Revelation 3:14-15 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot."
Review
Jesus promises in Matthew 16:18 "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it." That "rock" of which Christ speaks is not Peter (whose name in the Greek refers to a detached stone) nor is the "rock" referring to Peter's faith or saving faith. Rather the "rock" upon which the church is to be built is Jesus Himself. The word for "rock" speaks of a living stone or self-sufficient stone or uncut stone. Other passages clearly portray Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone and living stone upon which the church is built. (Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:7) The church at Laodicea was a church that was anything but solid. As we began considering yesterday this seventh letter of Jesus to the churches, the aim was to see how Jesus desires a rock solid church before His return. We utilized the acronym r.o.c.k to represent the characteristics necessary to be Jesus' r.o.c.k solid Christian people. So what does it take to be a r.o.c.k solid church that Jesus wants? We considered two traits in yesterday's post:
1. Recognition of Jesus' ownership. 3:14,18
2. Occupy in good deeds. 3:15-16
In today's post we will finish out this short blog series and consider two more traits necessary in order to be the rock solid church that Jesus wants, namely...
3. Check your heart. 3:17-20
4. Keep on until Jesus comes. 3:21-22
Check your heart. Revelation 3:17-20
Laodicea's chief problem was that "self" was on the throne of many people's hearts. "Self" is that principle that operates in the left over remnants of sin in the Christian that cries out what it wants, when it wants and how it wants. The heart is like a chariot that will be driven by one of two things in the Christian, either self or the Spirit. (compare Romans 8:1-5; Galatians 5:16). We need to check our hearts, which are the wellspring of life and from whence issue forth all the priorities for life. (compare Mark 7:21-23). In these three verses we find three phrases worthy of note from Jesus: "I advise you to buy from me..."(vs 18); "those whom I love I reprove and discipline..." (vs. 19) and "behold I stand at the door and knock..." (vs. 20).
The first phrase is meant for the vast majority of people in the Laodicean church who were professors of Christ but were not possessors of faith in Christ. The language of "buying from Jesus" is a remedy for their sin-sick condition. It is similar in wording to other evangelistic passages such as Isaiah 55:1,6 and Revelation 22:17. This language is another way of saying to sinners: receive by faith alone all that Jesus is and has done by giving over to him who you are are and what you have done. The vast majority of people at Laodicea felt they were fine and in need of nothing. (3:17).
The second phrase in 3:19 of Jesus "reproving and correcting those whom He loves" is addressing what was likely a minority of true believers at Laodicea who were tempted to go along with the crowd. The Lord's discipline in the life of a Christian is sometimes the only evidence that person has that they are truly converted and born again. (compare 2 Corinthians 13:4 and Hebrews 12:6)
The third phrase in 3:20 of Jesus "standing at the door and knocking" is addressed to those believers in the church who have been holding Jesus at arms length. Though some have made this verse out to be an evangelistic statement, the context suggests that Jesus is speaking to the truly saved members who have been interested more in other things than Jesus. Truly this imagery of Jesus wanting into the midst of His people is striking, being that it is a position that is by right His. (compare Hebrews 2:11-18)
So in order to be r.o.c.k solid for Jesus in these last days, we need to be recognizing His authority, occupying in good deeds and checking our hearts. However there last necessary trait, namely...
Keeping on until Jesus comes. Revelation 3:21-22
The overall tone of Jesus' warnings and rebukes to a church that had all but given up and given in was to "keep on" until He comes. Revelation 3:21 states - "He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." The Christian by position is seated already with Christ in the heavenly realms and in His Kingdom spiritually, even though in experience the Christian is still here on earth fighting the good fight of faith. (compare Ephesians 2:6-10) The Kingdom of Heaven describes the realm of those saints who have went on before us in death and are with Christ now, awaiting His return.
As Jesus is preparing and putting the finishing touches on His Kingdom in Heaven, the point will come when what we believe by faith will be made sight. Christ will return and we who are the church militant, fighting the good fight of faith in this present age, will be joined with the saints in the rapture and resurrection that will occur at Jesus' return, transforming every child of God into the church triumphant. The church triumphant, which is composed of those already with the Lord, will be completed when at the rapture and resurrection every Christian will be in a resurrection body likened unto Jesus'. (compare 1 John 3:1-3) This is profound to think about, in that we will then be ruling and reigning with Christ for 1,000 years over a restored Israel and exercising judgment in some capacity over the angelic realm in the glorious Millennial kingdom. (compare 1 Corinthians 6:3; Revelation 20:1-6)
Conclusion:
I mention all of this to say this in closing out today's post: that our energy to serve Jesus should be as if he could return in the next minute, and our willingness to serve Jesus should be as if he may not return for many years.
