On Jesus as the "Firstborn" and Colossians 1:15

Evangelicals and other Trinitarians believed that Jesus and the Father are of the same being and that Jesus did not have a beginning before being an organized intelligence (that is not to be confused with Arianism) and this is wrong and is not contained in biblical text. the Bible teaches na si Heavenly Father ang efficient cause of why Jesus Christ lives as we read sa John 6:57 na “Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because [διά] of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.” (Jn 6:57, New Revised Standard Version). Ang preposition na διά (dia) followed by the accusative, and in this context, it is understood as in the sense na “because” that essentially denotes ang isang “efficient cause” (BDAG). Colin Brown stated on Cause or Ground that “ . . .The two principle non-local meanings of dia are “by means of”, “through”, (Lat. Per) and “on account of”, “because of” (Lat. ob and propter) The interrelation of these two senses is evident from the fact that dia with the acc[usative] may occasionally denote the efficient cause (e.g., Jn. 6:57a, the Father is the source of the Son’s life, as in Jn 5:26 . . .) (Colin Brown, ed. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 3:1183 [Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan, 1979]). These shows na si Heavenly Father is the originating cause of why Jesus Christ lives as a organized being na ang kanyang life and ang kanyang deity is derived from the Father, as the Father is the only true God (Jn. 17:3; 1Cor. 8:5-6; Eph. 4:5-6; 1Tim. 2:5-6) and Jesus is a participant of the divine nature of the Father (Ps. 45:6-7; Heb. 1:8-9). Latter Day Saint author D. Charles Pyle notes that:

“ . . . Essentially, scholars have admitted that the Father himself is the source or efficient cause of the life that the Son possesses! Do critics of the Church even realize the import of this admission? What it means simply is this: Jesus, in this verse of scripture, plainly states that the Father is the efficient cause, or the originating source, of the Son’s life. Thus, his life’s existence as an organized being is contingent upon the Father’s giving him life. But if Jesus really were a self-existent, non-organized (and hence non-contingent) Being, the Father could not possibly have been the efficient cause of his life, as Jesus himself said the Father is. There is only one conclusion that can be reached (if a person does not maneuver about and so attempt to explain away the plain meaning of this passage), and that is that Jesus’ very life and existence as an organized being is contingent and dependent upon the Father! Thus the Latter-day Saint view of the Son as the firstborn spirit Son of God also is quite well vindicated by this verse, and thus makes clear that his life and deity are also derived from the Father. He did not possess it of himself before the Father gave it to him." (D. Charles Pyle, I Have Said Ye are Gods: Concepts Conducive to the Early Christian Doctrine of Deification in Patristic Literature and the Underlying Strata of the Greek New Testament, Revised and Supplemented [CreateSpace, 2018] 355-57.).

Sa mga discussions and commentaries ng mga Evangelicals on Christology ay they often bring up ang argument on Colossians 1:15 that Jesus being the firstborn means that he is above creation and not firstborn by means like a first son in a family, as they want πρωτότοκος (prōtotokos) to mean that way na it can be figurative in meaning and can be applied to individuals who are not really firstborn in order at ito ay true in some cases pero hindi always. ang possibility na ang πρωτότοκος can be understood in a figurative sense does not necessarily disprove na ang Greek word can be understood in a literal sense in this context. Author D. Charles Pyle notes that “ . . . The same word in verse 18 has this latter meaning. First in order of all creation also works. From all of the above, Latter-day Saints are on far safer ground than they know. This objection of the critics, on the other hand, is of particularly weak foundation.” (Pyle, 2018; ibid.). Trinitarians would often appeal to text like Psalm 89:27 to object a literal understanding of πρωτότοκος in Colossians 1:15 and Latter-Day Saint Christology, arguing na sa verse na ito, ang πρωτότοκος ay metaphorical and therefore, πρωτότοκος as well sa Colossians 1:15 implies rank rather than ang pagkapanganay ni Jesucristo. The Psalm reads:

 

“ Also I will make him my firstborn [בְּכֹר becor; πρωτότοκος prōtotokos - LXX], higher than the kings of the earth.“ (Ps. 89:27/v. 28 MT)

