Bassam Zawadi presents
a series of verses which he believes proves that Jesus Christ is a creature of God. He says:
We all know that one key attribute of God is that He is
eternal. If someone asks you, "Could God create another God?" the answer will be
a definite no. Because God is eternal and is not a creation. So how can an eternal person
be created? It does not make any sense. Now when we read the Bible we see that Jesus was
created. If Jesus was a creation then he cannot be the Creator and therefore cannot be
God.
We will see if the Holy Bible teaches that Jesus was created as Zawadi assumes. And
since Zawadi loves to quote Bible commentaries when it suits his purpose we will produce
some of the comments of these Bible expositors in our analysis of the texts set forth to
refute Christs eternal Personhood.
Romans 9:29
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Colossians 1:15
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every
creature:
RESPONSE:
Zawadi has erroneously assumed that the term firstborn always refers to the first
one created or born. Even though this word can have this meaning, it is also used in reference
to one who is supreme or preeminent over someone or something. Note, for instance, how the
following passage uses this word in relation to King David:
"Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: I have granted
help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found David,
my servant;with my holy oil I have anointed him, 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." Psalm 89:19-20, 26-27
David was neither the first Israelite king since Saul was ruler before him, nor the
firstborn of his family, but rather the youngest of eight sons (cf. 1 Samuel 16). As the
text itself shows, David was firstborn in terms of being supreme over all the other rulers
of the earth.
These next references assign to Joseph, Jacobs eleventh son, the rank and status
of firstborn:
"Then Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with
you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to
you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of
the Amorites with my sword and with my bow." Genesis 48:21-22
Joseph received a mountain slope as a result of being assigned the position of
firstborn in place of Reuben, Jacobs actual firstborn son:
"The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn,
but because he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given to the sons of
Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son;
though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the
birthright belonged to Joseph)," 1 Chronicles 5:1-2
With the example of Joseph we see that the firstborn is assigned something extra due to
his being the heir:
"If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved
and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,
then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not
treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who
is the firstborn, but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by
giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his
strength. The right of the firstborn is his." Deuteronomy 21:15-17
The foregoing shows that firstborn doesnt always refer to one who was born first,
but can be used to denote one who is both heir and supreme over the rest.
This is precisely how Paul used the word firstborn, that the Lord Jesus is Firstborn in
the sense of being Supreme over creation and its Heir by virtue of having created all
things for himself:
"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the
kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For IN 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 PREEMINENT." Colossians 1:13-18
Paul says that Christ existed before all created things, which means that he is
eternal, that all creation was made by and for him, and that he is actively holding
everything together. Paul even says that the reason for Christ being the One to make all
created things is so that he could hold the supremacy over all creation!
To reiterate, Jesus is Firstborn because he is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of
all creation, the very Heir and Ruler. This is also the reason why all true believers are
made to conform to Christs image so as to signify his supremacy over them in
Gods family.
And now the commentators:
The Adam Clarke Commentary
The first-born of every creature
I suppose this phrase to mean the same as that, Philippians 2:9: God hath given him a
name which is above every name; he is as man at the head of all the
creation of God; nor can he with any propriety be considered as a creature,
having himself created all things, and existed before any thing was made. If it be
said that God created him first, and that he, by a delegated power from God,
created all things, this is most flatly contradicted by the apostle's reasoning in the
16th and 17th verses. Colossians 1:16,17 As the Jews term Jehovah becoro shel olam,
the first-born of all the world, or of all the creation, to signify his
having created or produced all things; (see Wolfius in loc.) so Christ is here
termed, and the words which follow in the 16th and 17th Colossians 1:16,17
verses are the proof of this. The phraseology is Jewish; and as they apply it to the
supreme Being merely to denote his eternal pre-existence, and to point him out as
