In the Reasoning book p.408 the Watch Tower ask: 'Does the Bible teach that all who are said to be part of the Trinity are eternal, none having a beginning?'
They point out Jesus, in Col. 1:15,16, is referred to as 'the first born of all creation,' making the point, 'if the Trinity doctrine is true, why are the Father and the holy spirit not also said to be the firstborn of all creation? But the Bible applies this expression only to the Son.' 'Firstborn' in Scripture always refers to a creature, each after its own kind.’
At the heart of this question is the Jehovah’s Witness’s consistent misunderstanding of the Trinity. You can only ask this question if you think the Trinity doctrine understands all three members of the Trinity are the same person. We looked at this last time. Let’s state again:
The doctrine of the Trinity may be summed like this:
(1) The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons
(2) each Person is fully God
(3) there is only one God.
Objections to the Trinity come from a place where the thinking is, ‘If I was going to invent a god it wouldn’t be this one, which doesn’t make sense to me.’ This is a very dangerous place to be, where you are the arbiter of what is true according to what makes sense to you. Surely, the truth is what the Bible says it is, not what appeals to my fallen sense of reason. Indeed, reason surely says that God is who he says he is, not what I decide he is?
Firstborn
Why isn’t the Father called ‘the firstborn of all creation?’ Because he isn’t! Jesus is. The members of the Godhead have different roles; the Father is the head of Deity; the Son is the one who reveals Deity; the Holy Spirit carries out the work of Deity. Look at the Bible text in view here:
‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.’ Colossians 2:15-20
Jehovah’s Witnesses insert ‘other’ into the text, giving us, ‘by him all [other] things were created.’ Their thinking simply goes:
1) The Father and the Son can’t both be God (the Arian position)
2) Jesus must then be a created being
3) Therefore, when the Bible says he created ‘all things’ it must mean ‘all [other] things.’
However, what does the text say? ‘by him all things were created.’ It then goes on to list the ‘all things,’ leaving nothing out.
‘...by him all things were created,
in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominion
or rulers or authorities,
all things were created through him and for him.’
Is anything missing from ‘all things’? No, the list is comprehensive.
So, when the text says, ‘he is before all things’ does it mean ‘all things’? Clearly, it does.
When it goes on to say, ‘in him all things hold together,’ how might we understand this? John makes this clear in his prologue, ‘All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life.’ John 1:2-4
‘...in him all things hold together,’ because, ‘in him was life.’ All of creation is contingent, but not Jesus because he has life in himself. Going back to Colossians we see how this can be, because, ‘...in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…’ As Doug Harris was correct in asking, ‘How full is full Mr Jehovah’s Witness?’ In other words, how much of God is in Jesus, and how much of Jesus is God?
Prototokos
The phrase prōtotokos pasēs ktiseōs translates ‘firstborn of all creation.’ The simplistic use of the English translation by Jehovah’s Witnesses is typical. To the untutored eye ‘firstborn’ conveys the idea of ‘first to be born.’ If we look closer at how this word is used in the Bible we can see other meanings. Psalm 89:27 states, “I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.”
This section of the psalm is about God’s covenant with David (v20):
‘He shall cry to me, ‘you are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation’
And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.’ vv 26-28
It is clear David was not the firstborn of his family, he was the youngest. ‘Firstborn’ is being used figuratively here, and it makes David ‘the highest of the kings of the earth,’ a place of exaltation.
To what place is Christ exalted? far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Eph.1:21
What name is Christ given? ‘Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name…’
At whose name will all creation finally submit?
‘...so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth (all of which he created) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ Philip.2:9-11
n what name are we saved? When Peter spoke boldly before the Council, he declared:
This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under the heaven among men by which we must be saved.’ Acts 4:11,12
‘...rejected by you, the builders…’ Did you catch that? If you claim to be the God’s builders you need to be sure you are not rejecting the God for whom you claim to be acting.
‘Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled, Blessed are all who take refuge in him.’ Ps.1:12
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