The Begotten and The Firstborn
Hebrews 1:5-6
Revisiting "Begotten": Yes it is that important of a word!
There are two Greek words for "begotten".
John uses #3439 monogenace—only born, only begotten, only child. John 1:14 &18, 3:16; I John 4:9. This word speaks of the Son of God in His Eternal union with the Father in total intimacy (in the bosom of the Father) and total eternal value. (3:16 The Father gave His only begotten Son.)
Paul in Acts 13:33, and the author of Hebrews (perhaps this very similarity pointing to Paul) uses #1080 gehennah'o, It means procreated, conceived. "The day spoken here, on which He is said to have been begotten by God, is the day of His glorious victory & vindication, the day that establishes for all to see His absolute superiority over all angels. Resurrection, ascension & glorification should be viewed as forming a unity, each contributing to this grand day!" P.E. Hughes
The Tale of a dying man: my friend, Phil Melahn.
Orphaned and homeless at age 10. Turned his back on such a mean God for 15 years. But at age 25, the God of Glory broke through. Managed Baptist Bookstore in Independence before it became Lifeway. Zondervan salesman after that. Bounced around a lot. Now he has terminal lung cancer—supposedly less than a year to live. Jokingly said, "I thought I had several years to work on my Christian life—but maybe not." But his relationship with His Lord is the sweetest it has been. He has no fear of death, even in the midst of earth's greatest trial—dying! He is a joy to fellowship with! (Phil is now with His Lord in Glory!)
The Tale of all men & women, boys and girls.
We live under an illusion: Life should be good—that is, without difficulties. Difficulties are an aberration. NO! That is a flesh fantasy! Hear the word of the Lord! Job 5:7, 14:1 Job wasn't just having a bad day! This is a fallen world. Life is difficult—at its very best! Ecc 2:22-23 We are all Kenneth Copelandites at heart! But alas, here we have no continuing city, no flowery beds of ease.
"Man is indeed endowed with wondrous gifts of intellect, strong mental resources & labor to exclude the entrance of burdens. But these gifts can erect no fortress which burden & care fail to scale. Man can construct no bars to keep trial out. Trouble has a key for every lock & takes its seat in every chair. It is the rich man's shadow and lies in every pauper's bed. It is the native of each climate and has its root in every soil. To be a human is to be linked to trouble," Henry Law
But enter the Begotten, enter the Firstborn: Chap 2:14-16 He is the death destroyer. He Is Bondage Breaker!!
Firstborn: We saw the link of the "Begotten" word to our Lord's victory and vindication. He Who is the Eternal Son of God is also the Eternal Son of Man at the Right Hand of the Majesty on High.
Now consider this word—Firstborn:
"The designation "firstborn" belongs to Christ as the Eternal Son and also as the incarnate Redeemer who, after humbling Himself for our salvation, has been exalted to the place of highest honor. To Him, the angels pay homage." Hughes
Romans 8:29 "That He might be the Firstborn among many brethren." This title means the He is the Firstborn that there might be more who are born!
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 preeminence." Are you a member of His body, a "born again" one. Then He's the Boss! He has preeminence in all things because He blazed the trail as the Firstborn. He leads His people out of this Egypt. We are the Church of the Firstborn!
Revelation 1:5 "Grace and peace(vs 4) from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth." Guess what? This means we should not fear any man that will die!(Isaiah 51:12) Fearful over what's going on in our nation? Got your eyes on the wrong king? He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Fear Him!
As the Firstborn, He is the Heir and we are heirs with Him! Heb 1:2, Romans 8:17
"With reference to his divinity, in which he has no brothers, the Son is called the 'only Begotten', but with reference to his humanity, in which He is qualified to have brothers, He is called 'firstborn'." Herveus
Again: There is some debate as to where the "again" in our text belongs. Is it implying another statement only—'and again' being the first words in the text? I think the context dictates that we have it here right where it belongs. "But when He again brings the Firstborn into the World." When? At His second coming. He will come for His Inheritance!
Here then, is the answer to man's troublesome lot.
Our Man has risen from the dead, and is at the right hand of the Majesty on High. He is the Firstborn from the dead, assuring us that He has blazed the trail and it is safe! And He is coming again for His inheritance, and that is us. We are enveloped in the arms of the Almighty God, surrounded in this fallen world by the Gift of His Only Begotten Son, past-present-and future, forever, our Firstborn!
Hebrews 6:18-20, 7:1-3, 15-17, 21, 24-28
Vs 26 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them."
Because our Son of Man is the eternally Begotten Son of God, He now assures our help and our hope as the Firstborn, all because of the "power of an endless life."
Beloved, our hope is under lock and key and no trial or trouble, man or circumstance can gain access to our Hope!
I Corinthians 10:13 So what then is the difference between the "born again" and the mass of humanity outside of Christ? The temptations are the same. Earthquakes strike the just and the unjust alike. This is a crumbling world defined by death! The difference is "but God is Faithful!" We are to feed on, be nourished by, His Faithfulness(Psalms 37:3 NKJV) And that Faithfulness is ours in His Son, the Only Begotten, the Firstborn among many brethren.
Romans 8:31-39 Nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus because He is Faithful to His Word—or He is not God!