the cause of all things; it is most evident that St. Paul uses it in the same way,
and illustrates his meaning in the following words, which would be absolutely absurd
if we could suppose that by the former he intended to convey any idea of the inferiority
of Jesus Christ. (Source;
underline emphasis ours)
Albert Barnes Notes on the New Testament
The firstborn of every creature. Among all the creatures of God, or over all his
creation, occupying the rank and pre-eminence of the firstborn. The first-born, or the
eldest son, among the Hebrews as elsewhere, had peculiar privileges. He was entitled to a
double portion of the inheritance. It has been, also, and especially in Oriental
countries, a common thing for the eldest son to succeed to the estate and the title of his
father. In early times, the firstborn son was the officiating priest in the family, in the
absence or on the death of the father. There can be no doubt that the apostle here has
reference to the usual distinctions and honours conferred on the firstborn, and
means to say, that, among all the creatures of God, Christ occupied a pre-eminence similar
to that. He does not say, that in all respects, he resembled the firstborn in a
family; nor does he say that he himself was a creature, for the point of his
comparison does not turn on these things, and what he proceeds to affirm respecting him is
inconsistent with the idea of his being a created Being himself. He that
"created all things that are in heaven and that are in earth" was not himself
created. That the apostle did not mean to represent him as a creature is also
manifest from the reason which he assigns why he is called the firstborn. "He
is the image of God, and the firstborn of every creature, for \hoti\ by him were
all things created." That is, he sustains the elevated rank of the firstborn, or a
high eminence over the creation, because by him "all things were created in
heaven and in earth." The language here used, also, does not fairly
imply that he was a creature, or that he was, in nature and rank, one of those in relation
to whom it is said he was the firstborn. It is true that the word firstborn--
\~prwtotokov\~ --properly means the firstborn child of a father or mother, Matthew 1:25;
Luke 2:7; or the firstborn of animals. But two things are also to be remarked in regard to
the use of the word:
(1.) It does not necessarily imply that any one is born afterwards in the
family, for it would be used of the firstborn, though an only child; and
(2) it is used to denote one who is chief, or who is highly distinguished and
pre-eminent. Thus it is employed in Romans 8:29, "That he might be the
firstborn among many brethren." So, in Colossians 1:18, it is said that he was
"the firstborn from the dead;" not that he was literally the first that was
raised from the dead, which was not the fact, but that he might be pre-eminent among
those that are raised. Comp. Exodus 4:22. The meaning then is, that Christ
sustains the most exalted rank in the universe; he is pre-eminent above all others; he is
at the head of all things. The expression does not mean that he was "begotten before
all creatures," as it is often explained, but refers to the simple fact that he
sustains the highest rank over the creation. He is the Son of God. He is the heir of all
things. All other creatures are also the "offspring of God;" but he is exalted
as the Son of God above all.
(Source;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
John Gills Exposition of the Entire Bible
the firstborn of every creature; not the first of the creation, or the first creature God made; for all things in
(Colossians 1:16) are said to be created by him, and therefore he himself can never be a
creature; nor is he the first in the new creation, for the apostle in the context is
speaking of the old creation, and not the new: but the sense either is, that he was
begotten of the Father in a manner inconceivable and inexpressible by men, before any
creatures were in being; or that he is the "first Parent", or bringer forth of
every creature into being, as the word will bear to be rendered, if instead of (prot) (tokos), we read (protot) (kos); which is no more than changing the place of the accent, and may be very easily
ventured upon, as is done by an ancient writer, who observes, that the word is used in
this sense by Homer, and is the same as (protogonos), "first Parent", and (protoktistes), "first Creator"; and the rather this may be done,
seeing the accents were all added since the apostle's days, and especially seeing it makes
his reasoning, in the following verses, appear with much more beauty, strength, and force:
he is the first Parent of every creature, "for by him were all things created"
(Colossians 1:16), or it may be understood of Christ, as the King, Lord, and Governor of
all creatures; being God's firstborn, he is heir of all things, the right of government
belongs to him; he is higher than the kings of the earth, or the angels in heaven, the
highest rank of creatures, being the Creator and upholder of all, as the following words
show; so the Jews make the word "firstborn" to be synonymous with the word
"king", and explain it by (rvw lwdg), "a great one", and "a prince"; see (Psalm
89:27) (Hebrews 1:2,6).
(Source;
underline emphasis ours)
A.T. Robertsons Word Pictures of the New Testament
The first born (prototokos).
