Begotten and Firstborn

In Ps. 2.7 we read that God said to the Lord Jesus, “You are my Son. Today I have begotten you.” [NASB] This verse is quoted in Acts 13.33 and Heb. 1.5 and 5.5. In Jn. 1.14 and 18 and 3.16, and 18 Jesus is called God’s only begotten. Begetting refers to the conception of a child. Some have thus taken these verses to indicate that Jesus is not eternal, but was at some point begotten, began to exist. How are we who believe that the Lord Jesus is eternal to answer this question?

First of all, the begetting of Jesus was as a human when he took on flesh. He was never begotten as God’s eternal Son. He was begotten as Mary’s baby when she conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Let’s dig a little deeper by looking at the entirety of Ps. 2. The psalm is made up of twelve verses in four groups of three. The first three verses convey the thoughts of the world in its rebellion against God and his Anointed, the Messiah. There has always been rebellion against God by man since the fall into sin by Adam and Eve, but these three verses were especially fulfilled as described by Luke in Acts 4.25-28 where he quotes from Ps. 2.1-2:

“Why did the Gentiles rage and peoples devise vain things? The kings of the earth took a stand and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.” For there were gathered together in truth in this city against your holy Servant Jesus whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with Gentiles and peoples of Israel to do whatever your hand and purpose determined beforehand to take place. {Note: The words Messiah and Christ both mean Anointed One. Messiah is Hebrew and Christ is Greek.]

At the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus this prophecy was fulfilled at the decisive moment of world history. But there is more. The rebellion against God continues to this day. The world will never be reconciled to God. At the end of this age it will be judged by him, as we will see.

In the next three verses we have God’s thoughts. First he laughs at these puny humans who think to overthrow him and his Chosen One. Then he speaks in anger: “And I have set my King on Zion, my holy mountain.” God had not yet set his King on Zion historically at that point, but he had determined to do so, so it was as good as done. The Lord Jesus, not the kings of the earth, will rule.

Then we come to v. 7, the verse we are most interested in in this article. The Lord Jesus himself speaks and says, “I AM said to me, ‘You are my Son. Today I have begotten you.’” Then in v. 8 he adds that God said, “Ask of me and I will give you the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your possession.” Far from the kings of the nations ruling, their nations will be given to Jesus as an inheritance and possession.

Acts 13.32-33 quotes Ps. 2.7: “And we preach to you the good news, the promise having been made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this to our children having raised up Jesus, as it has indeed been written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son. Today I have begotten you.’” Heb. 1.5 and 5.5 also quote Ps. 2, but without the reference to the resurrection. The point I want to make here is that Luke tells us that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus was his begetting. We saw that Mary’s conception was his begetting as a human being. Here we see that his resurrection was also a begetting, a begetting into a new realm, the realm of resurrection life as a man. Phil. 3.21 tells us that Jesus has a body of glory.

Firstborn: Now allow me to add a few more verses with their thoughts. Rom 8.29 reads, “For whom he foreknew he predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be firstborn among many brothers.” Just as Jesus was transformed into resurrection life when he was raised from the dead with a body of glory, not subject to death, so will we first go through the process of being conformed to him spiritually during this life, and then experience the redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8.23) at his coming. Phil. 3.21 also says that we will be conformed to the body of his glory.

Col. 1.15 says that Jesus “is the firstborn of all creation.” One who is born is one who was begotten. All of us were begotten, then about nine months later normally we were born. Obviously Jesus was not the firstborn person. That was Cain. Besides, Jesus is eternal and was not born until he took on flesh. So what does Paul mean by “firstborn of all creation”?

In the Old Testament it was the law that the firstborn son of a family would have both the birthright and the blessing. The birthright was the right to inherit a double portion from the father and the headship of the family. That is, if there were two sons, the older would get 2/3 and the younger 1/3. If there were four, the older would get 2/5 and the others would get 1/5 each. If you will look up the phrase “double portion” in your Bible, you will find that this double portion applies spiritually as well. The blessing was also the right of the firstborn. The father would bless each son, but the oldest would get the best blessing. The best example of all of this is Jacob and Esau.

In Josh. 17.14-18 we learn that Joseph inherited a double portion of the land when the Israelites crossed the Jordan and began to possess the land of promise. But Joseph was not the firstborn son of Jacob. That was Reuben. So why did Joseph get the double portion? Two reasons. First, in Gen. 35.22 and 1 Chron. 5.1 we learn that Reuben defiled his father’s bed by having sexual relations with his father’s concubine, and 1 Chron. 5.1 says that because of this his birthright was taken away and given to Joseph. The reason that Joseph was chosen was that he was the one of the sons of Jacob who was most faithful to the Lord. His brothers, out of hatred for him, sold him into slavery in Egypt, but if you read the story of Joseph in the Bible you will see that he remained true to God through all his troubles, interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and became the second ruler in Egypt to put away food for the famine, and blessed his brothers when they showed up for food. That, by the way, is a picture of the Lord Jesus overcoming all his sufferings and coming to the throne.

So we see that the idea of the firstborn is not just physical, but also spiritual. The Lord Jesus was eternal God, but he became a human and was born. His body was a created body. His place as the firstborn of all creation came about because, like Joseph, he was faithful to God in everything. He was sinless. He is the only one who is righteous. Thus he is entitled to a double portion of the inheritance from the Father, and the best blessing. In fact, he is greater than that. He is Heir of all things (Heb. 1.2), but he is not selfish. He shares his inheritance with us, his joint heirs. (Rom. 8.17). In Mt. 21.9, paralleled by Mk. 11.9, we read, “’Hosanna’ to the Son of David. ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ‘Hosanna’ in the highest.” “Hosanna” and “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” are quotations of Ps. 118.25-26, a prophecy of the coming of the Lord Jesus to take the throne as Son of David. Mark adds in v. 19, “’Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David. Hosanna’ in the highest.” This is the blessing of the firstborn of all creation, the Lord Jesus, who will take the throne of his father David and reign forever and ever.

In Col. 1.18 we read that Jesus is “firstborn from the dead.” This statement confirms what we have said about the resurrection being Jesus’ begetting. Rev. 1.5 says the same thing.

Finally there is Heb. 1.6: “But when he will have again brought the firstborn into the inhabited earth he says, ‘Let all the angels of God worship him.’” The firstborn here is the Lord Jesus. Here the writer of Hebrews does not deal with these matters of begetting and being created. He is referring to the second coming of Christ. It does not say that he has brought the firstborn into the world again, but “when he will have.” It is future. The firstborn will again be brought into the world.

Let us close with “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!”

Copyright © 2021 by Tom Adcox. All rights reserved. You may share this work with others, provided you do not alter it and do not sell it or use it for any commercial purpose. “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10.8). Also you must include this notice if you share it or any part of it.

Scripture quotations from the Old Testament are from the NASB. Quotations from the New Testament are the author’s translations.