Truth or Trinity - Part Two: Firstborn of Creation
Trinitarians often believe the Father and the Son existed together eternally, meaning neither of them had a beginning and neither were created. In other words, they are “coeternal”. However, according to scripture, Jesus has a beginning:
Revelation 3:14
14 "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
Before anything was created, Jesus was created by the Father. After, all things that were created were created through the Son. Both the Father and Son created everything but all things were created through the Son.
Psalm 2:4-12
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion."
7 "I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.' "
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
The Hebrew word for begotten in verse 7 is ylad: to give birth to, have a child, become the father of, or cause to come to birth. Jesus was begotten before all of creation, but he still came forth from the Father before anything else was created.
Hebrews 1:1-8
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son"?
6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."
7 And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire."
8 But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom.
The Son is the “firstborn” into the world, made higher than all the angels. All “the angels of God worship Him (the Son)” because of the authority given to him, a decree by the Most High God, the Father. In Matthew 28 it says that all authority in Heaven and Earth has been given to Jesus
John 17:24
24 Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Jesus was here before the foundation of the world.
Colossians 1:13-18
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
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 may have the preeminence.
Psalm 110:3-4 (Septuagint)
3 With you is the power in the day of your might, in the holy ones; from the womb, before the morning star, I begot you.
4 The Lord swore, and will not repent, you are a priest forever, after the order of Melchisedec.
1 Peter 1:20-21
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
John 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Greek word for begotten means: to father, give life, bring into the world, give rise to, lead to, result in, bring about, create, produce, or to spawn.
Hebrews 1:6
6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
Jesus is the “firstborn” of all creation. The only one above Jesus is the Father. The angels worship the Son because he is above all creation just below the Father. The Father placed him in the position above all creation. He, also, is Elohim but not the “Most High God”. Sacrifices are not made to the Son like they are in worship of the Father; however, every knee will bow to the Son (Jesus). This verse in Hebrews 1:6 is quoting Deuteronomy 32:43 found in the Septuagint (LXX).
Deuteronomy 32:43 (Septuagint)
Rejoice, ye heavens, with him, and let all the angels of God worship him; rejoice ye Gentiles, with his people, and let all the sons of God strengthen themselves in him; for he will avenge the blood of his sons, and he will render vengeance, and recompense justice to his enemies, and will reward them that hate him; and the Lord shall purge the land of his people.