Predicate adjective again and anarthrous. This passage is parallel to the Logos passage
in John 1:1-18 and to Hebrews 1:1-4 as well as Philippians 2:5-11 in which these three
writers (John, author of Hebrews, Paul) give the high conception of the Person of Christ
(both Son of God and Son of Man) found also in the Synoptic Gospels and even in Q (the
Father, the Son). This word (LXX and N.T.) can no longer be considered purely
"Biblical" (Thayer), since it is found in inscriptions (Deissmann, Light,
etc., p. 91) and in the papyri (Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary, etc.). See it
already in Luke 2:7 and Aleph for Matthew 1:25; Romans 8:29. The use of this word does not
show what Arius argued that Paul regarded Christ as a creature like "all
creation" (pases ktiseos, by metonomy the act regarded as result). It
is rather the comparative (superlative) force of proton that is used (first-born of all
creation) as in Colossians 1:18; Romans 8:29; Hebrews 1:6; 12:23; Revelation 1:5. Paul is
here refuting the Gnostics who pictured Christ as one of the aeons by placing him before
"all creation" (angels and men). Like eikon we find prototokos in the
Alexandrian vocabulary of the Logos teaching (Philo) as well as in the LXX. Paul takes
both words to help express the deity of Jesus Christ in his relation to the Father as
eikon (Image) and to the universe as prototokos (First-born).
(Source)
Kenneth Wuest's The New Testament: An Expanded Version
who is a derived reproduction and manifestation of absolute deity, the
invisible deity, who [the Son] has priority to and sovereignty over
all creation, because in Him were created all things in the heavens
and upon the earth, the visible things and the invisible ones, whether they
are thrones or lordships or principalities or authorities. All things
through Him as intermediate agent and with a view to Him stand created.
And He himself antedates all things, and all things in Him
cohere. And He himself is the Head of His Body, the Church. He is
the originator [i.e., the creator], the firstborn out from among the
dead, in order that He might become in all things himself the One who
is pre-eminent, because in Him [God] was well pleased that all the
fullness be permanently at home. Colossians 1:15-19
Zawadi continues:
Revelation 3:14
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen,
the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
How can Jesus be the first born and the beginning of creation
if he was the Creator?
Also the New Testament, Acts 13:33 to be precise quotes a verse from the Old
Testament...
RESPONSE:
Again, Zawadi has assumed that beginning here means that God created Christ first and
than created everything else afterwards. Yet the Greek word for beginning, arche,
can easily mean that Christ is the One who began creation, that he is the Originator of
creation, that God used him to bring all created things into existence. In fact, John uses
arche in this very sense:
"And he said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
beginningand the end (he arche kai ho telos). To the thirsty I will give
from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this
heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. Revelation 21:6-7
No one would erroneously assume that God is the Beginning in the sense of being the
first One brought into existence, but that he is the originating Cause of all creation.
What makes this interesting is that John applies these very same Divine titles to Christ:
"Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to
repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and
the last, the beginning and the end (he arche kai ho telos). He
who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming soon.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" Revelation 22:12-13, 20
The One who identifies himself as the Beginning and the End is he who is coming soon,
the Lord Jesus. Thus, if Jesus is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega in the
same way that God is then he is no more a creature than God is since both are said to be
the Beginning or arche. This should explain what arche means in reference to
Christ, that he is the originating Cause, along with the Father, who brought all creation
into being, which is exactly what John wrote elsewhere:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him
was not any thing made that was made He was in the world, and the
world was made through him, yet the world did not know him And the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of
the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:1-3, 10, 14
As if this werent enough to refute the assertion that John in Revelation 3:14
was insinuating that Jesus is a created being, notice the vision John saw of heaven:
"And I heard EVERY CREATURE in heaven and on earth and under the
earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, To him who sits on the throne
and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and
ever! And the four living creatures said, Amen! and the elders fell down
and worshiped." Revelation 5:13-14
Both God and Christ the Lamb are seen being worshiped by every creature, which clearly
distinguishes the two of them from all creation. To put it another way, Christ cannot be
a creature if every created thing is worshiping him as they worship God!
Moreover, Jesus is also called arche in regards to his ruling creation as King
of kings and Lord of lords:
"They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord
of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."
