Jesus as the beginning of
God’s creation.
To understand Rev. 3:14 you have to understand the two creations. We have the Genesis creation and the new creation referring to Jesus and his establishment of the church and the age to come.
Isaiah 65:17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence.
This is not Genesis.
2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Jesus is the beginning of God’s new creation, not the Genesis creation.
Ephesians 2:15 having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.
Ephesians 4:24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him.
Jesus is the firstborn from the dead, which makes him the first or beginning of the new creation.
Listen to Colossians 1:16 and you will hear kingdom language regarding things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers IN heaven and ON earth, not THE heaven and THE earth. This is not Genesis language.
Colossians 1:16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
The flesh and blood Jesus had his beginning 2000 years ago. he had to grow in wisdom and stature and had to learn obedience …
Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us that God did not speak to us through His Son in the Old Testament. Jesus himself says it was God who created Adam and Eve, not himself.
Mark 10:5-6 Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’
…
Jesus is the firstborn from the dead, he is a new creation, which makes him the beginning or source of God’s new creation.
God plainly says that it was He alone who all by Himself stretched out the heavens and laid the foundation of the earth.
Isaiah 44:24 Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: “I am Yahweh, Who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself.”
How and when did Jesus become the Son of God? Was it before his birth or at his birth…listen
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore,
(or because of this)
that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Luke 1:35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy child developing inside you will be called the Son of God.”
Luke 1:35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God’s power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God.”
Luke 1:35 The angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the “holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”
All these translations indicate how the origin of the Son of God started at his birth and not before his birth. The goings forth of Jesus was from before the foundation of the world in the foreknowledge of God’s mind as part of His plan. This is indicated all throughout the Old Testament as Jesus being the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world and as the seed of the woman in Genesis and the seed of Abraham and the seed of King David but none of this refers to a literal Son existing in the Old Testament.
Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”
Many have used the above verse to teach a literal preexistence of Jesus but once again what we have is a misinterpretation of the plan and foreknowledge of God.
First, notice how Micah was only making known how the promised Messiah was to come out of Bethlehem and we know this happened at the birth of Jesus. Micah was not describing a literal reality at the time it was written, but rather, he was revealing a promise for the future.
Secondly, Micah is revealing how the coming Messiah was not a last minute idea of God, but rather, the promise of a Savior for man was in the plan and foreknowledge of God … The hope of a coming Messiah to save God’s people is what the people of God, in Jesus’ day, were waiting for.
Luke 2:25-32 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. he was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah [Yahweh’s Messiah]. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord [Yahweh] as the law required, Simeon was there. he took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. he is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
When you’re waiting for something it means it has not yet arrived.
A sister verse to Micah that people use to confirm Micah and teach a literal preexistence of Jesus is found in John 8:58.
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
People use this statement of Jesus to prove that he literally existed in the Old Testament. But just like how the people in Jesus’ day missed what he was saying, we have many people today doing the same thing. Let’s read it in context and listen carefully to what is being said. We must be careful not to bring our preconceived beliefs into the conversation.
John 8:54-58 Jesus answered, “If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them,
“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
We have been taught, through these verses, that Jesus was revealing his preexistence to the religious Jews. Those who teach this from these verses have come to the same wrong conclusion as the Jews did back then. The wrong conclusion is seen in how the Jews questioned the fact that Jesus said he saw Abraham. Jesus never said he saw Abraham. What he did say is that Abraham SAW HIS DAY and rejoiced. It was the Jews who misquoted Jesus, which has led to our confusion today.
What did Abraham see that caused him to be glad and how did he see it?
Abraham saw, by faith, Jesus’ DAY and rejoiced. This day is referring to the coming of the promised seed according to God’s plan. God told Abraham that he was (present tense) a father of many nations even before Abraham had any children and Abraham believed God.
James 2:23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
The promise of God was to be fulfilled in Jesus as being the promised seed of Abraham and Savior of God’s people. This is what the people of God in Jesus’ day were waiting for.
By faith Abraham saw Jesus’ day and believed and rejoiced because of it. We know this day was a future day that Abraham saw because Abraham died without receiving the promise.
In order for God to reveal his plan to Abraham, regarding the day of Jesus, the plan would have had to have been in existence before Abraham was even born. Jesus understood this because he knew his Father’s plan through reading the Old Testament Scriptures so he could say, “Before Abraham was, I am”, referring to the foreordained plan of God. In other words, before Abraham ever existed, the seed was already in route. Listen.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise his heel.
Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
PS Concerning similar verses in Colossians, please see also :-
Colossians 1.15-19 Revisited
Colossians 1.15-19 Revisited Part 2
Age To Come 