Many, All, World: What Does It Mean? - ADDENDUM
In this Addendum we’ll look at a few case studies, and you’ll see for yourself that Calvinists are not the ones redefining words. When Non-Reformed Christians accuse Calvinists of redefining words, they’re unknowingly condemn themselves.
Before we proceed, make sure to read the first post on this.
Firstborn / Begotten
If you look up this word in the dictionary, you’ll learn that it has to do with procreation and giving birth. This seems to be the natural reading and it’s how the Jehovah Witnesses and Non-Trinitarians understand it. Inevitably, this is how they come to interpret the Bible to their own destruction.
In one of my recent discussions, a Universalist insisted that I get my definition for the word ‘all’ from a dictionary. This would mean that I must ignore what the Bible teaches as a whole. Since he is a Trinitarian, I do wonder if he would allow the Jehovah Witnesses to use the dictionary to deny Christ’s Eternal Sonship! What inconsistency we’re dealing with here. Forcing a Calvinist to use a secular dictionary, but denying Jehovah Witnesses in doing so.
Those that deny the Eternal Sonship of Christ will most certainly cling to John 1:18 and make the same mistake the Jehovah Witnesses make with the word “Firstborn” by thinking in term of “conception.” Let’s shift our attention to Colossians 1:15-18 for a moment.
Colossians 1:15 states that the Son is the “firstborn of every creature.” As you can see, one can easily read into the text here:
First means coming before all others in time or order.
Born means existing as a result of birth or come into being.
Jesus is the firstborn over all creation.
Therefore, in all of God’s creation, the Son was the first to be created.
Sounds very reasonable at first, but this is not how we do theology. Non-Calvinists make the same mistake with words such as ‘many, all, world’ etc… The Scripture does not use “firstborn” in the way just described. We must do our best to submit our thinking to the Scripture and allow it to interpret itself. Once we do that, we will get a very different picture.
Verse 18 states, “the firstborn from the dead,” and we must ask: Was the Son, in time, the first person to be raised from the dead? The answer is ‘No.’ This gives us the key to understand how Paul uses the word “firstborn”! Christ was not the first in time from the dead. That helps us to understand Verse 15: Of all that there is in God’s creation, the primary being is Christ. He is Supreme. The Son is the head of God’s creation.
Why is He the firstborn of every creature? Verse 16 answers: FOR by him [Son] ALL THINGS were created (John 1:3). V.15 refers to Christ’s position of supremacy over all creation. V.17: “And he [Son] is BEFORE ALL THINGS.” Before all things were created the Son was there in the beginning with God (John 1:1). Likewise, Revelation 3:14 does not say that the Son was created, but that He is the Author of life (Acts 3:15). He is the beginning of God’s creation in the sense that He is the source. It was by and through Him that all things were created. That’s why Jesus Himself says at the end of Revelation (22:16) that He is the “Root” of David. Christ is the source of David’s being. With all that in mind, we can now look at the word “Begotten.”
The “begotten” that John is speaking of has nothing to do with conception or creation. Yes, “beget” does carry the idea of birth and conception, but it also carries the idea of nature, kind and uniqueness! We know that John isn’t saying that the Son was created, otherwise he would be contradicting himself. Adam and Angels are “sons of God” via creation. Christians are “sons of God” via adoption. But Jesus is the ONLY BEGOTTEN, not made, created, nor adopted. In God’s design, each creature begets offspring according to its kind, and this is the idea behind the word “beget” that John is trying to convey. Both the Son and the Father are of the same kind, and that's what makes Christ, the Son of God unique. He is God’s one and only Son. The NLT renders it this way: “the unique One” and some others have it as “the one and only Son.”
I have just demonstrated the proper way to handle the words firstborn and begotten, and that’s the same method Calvinists use in handling the words: many, all, world! When Non-Reformed Christians accusing Calvinists of reading into the text or redefining words, they’re no different than the Jehovah Witnesses.