by Richard Barcellos | Feb 10, 2011 | Biblical Theology, Hermeneutics, New Testament
Q: What does “the firstborn of all creation” mean?
A1: Firstborn can refer either to the eldest child (i.e., first in a series or temporal priority) or a person of preeminent rank. Some think it can mean both at the same time. It is very difficult to envision Paul calling the Son “the eldest Son of all creation” or “the first in a series of the things created.” Psalm 89:27 points us in the proper direction – “I also shall make him My firstborn [Paul uses the same Greek word the LXX does], The highest of the kings of the earth.” This Psalm deals with the Davidic covenant and applies ultimately to the Lord Jesus in his mediatorial role as David’s royal son. It is of interest to note as well that ancient Israel is called both God’s son and firstborn in Exodus 4:22. The prophet Hosea alludes to this passage in 11:1 and Matthew quotes Hosea 11:1 in Matthew 2:15 attributing it to Christ. Also, in the context of Colossians 1, there are echoes of Israel’s redemption being applied to Christ’s redemption. For instance, just as the Israelites were in a dark and oppressive place, so sinners redeemed by Jesus were trapped in the domain of darkness; just as God liberated Israel from bondage, so Christ liberates sinners from bondage; just as God took the Israelites out of Egypt and gave them an inheritance – the Promised Land, so God takes sinners out of the bondage of sin and qualifies them for a future inheritance; just as God ruled over Israel, so God places believing sinners in the kingdom of His beloved Son to be ruled by Him. We could add to that just as Israel was given a memorial meal by God to remember their deliverance from bondage – the Passover, so the Church has been given a memorial meal by Christ – the Lord’s Supper; and just as Israel was given a memorial day by God – the Sabbath, so the Church has been given a memorial day by Christ – the Lord’s Day. What the Old Testament typified in Israel, finds its fulfillment in Jesus and His body – the Church.
A2: The incarnate Son ranks above all creation.
A3: Jesus Christ is Lord of all creation.
A4: The incarnate Son cannot be the first of all created beings for v. 16 is a commentary on the term prwto,tokoj and makes that interpretation impossible (cf. also Jn. 1:3). There were other created beings prior to the incarnation. Also, the ontological Son was in existence prior to his incarnation as the pre-incarnate second Person of the Godhead.
A5: Christ cannot be the first of all created beings just as he is not the first of all resurrected beings (cf. v. 18 and the fact that others rose from the dead temporally prior to His resurrection).
A6: “We apprehend that the apostle selects the unusual word for a special reason. It seems to have been a prime term in the nomenclature of the Colossian errorists, and the apostle takes the epithet and gives it to Him to whom alone it rightfully belongs” (Eadie, Ephesians, 50).
Let’s discuss Eadie’s comments. Though this may be the case that Paul was borrowing the term from the Colossian errorists, I do not think it is the whole of the case. Obviously, Eadie does not either, due to the comments below. I think it better to assume Old Testament connections with the use of the term. The concept embodied by this term may even go back to creation. Adam was a proto prwto,tokoj and failed his commission. Israel was prwto,tokoj but failed as well. According to Psalm 89 (see Eadie’s comments below), the Messiah (a royal/Davidic person) would be prwto,tokoj. This ties Adam, Israel, Jesus and His church together and is another illustration of the Christo-climactic trajectory of Scripture.
A7: “Still more, we find the term in the Messianic oracle of the 89th Psalm–“I will make him my first-born”–will invest him with royal dignity, and clothe him with pre-eminent splendor, so as that he shall tower in majesty above all his kingly compeers” (Eadie, Ephesians, 50).
A8: “Moreover, when He is styled, as in the 18th verse, and in Rev. i.5, “the first-born of the dead,” the reference is not to mere time or priority, but to prerogative, for He is not simply the first who rose, “no more to return to corruption,” but his immortal primogeniture secures the resurrection of his people, and is at once the pledge and the pattern of it” (Eadie, Ephesians, 51).
A9: “Now He is exalted to unbounded sovereignty, as “Lord of all,” rolling onwards the mighty and mysterious wheels of a universal providence, without halting or confusion; seated as His Father’s deputy on a throne of unbounded dominion, which to this world is its tribunal of judgment – wearing the name at which every knee bows, “of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth” – the acting President of the universe, and, therefore, “the First-born of every creature” (Eadie, Ephesians, 52).
Special thanks to John Eadie for his perceptive comments.
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
by Richard Barcellos | Feb 10, 2011 | Current Events, Practical Theology
“Indeed, when asked by a student spouse the other week how she kept up with reading all that I read so that she could support me in my work, my wife’s response (worthy of Newman himself) was `Read what he’s reading??? Lovey, I don’t even bother to read what he’s writing!’ ”
Read the whole thing here.
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
by Sam Waldron | Feb 9, 2011 | Family-Integrated Church
Believe it or not (and perhaps I am being a little naive), my goal in these blogs is not to further divide brethren. My goal rather is in part to work for a greater level of mutual understanding and unity among brethren who agree doctrinally. This does not mean that I will hold back what I regard to be legitimate criticisms of family-integrated views. But it also does not mean that I will disregard much that they say, especially by way of critique of the modern church, that is good, helpful, and accurate.
