TITLES OF CHRIST
THE FIRSTBORN
DR. JIM DIXON
HEBREWS 1:1-6 & COLOSSIANS 1:13-20
JULY 9, 1989
Well, I am the third-born son of Ford and Nina Dixon. My brother Greg, who is a member of this church, is the second-born son of Ford and Nina Dixon. My oldest brother Gary is, of course, the firstborn. Now as the firstborn, Gary was given certain privileges. For instance, whenever we got in the car to take a trip, maybe a long trip or even just a drive to the grocery store, Gary was given the privilege of choosing where he wanted to sit in the back seat. So he chose the window seat on the left side. My brother Greg, being the second-born, was given the second choice and he chose the window seat on the right side. Of course, with respect to myself being the third-born, I was given the third choice and I was able to choose the bump in the middle there in the backseat.
My brother Gary had a few other privileges as firstborn. Whenever my mom cooked food and set it out on the table, Gary was given first choice. If it was something good, he chose the largest portion. If he didn’t like it, he chose the smallest portion and perhaps that’s what it’s like in our society, being firstborn. But even though Gary had privileges, he was not preeminent. My brothers and I, as we grew up, we, we viewed each other as more or less equal, and that’s how it is in our society.
The firstborn in our society is not really regarded as preeminent. You see, in the Old Testament world, in the biblical world, to be firstborn involved preeminence. It was an incredible blessing. We see this first of all in the story of Jacob and Esau. I’m sure most of you have read about Jacob and Esau…Genesis, chapter 25 through 27. Jacob and Esau were twins. They were not normal twins. They were kind of like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. They weren’t much alike. The Bible tells us that Jacob and Esau actually struggled against each other in the womb and this struggle was to characterize their lives. What were they struggling about? They were struggling about receiving the privilege of being the firstborn. Well, of course, Esau was born first. He emerged from the womb with hair all over his body, bright red hair. Etymologists tell us the name Esau is derived from a word meaning hairy, but Jacob wasn’t far behind. In fact, he came out of the womb clutching the heel of Esau. The name Jacob means to clutch the heel. Esau grew up to be a skilled hunter, the favorite of Isaac their father. Jacob grew up to be a lover of peace. He dwelled in tents. He was a farmer. He was the favorite of Rebekah, their mother.
You know the story; the struggle for the privilege of the title firstborn. You know how there came a day when Esau came home and he was tired. He had come back from the hunt. He was exhausted and he was starving. He was literally near to death. Jacob had been cooking and there were bowls of pottage and fresh bread. Esau, literally in the Hebrew, he said, “Give me some of that stuff, that red stuff.” Jacob said, “Well, I’ll give you some of this stuff in exchange for your birthright.” Incredibly, Esau said, “Well, what good is my birthright if I’m dead?” So he actually exchanged his birthright for some food and he thereby became one of the most foolish men in Old Testament history, exchanging his birthright for a plate of pottage.
This act was considered particularly foolish because of the meaning of the title firstborn and the privilege of the birthright. You see, the firstborn son was literally the heir, the heir, the primary heir of the family’s wealth, receiving a double portion of everything. And even more than that, the firstborn son was the one destined to rule. The firstborn son was the one to whom was given family authority, to whom was given preeminence. So it was that this title of firstborn was transferred from Esau to Jacob, even though Esau was born first. And you know how Jacob, in Genesis, chapter 27, through deception, received the blessing of the firstborn from his father Isaac and Isaac gave that firstborn blessing. “May all people serve you. May all nations bow down to you. May you rule over your brothers and may your mother’s children bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you. Blessed be everyone who blesses you.” Preeminence, the meaning of the title firstborn.