Revelation 17:14, cf. 19:16
The NT often uses arche in this sense, to refer to a ruler or authority:
"So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might
catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority (te arche)
and jurisdiction of the governor." Luke 20:20
John even uses a similar word in reference to Christs rulership over all
authorities and kingdoms:
"and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead,
and the Ruler (ho archon) of kings on earth. To him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by his blood" Revelation 1:5
From the foregoing we can conclude that Johns meaning in Revelation 3:14 is that
Christ is the Cause and Ruler of all creation, which is precisely the same exact truths
that Paul presented by inspiration in Colossians 1:15-18.
Here, again, are the commentators:
Adam Clarke
The beginning of the creation of God
That is, the head and governor of all creatures: the king of the creation. See on
Colossians 1:15. By his titles, here, he prepares them for the humiliating and
awful truths which he was about to declare, and the authority on which the
declaration was founded.
(Source)
Albert Barnes
Even though he rejected the view that arche in this context means Christ
originated creation, Barnes did believe that the word didnt imply that Jesus was
created. He believed that the word referred to Christ ruling over creation:
The beginning of the creation of God. This expression is a very important one in
regard to the rank and dignity of the Saviour, and, like all similar expressions
respecting him, its meaning has been much controverted. See Barnes "Colossians
1:15". The phrase here used is susceptible, properly, of only one of the following
significations, viz.: either
(a) that he was the beginning of the creation in the sense that he caused the universe
to begin to exist--that is, that he was the author of all things; or
(b) that he was the first created being; or
(c) that he holds the primacy over all, and is at the head of the universe. It is not
necessary to examine any other proposed interpretations, for the only other senses
supposed to be conveyed by the words, that he is the beginning of the creation in the
sense that he rose from the dead as the first-fruits of them that sleep, or that he is the
head of the spiritual creation of God, are so foreign to the natural meaning of the
words as to need no special refutation. As to the three significations suggested above, it
may be observed, that the first one--that he is the author of the creation,
and in that sense the beginning, though expressing a scriptural doctrine,
(John 1:3; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16)--is not in accordance with the proper
meaning of the word here used--\~arch\~. The word properly refers to the commencement
of a thing, not its authorship, and denotes properly primacy in time, and
primacy in rank, but not primacy in the sense of causing anything to exist. The
two ideas which run through the word as it is used in the New Testament are those just
suggested. For the former--primacy in regard to time--that is properly the commencement of
a thing, see the following passages where the word occurs: Matthew 19:4,8; 24:8,21; Mark
1:1; 10:6; 13:8,19; Luke 1:2; John 1:1-2 John 2:11; 6:64; 8:25,44; 15:27; 16:4; Acts
11:15; 1 John 1:1; 2:7,13-14,24 1 John 3:8,11; 2 John 5-6. For the latter signification,
primacy of rank, or authority, see the following places: Luke 12:11; 20:20; Romans 8:38; 1
Corinthians 15:24; Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 1:16,18; 2:10,15;
Titus 3:1. The word is not, therefore, found in the sense of authorship, as
denoting that one is the beginning of anything in the sense that he caused it to
have an existence. As to the second of the significations suggested, that it means
that he was the first created being, it may be observed
(a) that this is not a necessary signification of the phrase, since no one
can show that this is the only proper meaning which could be given to the words,
and therefore the phrase cannot be adduced to prove that he is himself a created being.
If it were demonstrated from other sources that Christ was, in fact, a created
being, and the first that God had made, it cannot be denied that this language would
appropriately express that fact. But it cannot be made out from the mere use
of the language here; and as the language is susceptible of other interpretations,
it cannot be employed to prove that Christ is a created being.
(b) Such an interpretation would be at variance with all those passages which
speak of him as uncreated and eternal; which ascribe Divine attributes to him; which speak
of him as himself the Creator of all things. Compare John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews
1:2,6,8,10-12. The third signification, therefore, remains, that he is
"the beginning of the creation of God," in the sense that he is the head
or prince of the creation; that is, that he presides over it so far as the
purposes of redemption are to be accomplished, and so far as is necessary for those
purposes. This is
(1) in accordance with the meaning of the word, Luke 12:11; 20:20, et al, ut supra;
and
(2) in accordance with the uniform statements respecting the Redeemer, that "all
power is given unto him in heaven and in earth," (Matthew 28:18) that God has
"given him power over all flesh," (John 17:2) that all things are "put
under his feet," (Hebrews 2:8; 1 Corinthians 15:27) that he is exalted over all
things, Ephesians 1:20-22. Having this rank, it was proper that he should speak with
authority to the church at Laodicea.
