FIRST
PRESIDENCY AND THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE
APOSTLES OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
Burton, ed., We Believe, God
He, in the nearness of His relationship to the
Father, seems to occupy a position that no other
person occupies. He is spoken of as His well
beloved Son, as the Only Begotten of the
Father—does not this mean the only begotten
after the flesh? If He was the first born and
obedient to the laws of His Father, did He not
inherit the position by right to be the representative
of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world?
And was it not His peculiar right and privilege as
the firstborn, the legitimate heir of God, the
Eternal Father, to step forth, accomplish and carry out
the designs of His Heavenly Father pertaining
to the redemption, salvation and exaltation of man?
And being Himself without sin (which no other
mortal was), He took the position of Savior and
Redeemer, which by right belonged to Him as
the first born. And does it not seem that in having a
body specially prepared, and being the offspring
of God, both in body and spirit, He stood
preeminently in the position of the Son of God,
or in the place of God, and was God, and was thus
the fit and only personage capable of making an
infinite atonement? (The Mediation and
Atonement, pp. 135-37) TLDP:299
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., On the Way to Immortality and Eternal Life, p.23
In his first epistle John declared: "God sent
his only begotten Son into the world,"6 thus testifying
again that the Son was with the Father before
he came to earth, and the Word created the world
long, long before he entered it. In the great
visions which came to him on the Isle of Patmos, John
affirmed: "These things saith the Amen, the
faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation
of God,"7 and Paul told the Colossians that
Christ was "the firstborn of every creature."8 These
sayings bear record that Christ was with the
Father from the beginning, the first creation of all.
Neal A. Maxwell, But for a Small Moment, p.76
Paul clearly preached the doctrine of foreordination:
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of
his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29).
Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah, p.47
In a Messianic vein, in the midst of a number
of prophecies about his coming, the Psalmist
records the mind of the Father in these words:
"I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings
of the earth" (Ps. 89:27), and nearly three
millenniums later our Lord said to Joseph Smith, "I was
in the beginning with the Father, and am the
Firstborn" (D&C 93:21). His servant Paul spoke of
him as "the firstborn among many brethren"
(Rom. 8:29) and as "the firstborn of every creature"
(Col. 1:15). And as The Church of Jesus
Christ is his earthly church, so The Church of the
Firstborn is his heavenly church, albeit
its members are limited to exalted beings, for whom the
family unit continues and who gain an inheritance
in the highest heaven of the celestial world.
(Heb. 12:22-23; D&C 93:22.)
Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah, p.165
Our Lord, who is the Firstborn spirit child
of the Eternal Elohim, is himself also the Eternal One.
Implicit in his spirit birth as the Firstborn
is the fact that, as with all the spirit children of the Father,
he had a beginning; there was a day when he
came into being as a conscious identity, as a spirit
entity, as an organized intelligence. How
then is he the Eternal One? It might be said that he is
eternal, as all men are, meaning that spirit
element the intelligence which was organized into
intelligences—has always existed and is
therefore eternal. But the full and complete meaning of
the designation is that he has become eternal
as an individual; he has joined the ranks of eternal
beings; and he is thus described as being from eternity to eternity.
Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.1, CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN
In the scriptures Jesus Christ is called the
Firstborn. He was the first spirit child born of God the
Father in the premortal existence and was in
the beginning with God (John 1:1-5, 14). Christ also
became the Firstborn from the dead, the first
person resurrected, "that in all things he might have
the preeminence" (Col. 1:18; Acts 26:23; 1 Cor. 15:23; Rev. 1:5).
The Firstborn
The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.93
"Where was there ever a father without first
being a son?" TPJS 373). Joseph Smith's answer to
his own rhetorical question was, "Nowhere."
As with any man, there was a time when God the
Father was childless, when he had not yet
begun the procreation of his spirit family.
Consequently, the Godhead as we know it
did not exist; there was no Son of God and no Holy Ghost.
The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.93
Then, at a precise moment in eternal time, a
son was begotten of the Father who was to be
known on this earth as Jesus of Nazareth,
the first of the Father's myriad male and female spirit
offspring.3 Hence, Christ's declaration:
"I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the
Firstborn" (D&C 93:21; cf. Coloss. 1:15; Heb.1:6).
The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.93
Our Lord's spirit birth to an immortal mother
was as literal as was his physical birth to the mortal
Mary.5 Subsequent to the spirit birth of
the Firstborn, the Father begat his other children,
including those who were destined for this,
as yet, unorganized planet (D&C 49:16-17; Moses 3:5;
Abr. 3:22).6 Consequently, mankind is older than this earth.[p.94]
The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.94
Being the first-born of the human family,
Jesus is rightly regarded by Latter-day Saints as our
Elder Brother. This nonscriptural title
reflects the literalness of the spirit relationship which exists
between the Father, the Son, and all mankind.
As we shall see, this spirit relationship is perfected
in the spiritual relationship achieved
through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.