So in the Bible when we see Jesus Christ referred to as the firstborn, we understand that He is preeminent. In the New Testament, this title is used in three ways. First of all, it’s used with respect to His preeminence over the church. Our time is short and we’ll deal briefly with this. We’re told in Hebrews, chapter 12, that in heaven there are three groups. There is the assembly; there is the enumerable angels in festival gathering, the first group in heaven. Secondly, there are the spirits of just men made perfect. Most Bible scholars see that as a reference to the Old Testament saints. But thirdly, there is this other group in heaven called the church of the firstborn enrolled in the heavens. You see, the church of Jesus Christ is called the church of the firstborn. Jesus Christ has preeminence over the church. He also has a very special relationship with those who are members of the church. That is why in Romans, chapter 8, we’re told that Jesus Christ is the firstborn of many brethren. This word ‘brethren’ is used generically, Jesus Christ, the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. You see, the church of the firstborn, the church of Jesus Christ is the family of God. In the plan of God, before all time, God intended that He would have many children, Christ being the firstborn, but many children. That Jesus Christ would have many brothers and sisters. But God wants us to understand that you’re not automatically a member of the church of the firstborn. You’re not automatically a child of God. You are not automatically a brother or sister of Jesus Christ. You must be born into the family of God. You must be born into the church. That is why Jesus said to Nicodemus, of course, something you’ve heard many times before, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born anew.” The Greek word for rebirth normally is the word “anagennao.” It simply means to be born anew. But Jesus uses a very special combination of words in John, chapter 3. Jesus takes the word “gennao” and He combines it with the word “anothen” so that it had a double meaning. Jesus was saying, you not only need to be born anew, but that second birth needs to be from above. It needs to be from heaven. You need a special birth. You need to be born spiritually as well as physically if you would enter the family of God, if you would become a child of God. You’ve heard this before. If there’s one thing we want to make clear to you as a church, it is this; you must be born anew. You can’t enter heaven, you don’t enter the family of God, you don’t become a brother or sister of Jesus Christ unless you are born anew. And the Bible makes it very clear how you can be born anew. You are born anew through faith in Jesus Christ. You are born anew in that moment when you embrace Jesus Christ as your Lord and as your Savior from sin. But you must take Him as preeminent. You must take him as the firstborn. You must receive him as Lord and Savior. I was born anew when I was five years old at my mother’s side in the living room of our family house. I was not the firstborn nor the second-born, nor the third-born, nor even the millionth born, but I was born into the family of God and God wants you to have that birth too. You might say, “Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I want to live for you.”
Well, this title firstborn is not only used with respect to the church, it has a second usage. It sometimes, in the New Testament, refers to Christ’s preeminence over death, not simply over the church, but over death itself. In Colossians 1:18 and in Revelation 1:5, in these two verses, Jesus Christ is given the same title. He’s called the firstborn from the dead. This does not mean that Jesus was simply the first person to be resurrected from the dead. There were other people who had been resurrected from the dead prior to Jesus Christ.
If you’ve read your Old Testament, you remember how Elisha raised from the dead the Shunammite’s son. You remember how Elijah raised from the dead, the widow son of the Zarephath. If you’ve read the New Testament, you know that Jesus Christ Himself raised from the dead the widow’s son of the village of Nain and the daughter of Jairus, and He raised from the dead Lazarus of Bethany. Five resurrections from the dead, all preceding the resurrection of the firstborn. But you see, all of these five rose from the dead only to die again. They were not really preeminent over death. Jesus Christ rose from the dead, never to die again. He rose in power and glory. He rose in a body indestructible and not subject to decay, preeminence. And that is the primary meaning of firstborn. Firstborn from the dead, preeminent over death. And we live in a world where people are desperate for victory over death, a world where many people are literally in bondage to fear of death.
Many years ago, many decades ago, on a very cold spring night in the North Atlantic, there was a great ship called the Californian. It was 1500 miles from his destination in Boston Harbor. This ship was idle. Its engines had stopped because they found themselves, the Californian found itself in the midst of a field of ice. It was 12 o’clock midnight. The second officer, a man named Herbert Stone, made his way up to the bridge for his watch and he took his binoculars and he looked out over the dark night over the ocean and suddenly he was amazed to see another ship, maybe nine or 10 miles off. He could see the lights on the masthead and on the afterdecks. It was a big ship. He wondered who she was, what she was doing. He decided to try to communicate with her through Morse lamp, through flashing lights in the night, but she did not answer. Suddenly, as he looked through his binoculars, he saw a skyrocket launched from this distance ship and the dark night filled with light. He was curious. Was she playing games? Was she having drills? What were the people on this distance ship doing? He saw another skyrocket, and again, the dark night flashed with lights.
