8
concerning the Deity of the Logos. As our subject is `God - manifest', we must not leave John 1 without a further
glance at verse 18:
`No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath made him
known' (Diaglott).
This passage really comes under the fourth heading, `God - manifest in the flesh', and we may have to return to
it. Here however it is closely connected with the verse which teaches that God is manifested in the Word, and so
claims our attention. There is a reading favoured by Lm., Tr., WH., Rm., endorsed by the Numeric Version,
Rotherham, and above all by the Syriac Version, which gives `God only begotten' instead of `The only begotten
Son'. I would not build a doctrine upon this reading, but it cannot be ignored.
The prologue of John's Gospel occupies verses 1-18. The whole passage is an introversion, verse 1 balancing
verse 18. The three clauses of verse 1 find an echo in verse 18, thus:
a
In the beginning the Word.
b
The Word was with God.
God manifest.
c
The Word was God.
*
* * * *
c
Son (or God) only begotten.
God manifest
b
In the bosom of the Father.
in the flesh.
a
He hath declared Him.
Before the birth of Christ at Bethlehem He is called the Word, and revealed God. After His birth at Bethlehem
He is called the Son, and revealed the Father. We must take this further when we come to the question of the
Sonship of Christ.
Let us pass to our next passage viz. Colossians 1:15,16.
The Image of the Invisible God
The word translated image is eikon from eiko = to resemble. Matthew 22:20 uses it of the image of Caesar
stamped on a coin. The word implies much more than a resemblance as may be seen in Hebrews 10:1:
`For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things'.
Image, being opposed to shadow, implies the idea of substance and reality.
Firstborn of Every Creature
A - How do you understand the title `firstborn of every creature'? If Christ be the first of all creatures, He could
not be God. No amount of pre-eminence can annul the essential difference between these two categories.
B - The word `firstborn' is prototokos. It is used in Luke 2:7 of the birth of Christ as Mary's firstborn. The
word however contains in it more than birth. It emphasizes the dignity and honour that went with primo-geniture,
and some translate the passage `Prince and Lord of all created things'.
This idea of dignity and pre-eminence is found in the context of Colossians 1:15, `He is before all things' (verse
17). The title `The firstborn of every creature' is balanced by the words, `Who is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead, that in all things He might have the pre-eminence' (verse 18). Speaking of the resurrection, Psalm 2:7
says, `Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee'. This is parallel with the title `the firstborn from the dead'.
Do you understand this passage to teach that on the resurrection morning Christ began for the first time His
existence?
A - Certainly not, the question is absurd. He took up the life which He had previously laid down for our sakes.