The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.94
Was it mere coincidence that the Father's
first spirit child was also the greatest of them all? One's
answer to this question depends upon one's
beliefs concerning that eternal, uncreated, self-
existent spirit element called intelligence
(Abr.3:18; D&C 93:29). Those who believe that
intelligence—whatever its nature, and
regardless of any possible gradations thereof—was devoid
of agency or volition prior to spirit birth
would be inclined to answer in the affirmative. They
believe that God, being no respector of
persons, equally endowed the organized (begotten)
intelligences with his own divine attributes, including moral agency.
The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.94
Because Jesus "suffered the will of the
Father in all things from the beginning" (3 Nephi 11:11), he
outdistanced his younger brothers and
sisters and eventually achieved an exalted position over
them. On the other hand, Lucifer—who,
like all others in the first estate, was "on the same
standing" (Alma 13:5) with Jesus insofar
as heredity and environment were concerned—was
subsequently cast out for rebellion.
The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.94
Others, such as B. H. Roberts, have interpreted
Joseph Smith's teachings on this subject to mean
that the intelligences existed as separate
and distinct egos or life entities prior to spirit
organization.7 They are, wrote Roberts,
"of various degrees of intelligence, doubtless differing
from each other in many ways, yet alike in
their eternity and their freedom."8 This has led some
to conjecture that the intelligence which
became the Father's firstborn was so honored because
he was inherently superior to all other
intelligences begotten thereafter. There is merit in both
positions, but neither can be proved nor disproved at this time.
The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.94
However, scripture describes Jesus as
the Firstborn of the Father, not only in terms of the human
family, but in [p.95] terms of every
world and every form of life organized under the Father's
direction. Paul wrote: "For by him
were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible [seen and
unseen].…And he is before all things,and by him all things
consist" (Coloss. 1:16-17; emphasis
added; cf. Rev. 3:14).9 In other words, our God's first
creative act as a Father was to sire
his Firstborn and Only Begotten Son.
The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations From God, p.95
Thereafter, the Firstborn went forth as
the Father's"word of my power" (Moses 1:32, 35)—"the
Father of heaven and earth, the Creator
of all things from the beginning" (Mosiah 3:8; cf. John 1:3;
Hel. 14:12; Moses 2:1). Under the law of
primogeniture, and because he was the Creator of all
things, the Son was rightfully declared
the"heir of all things" (Heb. 1:2).10
Archibald F. Bennett, Saviors on Mount Zion, p.4
The purport of these scriptures is to the
effect that God the Eternal Father, whom we designate by
the exalted name-title "Elohim," is the
literal parent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and of the
spirits of the human race distinctively
he is the father of spiritsElohim is literally the father of
the spirit of Jesus Christ and also of
the body in which Jesus Christ performed his mission in the
flesh. Among the spirit children of
Elohim the firstborn was and is Jehovah or Jesus Christ to
whom all others are juniors There is no
impropriety, therefore, in speaking of Jesus Christ as the
Elder Brother of the rest of human kind
He is the Son, as they are sons or daughters of
Elohim Let it not be forgotten, however,
that He is essentially greater than any and all others, by
reason (1) of His seniority as the
oldest or firstborn; (2) of His unique status in the flesh as the
offspring of a mortal mother and of
an mortal, or resurrected and glorified, Father; (3) of His
selection and foreordination as the
one and only Redeemer and Savior of the race; and (4) of His
transcendent sinlessness.4
Lectures on Faith, Lecture 5 on Faith, p.87
9. Q—Was it by the Father and the Son
that all things were created and made?
A—It was. "Who is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by
him were all things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones, or dominions, or princi-
palities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for
him: and he is before all things, and
by him all things consist" (Col 1:15-17). "In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth"
(Gen 1:1). "[God] 1 hath in these last days spoken unto us by
his Son, whom he hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom also he made the worlds" (Heb 1:2).
10. Q—Does the Son possess the fulness of the Father? [page 88]
A—He does. "For it pleased the
Father that in him should all fulness dwell…. For in him
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily" (Col 1:19; 2:9). "Which is his [Christ's]2 body, the
fulness of him that filleth all in all" (Eph 1:23).
Journal of Discourses, Vol.1, p.223, John Taylor, April 8, 1853
We will now come to the principle of
legitimacy, which was the text given out this morning--to our
rights, privileges, Priesthoods,
authorities, powers, dominions, &c. &c. And as some of us are
Scriptorians, and all profess to
believe the Bible, I feel inclined to quote a text from it. Paul, when
speaking of Jesus Christ, gives us
to understand that he is the firstborn of every creature, for by
him were all things made that were
made, and to him pertains all things; he is the head of all
things, he created all things, whether
visible or invisible, whether they be principalities, powers,
thrones, or dominions; all things were
created by him and for him, and without him was not
anything made that was made. If all
things were created by him and for him, this world on which
we stand must have been created by
him and for him; if so, he is its legitimate, its rightful owner
and proprietor; its lawful sovereign
and ruler. We will begin with him, then, in the first place, in treating
on the subject of legitimacy.
Kerry A. Shirts