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B - Well then, by parity of reasoning, when He first appeared as the firstborn of every creature, it does not
mean that He then began His existence, but that He Who was God manifested Himself in the Person of the Firstborn,
Who became the Chief, Lord and Heir of the creation that followed. You will find this idea of pre-eminence in
Revelation 1:5:
`The first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth'.
Passages from the LXX where prototokos is used with the meaning `superior', `greater', `most loved', or
`exalted', are 2 Samuel 19:43; Exodus 4:22; Psalm 89:27; Jeremiah 31:9. The nation of Israel is called the firstborn,
but it would be difficult to prove that it meant anything more than dignity and inheritance. It is illuminating, so far
as the usage of the word is concerned, to know that the Rabbins spoke of God as `the firstborn of the world', and
Paul's usage, `the firstborn of every creature', is parallel. In Colossians 1:16 the apostle shows what he intended by
the title by commencing the verse with the word `for'. Christ is the firstborn of every creature for He is the Creator.
To say that Christ was the firstborn of His own creation is absurd.
As to the invisible God Christ is the IMAGE.
As to the old creation  Christ is the FIRSTBORN.
As to the new creation  Christ is the FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD,
and in both creations He is pre-eminent.
God Hath Spoken `IN SON'
Let us now turn to Hebrews 1:1-3, our third passage. You will find here an opportunity for observing the
presence and the absence of the Greek article:
God in times past spake to the Fathers
by the prophets.
God in these last days has spoken to us
in Son.
A - `In Son'? that does not seem to make sense.
B - It is hardly good English perhaps, but a profound truth is here. `The prophets' were messengers used by
God, but when Christ walked the earth He was not merely another and greater messenger. It was God now speaking
`in Son', God manifest in the flesh. To the prophet the word `came'; Christ however was the Word Himself.
A - May we not translate the words `in a Son'?
B - No, I think not, because the idiom is found in the Hebrew and would be known to the readers of the epistle.
Will you turn to Exodus 6:3:
A - (Reads) - `And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty'.
B - The Hebrew reads B'EL SHADDAI, literally `in God Almighty'. To these patriarchs God appeared `in God
Almighty', to their New Testament descendants He appeared `in Son'. The one invisible God remains the same,
whether for His purposes He is known as The Almighty God, or The Son. This will be more easily understood when
we have considered the meaning of the words, `the form of God', as used in Philippians 2:6. Let us notice what is
said of the Son in Hebrews 1:
`Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the
word of His power' (Heb. 1:3).
The R.V. reads:
`Who being the effulgence of His glory, and the very image of His substance'.
When we come to Philippians 2:6 we shall have to enquire into the words `Who being'. Let it suffice for the
moment to draw attention to the fact that in Philippians 2:6 we are dealing with the very being of the Lord, while in
Hebrews 1:3 we are dealing with the characteristics of the `Son', the Word `made flesh' - two distinct phases of
truth which can cause much misunderstanding if they are confused.