(Source;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
John Gill
The beginning of the creation of God;
not the first creature that God made, but the first cause of the creation; the first
Parent, producer, and efficient cause of every creature; the author of the old creation,
who made all things out of nothing in the beginning of time; and of the new creation, the
everlasting Father of, everyone that is made a new creature; the Father of the world to
come, or of the new age and Gospel dispensation; the Maker of the new heaven and new earth;
and so a very fit person to be the Judge of the whole world, to summon all nations before
him, and pass the final sentence on them. The phrase is Jewish, and it is a title the Jews
give to Metatron, by whom they sometimes mean the Messiah; so those words in (Genesis
24:2), and Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, they paraphrase thus;
``"and Abraham said unto his servant", this is Metatron, (or the Mediator,)
the servant of God, "the eldest of his house"; for he is (Mwqm lv wytwyrb tlxt) , "the beginning of the creation of God",
who rules over all that he has; for to him the holy blessed God has given the government
of all his hosts.''
Christ is the (arch),
"the Prince", or Governor of all creatures.
F2 Zohar in Gen. fol. 77. 1.
(Source;
underline emphasis ours)
A.T. Robertson
The beginning of the creation of God (he
arche tes ktiseos tou theou).
Not the first of creatures as the Arians held and Unitarians do now, but the
originating source of creation through whom God works (Colossians 1:15,18, a passage
probably known to the Laodiceans, John 1:3; Hebrews 1:2, as is made clear by 1:18; 2:8; 3:21; 5:13).
(Source;
underline emphasis ours)
Kenneth Wuest's The New Testament: An Expanded Version
And to the messenger of the assembly in Laodicea write at once: These things
says the Amen, the witness who is trustworthy and dependable, the
originating source of the creation of God.
We now turn to Zawadis final example:
Psalms 2:7
I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son;
this day have I begotten thee. (See also Acts 13:33)
The New Testament author says that this verse is referring to
Jesus. But look at the verse. The Lord said, "THIS DAY, have I begotten thee"
So Jesus became the begotten Son of God on a certain day. Therefore, he is not the eternal
Son of God, which then leaves us to the undeniable conclusion that Jesus is not God.
RESPONSE:
Let us read the immediate context to see what day Paul had in mind:
"And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has
fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second
Psalm, You are my Son, today I have begotten you. And as for the fact
that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this
way, I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David. Therefore he says
also in another psalm, You will not let your Holy One see corruption. For
David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was
laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see
corruption." Acts 13:32-37
The day Paul had in view was the day in which Christ was raised from the dead. When we
examine the context of the Psalm we will see why Paul applied this text to Jesus
resurrection:
"As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill. I will
tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, You are my Son; today I have begotten
you." Psalm 2:6-7
According to the Psalm, the day that the king took the throne is the moment in which he
became Gods son, that it was at this point that God adopted him into his family
thereby making him a royal child so to speak.
The foregoing helps us understand the point Paul was making, namely that after Christ
was resurrected he ascended into heaven to sit on Gods throne in order to begin
actively ruling as Davids representative. It was at that moment that Christ became
Gods Son in a royal sense, in the same way that David and Israels kings
became Gods children. Yet this must not be confused with Christs unique
Divine Sonship, his eternal relationship with the Father. For more on these points
we recommend the following article:
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/sonship.htm
Here we will post Barnes notes since they best capture the intended meaning
of the text and explain why the other interpretations fail to grapple with Pauls
application of the Psalm:
This day have I begotten thee. It is evident that Paul uses the expression here
as implying that the Lord Jesus is called the Son of God because he raised him up from the
dead; and that he means to imply that it was for this reason that he is so called
in the psalm. This interpretation of an inspired apostle fixes the meaning of this passage
in the psalm; and proves that it is not there used with reference to the doctrine of
eternal generation, or to his incarnation, but that he is here called his Son because he
was raised from the dead. And this interpretation accords with the scope of the psalm.
