Jesus Christ: First born from the Dead
When was the last time you heard a Christian use the phrase "firstborn from the dead" or "firstborn of the dead" to describe Jesus? It doesn't come up often in my day to day life, but both Paul and John use this nomenclature. So what does it mean and why did they find it to be an accurate description?
The last definition of "born" (OED) tells us: ( born of) existing as a result of a particular situation
Christ exists as our Savior because of the result of a "particular situation." That situation is that we are living in sin and death! Christ was the first to open the gates of hell and be raised, conquering sin. He was the first one to win victory, born of the mortality that was earned at the Fall.
and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
Rev. 1:5
Firstborn of the dead is a title of triumph, an accolade, because Christ had to endure the pain and suffering of death and full separation from the Father before he could rise above it and win life for us. As the victor of life, he is the ruler of all things.
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have supremacy.
Col. 1:18
Now, in order to accept this premise, we must be willing to acknowledge that there is a distinct separation between humanity and God. I hate to break it to you, but God has a monopoly on the fullness of life.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
I Cor. 15:20-22
There is nothing good or righteous or complete that can come from human beings -- we are wallowing in death. By hailing Christ as the firstborn from the dead, we are saying that it was impossible for anyone to defeat death before Jesus and it is still impossible for anyone to defeat death without going directly through him because he is the only one to be both fully human and fully divine.
Does this mean that no one could be saved before around 33AD? Not at all! It's tricky because we have a timeless, omnipotent God fitting within the framework of our time-bound reality. This God created our inmost being and knit each of us together in our mothers' wombs (Psalm 139:13); this God has every hair on our head numbered (Luke 12:7) and captures our tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8) -- in short, he knows you and he pays attention! So he was able to use this knowledge to accurately predict which people would have chosen life through Jesus had they been offered the option; this is a marvelous testament to God's love for each of us and is different from predestination.
Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers.
Romans 8:29
So I exalt my Savior, the firstborn from the dead because of his singular victory, but I also exalt him because he was the firstborn of many believers. This victory is something he offers us through his love. So maybe I'll be the 8,762,529,601 born of the dead. I don't know; my number doesn't matter; the potential for your number or all numbers to come is infinite, because he was first.
Let us live as resurrection-minded people! Let us daily take hold of the joy and power of the Kingdom that we have been given! Let us remember Christ with the epithet "firstborn of the dead!"
The last definition of "born" (OED) tells us: ( born of) existing as a result of a particular situation
Christ exists as our Savior because of the result of a "particular situation." That situation is that we are living in sin and death! Christ was the first to open the gates of hell and be raised, conquering sin. He was the first one to win victory, born of the mortality that was earned at the Fall.
and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
Rev. 1:5
Firstborn of the dead is a title of triumph, an accolade, because Christ had to endure the pain and suffering of death and full separation from the Father before he could rise above it and win life for us. As the victor of life, he is the ruler of all things.
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have supremacy.
Col. 1:18
Now, in order to accept this premise, we must be willing to acknowledge that there is a distinct separation between humanity and God. I hate to break it to you, but God has a monopoly on the fullness of life.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
I Cor. 15:20-22
There is nothing good or righteous or complete that can come from human beings -- we are wallowing in death. By hailing Christ as the firstborn from the dead, we are saying that it was impossible for anyone to defeat death before Jesus and it is still impossible for anyone to defeat death without going directly through him because he is the only one to be both fully human and fully divine.
Does this mean that no one could be saved before around 33AD? Not at all! It's tricky because we have a timeless, omnipotent God fitting within the framework of our time-bound reality. This God created our inmost being and knit each of us together in our mothers' wombs (Psalm 139:13); this God has every hair on our head numbered (Luke 12:7) and captures our tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8) -- in short, he knows you and he pays attention! So he was able to use this knowledge to accurately predict which people would have chosen life through Jesus had they been offered the option; this is a marvelous testament to God's love for each of us and is different from predestination.
Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers.
Romans 8:29
So I exalt my Savior, the firstborn from the dead because of his singular victory, but I also exalt him because he was the firstborn of many believers. This victory is something he offers us through his love. So maybe I'll be the 8,762,529,601 born of the dead. I don't know; my number doesn't matter; the potential for your number or all numbers to come is infinite, because he was first.
Let us live as resurrection-minded people! Let us daily take hold of the joy and power of the Kingdom that we have been given! Let us remember Christ with the epithet "firstborn of the dead!"