Herbert Stone, the second officer on the Californian, called the captain. What do we do? There’s this ship in the distance, nine, ten miles off, skyrockets being launched. The captain said, “We’ll continue to try to communicate with her through Morse lamp,” and he did, but no answer. It was 1:40 A.M., 1:40 in the morning when the eighth and final skyrocket was launched by this distant ship, and again the dark night filled with light. The Californian did not know that those eight skyrockets were intended as distress signals. The Californian did not know that that distance ship time and again had radioed for help. The Californian didn’t know that because the radio operator in the Californian was asleep. Herbert Stone, he didn’t know that at that moment, at 1:40 A.M. he had watched one of the most tragic dramas in the history of the world. He had seen the sinking of the Titanic. A horrible thing to watch a ship go down. A horrible thing to watch 1,500 people lose their lives. And yet, biblically, all of us watch sinking ships all the time. Whenever we look at people about us, all we’re seeing are sinking ships. Whenever you look in the mirror, you’re looking at a sinking ship.
Three people die every second. Almost 200 people every minute. Almost a hundred million people every year in this world. The Bible says “All flesh is like grass and all of its glory like the flower of the grass, the grass withers, the flower falls”…sinking ships.
But you see, there’s hope. If you’re a Christian, if you believe in Jesus Christ, you’ve been given a message for the nations, a message of the firstborn, a message called the gospel; the message of Jesus Christ who rose from the dead in power and great glory and has preeminence over death. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and he who lives and believes in Me will never truly die.” That’s the message you’ve been given to take to the world, that all might believe in His name. But you see, if you don’t really know in your heart, if you don’t know that you’re going to rise from the dead in power and great glory, if you don’t know that you have eternal life, if you don’t know that you’re going to be in heaven with Him, if you don’t know what’s going to happen to you at death, then you’re not in a position to take this message to the world. You need to deal with your own bondage to fear of death and you need to let the firstborn be born in you.
There’s a book by Tad Tuleja called “Fabulous Fallacies.” This book describes some of the fallacies associated with the sinking of the Titanic. It was said that the crew kept everything in perfect discipline even to the final moment. Apparently, that’s a fallacy, not true. It was said that most of the men gave up their lifeboat seats for women. Apparently, a fallacy, wasn’t true. It was said that it was a rare thing to see icebergs so far south in the Atlantic. A fallacy, not true. It was said that on the Titanic, as the ship went down, the last song the band played was “Nearer My God to Thee.” Beautiful thought, but a fallacy, not true. That was popularized by movies, by books, and by newspapers because it seemed almost precious to think that these dying people would sing that song as they went into the ocean, “Nearer My God to Thee.” But you see, a lot of people really can’t sing that song. What’s your swan song going to be as your ship goes down? Can you really sing “Nearer My God to Thee?” Do you know that to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord? Do you really know you’re going to be with Him forever?
You see, the Apostle John says, “I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you might know you have eternal life.” God wants you to know. And if you don’t know, you can know today by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and letting the firstborn rule in your life. He has preeminence over death.
Well, thirdly and finally, this title firstborn is used of our Lord with respect to his preeminence over the creation itself. In our passage of scripture for today, Colossians 1:15, Jesus Christ is called the firstborn of all creation. Not simply preeminent over the church, not simply preeminent over death, but preeminent over all of life. Preeminent over the creation. In calling Christ the firstborn of all creation, it might sound as though it’s being said He was the first person created, but that’s not what’s being said. The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus Christ never had a beginning point. He is the Alpha and Omega. The Bible says of Him that he has neither beginning of days nor end of life…eternal. You see, the title firstborn is not primarily temporal. It does not primarily refer to orders of time. It is primarily positional. It refers to His position as preeminent firstborn of all creation, preeminence over all creation.