Hebrews 1:5-6
Revisiting "Begotten": Yes it is that important of a word!
There are two Greek words for "begotten".
John uses #3439 monogenace—only born, only begotten, only child. John 1:14 &18, 3:16; I John 4:9. This word speaks of the Son of God in His Eternal union with the Father in total intimacy (in the bosom of the Father) and total eternal value. (3:16 The Father gave His only begotten Son.)
Paul in Acts 13:33, and the author of Hebrews (perhaps this very similarity pointing to Paul) uses #1080 gehennah'o, It means procreated, conceived. "The day spoken here, on which He is said to have been begotten by God, is the day of His glorious victory & vindication, the day that establishes for all to see His absolute superiority over all angels. Resurrection, ascension & glorification should be viewed as forming a unity, each contributing to this grand day!" P.E. Hughes
The Tale of a dying man: my friend, Phil Melahn.
Orphaned and homeless at age 10. Turned his back on such a mean God for 15 years. But at age 25, the God of Glory broke through. Managed Baptist Bookstore in Independence before it became Lifeway. Zondervan salesman after that. Bounced around a lot. Now he has terminal lung cancer—supposedly less than a year to live. Jokingly said, "I thought I had several years to work on my Christian life—but maybe not." But his relationship with His Lord is the sweetest it has been. He has no fear of death, even in the midst of earth's greatest trial—dying! He is a joy to fellowship with! (Phil is now with His Lord in Glory!)
The Tale of all men & women, boys and girls.
We live under an illusion: Life should be good—that is, without difficulties. Difficulties are an aberration. NO! That is a flesh fantasy! Hear the word of the Lord! Job 5:7, 14:1 Job wasn't just having a bad day! This is a fallen world. Life is difficult—at its very best! Ecc 2:22-23 We are all Kenneth Copelandites at heart! But alas, here we have no continuing city, no flowery beds of ease.
"Man is indeed endowed with wondrous gifts of intellect, strong mental resources & labor to exclude the entrance of burdens. But these gifts can erect no fortress which burden & care fail to scale. Man can construct no bars to keep trial out. Trouble has a key for every lock & takes its seat in every chair. It is the rich man's shadow and lies in every pauper's bed. It is the native of each climate and has its root in every soil. To be a human is to be linked to trouble," Henry Law
But enter the Begotten, enter the Firstborn: Chap 2:14-16 He is the death destroyer. He Is Bondage Breaker!!
Firstborn: We saw the link of the "Begotten" word to our Lord's victory and vindication. He Who is the Eternal Son of God is also the Eternal Son of Man at the Right Hand of the Majesty on High.
Now consider this word—Firstborn:
"The designation "firstborn" belongs to Christ as the Eternal Son and also as the incarnate Redeemer who, after humbling Himself for our salvation, has been exalted to the place of highest honor. To Him, the angels pay homage." Hughes
Romans 8:29 "That He might be the Firstborn among many brethren." This title means the He is the Firstborn that there might be more who are born!
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 preeminence." Are you a member of His body, a "born again" one. Then He's the Boss! He has preeminence in all things because He blazed the trail as the Firstborn. He leads His people out of this Egypt. We are the Church of the Firstborn!
Revelation 1:5 "Grace and peace(vs 4) from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth." Guess what? This means we should not fear any man that will die!(Isaiah 51:12) Fearful over what's going on in our nation? Got your eyes on the wrong king? He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Fear Him!
As the Firstborn, He is the Heir and we are heirs with Him! Heb 1:2, Romans 8:17
"With reference to his divinity, in which he has no brothers, the Son is called the 'only Begotten', but with reference to his humanity, in which He is qualified to have brothers, He is called 'firstborn'." Herveus
Again: There is some debate as to where the "again" in our text belongs. Is it implying another statement only—'and again' being the first words in the text? I think the context dictates that we have it here right where it belongs. "But when He again brings the Firstborn into the World." When? At His second coming. He will come for His Inheritance!
Here then, is the answer to man's troublesome lot.
Our Man has risen from the dead, and is at the right hand of the Majesty on High. He is the Firstborn from the dead, assuring us that He has blazed the trail and it is safe! And He is coming again for His inheritance, and that is us. We are enveloped in the arms of the Almighty God, surrounded in this fallen world by the Gift of His Only Begotten Son, past-present-and future, forever, our Firstborn!
Hebrews 6:18-20, 7:1-3, 15-17, 21, 24-28
Vs 26 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them."
Because our Son of Man is the eternally Begotten Son of God, He now assures our help and our hope as the Firstborn, all because of the "power of an endless life."
Beloved, our hope is under lock and key and no trial or trouble, man or circumstance can gain access to our Hope!
I Corinthians 10:13 So what then is the difference between the "born again" and the mass of humanity outside of Christ? The temptations are the same. Earthquakes strike the just and the unjust alike. This is a crumbling world defined by death! The difference is "but God is Faithful!" We are to feed on, be nourished by, His Faithfulness(Psalms 37:3 NKJV) And that Faithfulness is ours in His Son, the Only Begotten, the Firstborn among many brethren.
Romans 8:31-39 Nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus because He is Faithful to His Word—or He is not God!