We can say that this would be metaphorical in some sense in this Psalm, but however in making parallels to it's usage sa New Testament ay may mga magaarise na mga problems. Ang Psalm na ito particularly states na si David was "placed" as "firstborn" (אַף־אָ֭נִי בְּכֹ֣ור MT). This would not be taken as a literal sense (as David himself was not even the firstborn son in Jesse's family) but that David was placed in a high position/exalted position. The same can be seen sa Israel being placed as "firstborn" sa Exodus 4:22. As Larry Helyer in his Ph.D dissertation on this topic stated that "The texture of OT theology leads us to view the relationship between Yahweh and Israel in a religious or spiritual sense by employing the category of election to sonship" (Larry R. Helyer, "The Prototokos Title in the New Testament", [Fuller Theological Seminary, 1979], 37.). Jehovah's Witness Apologist, Gregory Stafford (who now left the Watchtower) notes the same occurrence of this sa Sirach 36:11 in the Apocrypha (LXX Ralfs-Hanhart 36:11; LXX Brenton 36:12) where reference is made to "Israel, whom thou hast named thy firstborn" (Brenton) (Brenton’s use of "named" for Israel as God’s firstborn actually translates the Greek word ωμοιωσας (homoiosas), which involves making "someone like a person or thing" (BAGD), clearly revealing the figurative sense for "firstborn" in reference to Israel.)." (Gregory Stafford, Jehovah's Witnesses Defended: An Answer to Scholars and Critics [2d ed.; Murrieta, Calif.: Elihu Books, 2000], 218.).

 
1st Century non-biblical text as well, as noted by Stafford (2000), might have influenced Paul for Colossians 1:15. Philo of Alexandria wrote that "God’s firstborn, the Logos, who holds the eldership among the angels, an archangel as it were." (De Confusione Linguarum, 146), and a first century writing "The Prayer of Joseph"; where Stafford wrote that this " . . . refers to Jacob as though he were an angel named "Israel." Fragment A of this document reads, in part: "Abraham and Isaac were created before any work. But I, Jacob, who men call Jacob but whose name is Israel am he who God called Israel which means, a man seeing God, because I am the firstborn of every living thing to whom God gives life" (OTP2, 713; the end of line 7 refers to the "firstborn" as "the archangel of the power of the Lord, and the chief captain among the sons of God"). (Stafford, 2000). Stafford then noted that " . . . These references clearly imply a temporal distinction between the "firstborn" and "the angels" (Philo) and between "every living thing to whom God gives life" (Prayer of Joseph)." (Gregory Stafford, Jehovah's Witnesses Defended: An Answer to Scholars and Critics [2d ed.; Murrieta, Calif.: Elihu Books, 2000], 219, n. 67.). Ang uses ng "firstborn" in these given examples sa Old Testament cannot be paralleled sa New Testament dahil hindi ginagamit ng New Testament ang "firstborn" (πρωτότοκος) to Jesus Christ as by means of "placement", "adoption", or "election"; but that Jesus Christ was simply called "firstborn" (πρωτότοκος) at dahil siya ay tinawag na "firstborn", ang connotations ng "exaltation" and other connotations for power as we see, follows therefore na mayroon kay Jesus Christ. In Colossians 1:15 ay walang sinasabi dito na si Jesus Christ ay naplace as or binigay ang title na "firstborn"; as Latter-Day Saint author and researcher D. Charles Pyle also wrote on this that " The key phrase in Colossians 1:15 is the Greek phrase πρωτοτοκος πασης κτισεως [prōtotokos pases ktseōs], meaning firstborn of all creation. There are those who would deny the obvious implication of this verse by stating that this same word for firstborn also can be figurative in meaning or, applied to individuals who are not really firstborn in birth order. And while this is true in some cases it still does not obviate the fact it also can be intended to be literal in its meaning, or also can mean first in order. The same word in verse 18 has this latter meaning. First in order of all creation also works." (D. Charles Pyle, I Have Said Ye are Gods: Concepts Conducive to the Early Christian Doctrine of Deification in Patristic Literature and the Underlying Strata of the Greek New Testament, Revised and Supplemented [CreateSpace, 2018] 360-61., transliteration of the Greek mine). Colossians 1:15 therefore agrees with how Latter-Day Saints understand it.
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