When I look at the creation, I marvel at the power of Christ. Barb and I cannot take a walk on the Highline Canal and look at the majesty of the Rocky Mountains and the beauty of the fields without marveling at the power and the glory of Jesus Christ.
I was reading a few weeks ago about monarch butterflies, perhaps some of you have seen monarch butterflies. They’re beautiful. They’re orange and black. Monarch is a name that indicates a regal quality, but monarchs are not considered regal because of their coloring. They’re considered regal because of the way they fly. You see, monarch butterflies have the smallest, very small bodies, even for butterflies, but they have very large wings, very large powerful wings. You see, most butterflies can barely fly and when they fly, they’re not very graceful. They have to flap their wings many, many times, just, every second just to stay airborne. But monarch butterflies, because their body is light and their wings are large, are actually able to glide, regal. Able to fly great distances.
I was reading about the Minnesota monarch butterflies and they are special even among monarchs. They live in Minnesota during the summer. Some of you may have seen them there, but every fall, towards the end of September, these Minnesota monarch butterflies fly away. Scientists for a long time wondered where? Where do they go? They didn’t know. Then Dr. Fred Urquhart of the University of Toronto actually followed them. The Minnesota monarch butterflies; he followed them 2000 miles of flight down to Mexico to the Sierra Madre Mountains to a 20-acre wooded area. That’s where the Minnesota monarchs go every year, to this 20-acre wooded site in the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico. It’s perfect for them in the wintertime. Then, as the winter closes and spring begins to dawn, these monarchs mate down in Mexico and then as spring arrives they fly up to Texas. In Texas they give birth to their offspring and they have their children. Then, with their children, in the spring they begin the flight north to Minnesota. The parents die on the way, but the children continue on to the state of Minnesota where their parents had been. There in Minnesota, the children live and they mate, and they have children. The grandchildren are born and they live there in the state of Minnesota in the summertime.
At the close of the summer, as the fall is coming, the grandchildren mate and they have children, the great-grandchildren, and it’s the great-grandchildren that make the return flight back down to Mexico of 2000 miles. But how do they know where to go? They go to the same spot, that 20-acre wooded spot in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico. These great-grandchildren, how do they know where to get there and how to get there? It’s a marvel. But the most incredible thing of all is that these great-grandchildren are given special life. They live seven months, seven months because they need that amount of time to make the flight and to do what they must do. Seven months to fly down to Mexico, to the Sierra Madre Mountains and to live the winter there and then to fly back up to Texas and have their children and begin the flight to Minnesota. Seven months, but their children only live six weeks and their grandchildren only live six weeks. The normal monarch butterfly only lives six weeks. It’s these great-grandchildren, the fourth generation, they are given special life: seven months. Is that a marvel to you? I can’t read about something like that without marveling at the beauty and the power and the glory of Jesus Christ. The whole creation radiates His majesty and His glory.
But you see, when you look at the creation and you realize that He’s the firstborn of all creation, it’s not simply meant to make us marvel. It’s also meant to make us reverence and respect this creation. If indeed all things were made through Him and for Him, and in Him all things are held together, we are meant to respect the creation and to respect life.
In conclusion, and I know our time is short and we’ve gone a little long, I’d just like to make some concluding comments about abortion.
If abortion were merely a political subject, I wouldn’t comment on abortion at all. I don’t care to make comments on political issues. But you see, abortion is far more than a political issue. In the deepest sense, it has moral and ethical ramifications that cut to the very core of Scripture. Abortion is, of course, a very controversial issue in our time. There are pro-choice people and there are pro-life people. The pro-choice people tell us that a woman ought to have the right to do whatever she decides to do with her own body. Many pro-choice people say that they wouldn’t personally choose to have an abortion, but they believe that women should have the right to make that choice and that right ought to be protected by the constitution of the United States of America. They point out that there’s already too many unwanted babies in this world. Pro-choice people also point out that most women, even if abortion became illegal, would still have abortions but we’d just have butcher shops all over this country underground instead of doctor’s offices. They call for compassion; compassion towards women who must make these agonizing decisions in the midst of very difficult circumstances.