In Psalms 2:1-3, the psalmist records the combination of the rulers of the earth against
the Messiah, and their efforts to cast off his reign. This was done, and the Messiah was
rejected. All this pertains, not to his previous existence, but to the Messiah on the
earth. In Psalms 2:4,5, the psalmist shows that their efforts should not be successful;
that God would laugh at their designs; that is, that their plans should not succeed. In
Psalms 2:6,7, he knows that the Messiah would be established as a King; that this was the
fixed decree, that he had begotten him for this. All this is represented as subsequent
to the raging of the heathen, and to the counsel of the kings against him, and must,
therefore, refer not to his eternal generation, or his incarnation, but to something
succeeding his death; that is, to his resurrection, and establishment as King at the right
hand of God. This interpretation by the apostle Paul proves, therefore, that this passage
is not to be used to establish the doctrine of the eternal generation of Christ. Christ is
called the Son of God from various reasons. In Luke 1:35, because he was begotten by the
Holy Ghost. In this place, on account of his resurrection. In Romans 1:4, it is also said,
that he was declared to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead. See Barnes
"Romans 1:4". The resurrection from the dead is represented as in some sense
the beginning of life, and it is with reference to this that the terms Son,
and begotten from the dead, are used, as the birth of a child is the beginning of life.
Thus Christ is said, Colossians 1:18, to be "the first, born from the dead" and
thus in Revelation 1:5, he is called "the first-begotten of the dead,"
and with reference to this renewal or beginning of life he is called a Son. In
whatever other senses he is caned a Son in the New Testament, yet it is here proved,
(1.) that he is called a Son from his resurrection; and,
(2.) that this is the sense in which the expression in the psalm is to be used.
This day. The day, in the mind of the psalmist and of Paul, of his resurrection.
Many efforts have been made, and much learned criticism has been expended, to prove that
this refers to eternity, or to his pre-existence. But the signification of the word, which
never refers to eternity, and the connexion, and the obvious intention of the speaker,
is against this. Paul understood this manifestly of the resurrection, This settles the
inquiry, and this is the indispensable interpretation in the psalm itself.
Have I begotten thee. This evidently cannot be understood in a literal sense. It
literally refers to the relation of an earthly father to his children; but in no
such sense can it be applied to the relation of God the Father to the Son. It must
therefore be figurative. The word sometimes figuratively means to produce, to cause to
exist in any way. 2 Timothy 2:23: "Unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do
gender [beget] strifes." It refers also to the labours of the apostles in securing
the conversion of stoners to the gospel. 1 Corinthians 4:15: "In Christ Jesus I have
begotten you through the gospel." Philemon 1:10: "Whom [Onesimus] I have
begotten in my bonds." It is applied to Christians, John 1:13, "Which were
born [begotten] not of blood, etc., but of God." John 3:3: "Except a man be born
[begotten] again," etc. In all these places it is used in a figurative sense to
denote the commencement of spiritual life by the power of God attending the truth; raising
up sinners from the death of sin; or so producing spiritual life as that they should
sustain to God the relation of sons. Thus he raised up Christ from the dead; imparted
life to his body; by his own power restored him; and hence is said figuratively to have
begotten him from the dead, and hence sustains towards the risen Saviour
the relation of Father. Comp. Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5; Hebrews 1:5.
(Source)
To conclude, there is not a single text of Holy Scripture which teaches that Christ
is a creature of God. Rather, the consistent testimony of the inspired Scriptures is
that Christ is the eternal Son of God whom the Father used to bring all creation into
existence. Zawadi has failed to refute this plain teaching of Gods true Word,
the Holy Bible.
We confess and testify that Jesus Christ is Gods eternal Son whom he loves,
the Maker, Sustainer and Savior of all creation. Christ is the eternal Creator, not
a creature, who will come again visibly, physically to be seen and worshiped by all
true believers. Amen. Come Lord Jesus, come!
The following excerpt is from John Haydock’s Catholic Commentary on the Holy Bible on 1 John 5 5:7. It was compiled by the late Rev. Fr. George Leo Haydock. The commentary can be accessed online: Haydock Commentary Online. All emphasis will be mine.
Ver. 7. There are three
I will be examining particular texts that seem to point to the punishment of unbelievers being an ongoing, never-ending experience of torment. This is known as the doctrine of eternal/everlasting conscious torment (ECT).
Synoptic Gospels
The Lord Jesus often described the punishment of the wicked as a “place” of