Because I want my friends in this movement to listen to me, I want to share with them the fact that in many respects I share both their practice and their views. Let me give you some of my “bona fides” in order that you may know that I am sympathetic with much that you believe.
- My wife and I home-schooled all our children through 7th or 8th grade. (I did send our youngest to a conservative Christian elementary school because my wife was worn out and needed a break when the fifth of our five children was in fifth grade.)
- We home-schooled our children because we believed that this was the best way to seek to mold their souls into the image of Christ. We are glad we did and would not go back and change what we did. I believe that the example, instruction, and discipline of faithful parents is the most important human factor in the salvation of children.
- We home-schooled our children without informing the state government of Michigan that we were doing so and while, according to the state education department guidelines, it was possibly illegal to do so. This was years before a landmark case in Michigan legalized home-schooling there. We did all this because we believe the education of children is primarily a family duty and not a responsibility of the civil government.
- My wife even had a home business with which our children helped for about 10 years!
- My wife, therefore and of course, did not work outside the home while our children were small. (Well, there was this exception. For 9 months, while I began seminary in New Jersey, she worked three second shifts per week as an RN at a hospital while I cared for our infant son, but we soon decided it was better for me to work even under those conditions.)
- I do not believe in youth pastors. (There are no second tier pastoral qualifications for youth pastors. You are either a qualified elder or not. If you are an elder, you are an elder of the whole church and not just part of it.)
- I do not believe in junior church. (A gathering of children segregated from the local assembly of believers is not the church and does not possess the promise of Christ’s special presence made to the whole church assembled together. While I think nurseries for babies and very young children are helpful and permissible, children at a young age need to be trained to sit quietly in church and, as they grow older, to pay careful attention to and participate in what is going on.)
- I would allow and have allowed parents in churches where I have been a pastor to keep their children with them in Sunday School. I have done this myself.
I know I still fall short by some family-integrated standards. These bona fides will not satisfy everybody. I hope, however, that some at least will be convinced that I seriously hold many values articulated by family-integrated churches. Some, I hope, will be convinced that my wife and I have put “our money where our mouth is” and that my commitment to the values you hold is not just theory and talk. I want to assure people like this that there are many like me in Reformed Baptist churches.
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
by Richard Barcellos | Feb 9, 2011 | Current Events
Finally, how many Christians would never turn out for a Sunday evening worship service because they had their fix on Sunday mornings, but would rearrange all manner of things to make sure they could see the Superbowl? Watching overpaid spandex-clad blimps playing catch, then running for, oh my, at least 5 seconds and six yards before taking a five minute breather, and as a result trousering too much dosh — or meeting with the living God who gave his Son for us, hearing his word proclaimed, and humbly bowing before him in adoration — not much of a choice is it, really? The spandex and hilarious commercials win every time.
Read the whole thing here.
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
by Richard Barcellos | Feb 8, 2011 | Biblical Theology, Hermeneutics, New Testament, Old Testament
The Bible often cites itself and alludes to previous persons, events, or institutions. Why does it do this? It does this because it has one ultimate author, with a unified plan, worked-out in history, to glorify himself through his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. It does this because this unified plan centering around what the Son of God does is God’s “plan A” from before the foundation of the world. All revelation is tethered around the skull-crushing seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15) who brings many sons to glory (Heb. 2:10). Persons, events, and institutions of the Old Testament are often typological of Christ, his sacrificial life of service unto death, and his body, the church. What God began in the Garden, God completes in the exalted Redeemer. Though Adam failed as God’s son in the Garden, and though Israel failed as God’s son in the Promised Land, the last and greater Adam and the faithful representative of Israel does not fail. He both obeys to procure righteousness leading to a state of exaltation and suffers the punishment due our sins. He erects a temple on the earth that is slowly spreading throughout the entire globe. He was God tabernacling among men who erected a temple of which both Jews and Gentiles are citizens and priests and kings. He did this as the heir to God’s covenantal promises to Abraham (Genesis 12, 15, 22), David (2 Samuel 7), and Israel (Jeremiah 31). Why does the New Testament refer to promises to Abraham, David, and Israel so often as being fulfilled in Christ? Because all revelation prior to the sufferings and glory of the Redeemer was preparatory and anticipatory. The New Testament reads the Old Testament similar to the way the Old Testament reads itself. What God does in space and time is often done in anticipation of something greater to come in the future. The Old Testament set the stage for a greater exodus, a greater temple, a greater Servant of the Lord (greater Israel), a greater David, and a greater heaven and earth. Christ (i.e., what he accomplishes, inaugurates, and brings to eschatological fruition) is the fulfillment of these greater expectations. Indeed, “for as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes…” (2 Corinthians 1:20). When we read, interpret, and explain the Bible, let us never forget its God-glorifying, unifying center – our Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments testify of him (John 5:39).
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