Then of course, we have the pro-life position. Pro-life people remind us that the right of a woman to decide what to do with their own body is not the only issue involved in abortion. That there’s other rights here: the right of the unborn to live and to experience life. Most pro-life people would grant abortion if the mother’s life is in danger. Many pro-life people want mothers to have the freedom to choose abortion in extreme circumstances: if the mom has been a victim of rape or incest, or if the baby is known to be extremely damaged physically and mentally, if the fetus is damaged. We see pro-life people point out to us that in the overwhelming majority of cases, abortion has nothing to do with a mother’s life being in danger and has nothing to do with rape or incest or a deformed fetus, that in the overwhelming majority of cases, abortion is simply a matter of convenience and two thirds of all women who receive abortions are single women who are just trying to terminate unwanted pregnancies. That in the overwhelming majority of cases, abortions are simply a kind of belated effort at birth control.
We’re talking about a very serious issue here. Human life is the very crown, the apex of the creation of God. You’re not simply a body, you are soul and spirit, the very image of God. When does God implant the soul and spirit in the human body? Is it just passed on genetically? Does God implant the soul and spirit at the moment of conception? Does God implant the soul and spirit in the first trimester, or does He do it in the second trimester or in the third? Or does He implant the soul and spirit at the moment of birth? You see, there’s not a theologian in the world who can answer those questions. Not a person in the world knows the answer. Only God knows the answer, and that, in and of itself, should be reason enough for us to be extremely careful.
I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m pro-life. I am pro-life. 25 million babies have been aborted in America since Wade/Roe. 4,000 babies a day, every single day, every single year, day after day, year after year, 4,000 a day. It’s a national tragedy. What must God think as He looks down on the creation? What must Jesus Christ think? The firstborn of all creation, preeminent. All things made through Him and for Him, in Him all things held together. And of course, the biggest tragedy isn’t simply abortion itself. In a sense, abortion is merely a symptom of a far greater ill. The biggest problem is the moral and ethical bankruptcy in this nation. The sexual promiscuity, the permissiveness of our time. Why do we have all these babies that are unwanted? What does God want us to do about it? Does he want us to go out and join Operation Rescue? Civil disobedience is very important, very serious.
I really couldn’t counsel you to go out and join Operation Rescue. I would not judge you if you felt led of God to do that. That’s a personal choice between you and God. Should we support organizations that counsel women to find alternatives to abortion? The answer is yes. We should support organizations like that with our money and with our time and with our prayers. And should we support organizations that are trying to help unwanted babies and to provide for them and find homes for them and care for them? The answer is yes. If you take the name of Christ, if you really believe in Christ and you want to be people of compassion, we need to support organizations like that because you see, it’s not enough to tell a woman not to have an abortion. We need to provide alternatives and we need to provide help. Should we adopt babies? The answer is yes. If you can and you are led, I trust and pray you’ll be willing to do that. Should we counsel our children and their generation to abstain from sex until marriage? Should we counsel our children and biblical moral and ethical values concerning sexuality? The answer is yes. We should live exemplary lives so they see in us what we’re instructing them to do. And most of all, we need to pray.
If you really have Jesus Christ as your High Priest and access to the throne of the Father in His name, then pray. Pray every single day concerning this great issue confronting our nation, our country, confronting our state, perhaps the hardest issue we’ve faced in many decades. Pray, asking God what He would have you to do. Pray for our governing authorities. Jesus Christ is the firstborn, preeminent over the church, the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. You only enter the family of God through faith in Him. He is preeminent over death, the firstborn from the dead. He is the resurrection and the life. If you want to have victory over death, He’s the only source. There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we may be saved. He is preeminent over the creation, firstborn of all creation. All things made through Him and for Him, and in Him all things hold together. If you believe that, you marvel at the work of His hands. If you love Him, you don’t simply marvel. You want to respect everything He has made. Let’s close with the word of prayer.