Firstborn of all creation
The meaning of this phrase is one that is consistently misapplied by the Jehovahs Witnesses, as it is, I believe, by the Church of the Latter Day Saints, so I thought it worth a look.
As their usual argument is based on an interpretation of Colossians, it is worth noting a repetative error in the New World Translation of the text:
Colossians 1:15-17
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All other things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all other things and by means of him all other things were made to exists."
Bold text my emphasis — the NWT inserts "other" into the text no less than four times to distort the meaning to match the JW assertion of the Arian and in fact Platonic error, of the Son as a created being. The word 'other' is not there in the original.
The JW and Mormons interpret the word "firstborn" to mean "first created" to make it consistent with their theological presupposition that Jesus is a created thing, an error first put forward by Arius, interpreting Scripture according to a Platonic model, and one of the major disputes of the third century.
The Greek word for "first born" is prototokos, as used in Col 1:15. The Greek for "first created" would be protokizo. If the scribe had meant first created, he would have used a different term.
The biblical use of the word "firstborn" should be taken into account. It can mean the first born child in a family (cf. Luke 2:7), but it can also mean holding a position of "pre-eminence" such as in Psalm 89:20, 27 it says, "I have found David My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him ... I also shall make him My first-born". David was in fact the last one born to his family, so in this sense the term implies being bought into a preeminent position.
Consider the following:
Genesis 41:51-52:
"And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: For, said he, God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction"
then
Jeremiah 31:9:
"...for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn."
As the old adage says, 'Scripture best interprets scripture'. Firstborn does not require a meaning of 'first created' as the Jehovah's Witnesses say. "Firstborn" can mean the first born person in a family and it can also be a title of preeminence which is transferable. That is obvious since Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1,14) and is also the first born son of Mary. In addition, He is the pre-eminent one in all things, in that He is before all things.
This was how the scribes, the Apostles, their successors and the Fathers understood it.
By offering a new interpretation, the JW and the CLDS have departed from Revealed Tradition, fallen back in fact into proclaiming the same message as the heresiarch Arius, effective a Platonic doctrine.
Let us look further:
Colossians 1:18
"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."
'firstborn from the dead' does not mean then, as the JW would have it, that Jesus is made from dead people, but through His resurrection, those who belong to the Church will partake in the life eternal.
Hebrews 12:23
"To the general assembly and church of the firstborn"
Does not mean that only the first-born child will enter paradise, but that the church of the firstborn are those who are raised in Christ.
Revelation 1:5
"And from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, [and] the first begotten of the dead,"
Again, which does not inply Jesus is a zombie, but that He is "the resurrection and the life".
Thomas
The meaning of this phrase is one that is consistently misapplied by the Jehovahs Witnesses, as it is, I believe, by the Church of the Latter Day Saints, so I thought it worth a look.
As their usual argument is based on an interpretation of Colossians, it is worth noting a repetative error in the New World Translation of the text:
Colossians 1:15-17
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All other things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all other things and by means of him all other things were made to exists."
Bold text my emphasis — the NWT inserts "other" into the text no less than four times to distort the meaning to match the JW assertion of the Arian and in fact Platonic error, of the Son as a created being. The word 'other' is not there in the original.
The JW and Mormons interpret the word "firstborn" to mean "first created" to make it consistent with their theological presupposition that Jesus is a created thing, an error first put forward by Arius, interpreting Scripture according to a Platonic model, and one of the major disputes of the third century.
The Greek word for "first born" is prototokos, as used in Col 1:15. The Greek for "first created" would be protokizo. If the scribe had meant first created, he would have used a different term.
The biblical use of the word "firstborn" should be taken into account. It can mean the first born child in a family (cf. Luke 2:7), but it can also mean holding a position of "pre-eminence" such as in Psalm 89:20, 27 it says, "I have found David My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him ... I also shall make him My first-born". David was in fact the last one born to his family, so in this sense the term implies being bought into a preeminent position.
Consider the following:
Genesis 41:51-52:
"And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: For, said he, God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction"
then
Jeremiah 31:9:
"...for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn."
As the old adage says, 'Scripture best interprets scripture'. Firstborn does not require a meaning of 'first created' as the Jehovah's Witnesses say. "Firstborn" can mean the first born person in a family and it can also be a title of preeminence which is transferable. That is obvious since Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1,14) and is also the first born son of Mary. In addition, He is the pre-eminent one in all things, in that He is before all things.
This was how the scribes, the Apostles, their successors and the Fathers understood it.
By offering a new interpretation, the JW and the CLDS have departed from Revealed Tradition, fallen back in fact into proclaiming the same message as the heresiarch Arius, effective a Platonic doctrine.
Let us look further:
Colossians 1:18
"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."
'firstborn from the dead' does not mean then, as the JW would have it, that Jesus is made from dead people, but through His resurrection, those who belong to the Church will partake in the life eternal.
Hebrews 12:23
"To the general assembly and church of the firstborn"
Does not mean that only the first-born child will enter paradise, but that the church of the firstborn are those who are raised in Christ.
Revelation 1:5
"And from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, [and] the first begotten of the dead,"
Again, which does not inply Jesus is a zombie, but that He is "the resurrection and the life".
Thomas