Revelation 3:14-15 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot."
Introduction: Built on a rock-solid, God-ordained foundation
I will never forget as a boy traveling to see the wonder called "The Natural Bridge" in Virginia. An entire park is built around it and a two lane highway passes overhead. When you first approach the Natural Bridge, it looks like an enormous archway. When you walk underneath it you are swallowed up by the 200 feet of sheer walls that arch up on either side and gracefully curve to make a perfect "bridge" of a 100 feet in length. As you walk underneath the archway, a small creek runs nearby and you and hear cars and truck passing up above you on the highway. Amazingly the ground underneath you does not shake because of the rock-solid base upon which the little highway sits. That imagery is how I picture the churches and the highway of history that runs through Revelation 2-3. The road at times has been windy. Nevertheless Jesus promises in Matthew 16:18 "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it." That "rock" of which Christ speaks is not Peter (whose name in the Greek refers to a detached stone) nor is the "rock" referring to Peter's faith or saving faith. Rather the "rock" upon which the church is to be built is Jesus Himself. The word for "rock" speaks of a living stone or self-sufficient stone or uncut stone. Other passages clearly portray Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone and living stone upon which the church is built. (Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:7)
The church at Laodicea was a church that was anything but solid. Of all the seven churches, Laodicea is perhaps in the worse of shape and receives the sharpest rebuke. Laodicea shows us what not to do and what not to be in these last days leading up to Christ's coming. As we consider this seventh letter of Jesus to the churches, the aim will be to see how it is that Jesus desires a rock solid church before His return. In order to find our way through Revelation 3:14-22, we will utilize the acronym r.o.c.k to represent the characteristics necessary to be Jesus' r.o.c.k solid church of rock solid Christian people. So what does it take to be a r.o.c.k solid church that Jesus wants?
1. Recognition of Jesus' ownership. 3:14,18
2. Occupy in good deeds. 3:15-16
3. Check your heart. 3:17-20
4. Keep on until Jesus comes. 3:21-22
In today's post we will consider the first two characteristics...
Recognition of Jesus' ownership. Rev 3:14,18
In Revelation 3:14 we see Jesus begin this letter by identifying Himself with various titles. In all the seven letters of Revelation we find at least 15 titles that Jesus uses to describe His Divine authority and love for His church. Of all the titles that Jesus mentions, the one title used in the letter to Laodicea, "The Beginning of God's creation", is perhaps the most explicit one in terms of declaring His Deity and Divine authority. Another way we could render that title "The Beginning" could be "The Beginner", being that the same Greek word is found in Colossians 1:16-20, wherein Christ is described as being the One "through whom all things are made". Later on in the same passage where He is described as head over His church. By virtue of He being Divine, Jesus Christ has complete authority over the lives of Christians, the church and this world. In terms of the rights of authority, Jesus Christ in His humanity purchased the salvation of every believer in His church with His blood. (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 1:7)
As we mentioned at the beginning, Jesus Christ is that "rock" upon which the church is built. It is He to whom we must continually recognize if we are going to finish the race of faith well as a church and as individual Christians. So to be r.o.c.k solid in these last days, we must recognize Jesus' ownership of the church, but notice also...
Occupy in good deeds. Revelation 3:14-16
What was Laodicea's problem? Jesus states in Revelation 3:15-16 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot;I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth." Ladoicea was known throughout the Roman world as a banking center. In fact she had experienced a similar earthquake like we saw in out study of the church of Philadelphia. However unlike Philadelphia, Laodicea rebuilt herself with her own money. Furthermore, the city was less than ten miles away from two other cities that supplied her with hot and cold water. Heiropolis was North of Laodicea and was known for its hot springs and healing baths. Laodicea in time came to use the crushed stone from the white cliffs of heropolis to make medicines. The hot waters of Heiropolis were piped in to Laodicea by way of an underground stone pipe that caused the water to arrive "lukewarm" and undrinkable. The other city that was of equal distance from Laodicea was Colosse, the famed city to which the Apotle Paul wrote his Epistle to the Colossians some 30 years prior. Colosse was known for its cold mineral springs and those chilly waters were piped in through a similar aqueduct to Colosse and arrived in a lukewarm condition as well.
Undoubtedly Jesus is using this background to critique Laodicea on account of her ineffective works.
Hot water is good for cleaning clothes, dishes and taking bathes and was used in those day to provide reviving of health. Cold water is good for a tall refreshing drink on a hot day. Jesus wants his church to occupy in good deeds that refresh and revive those whom she impacts and influences. Truly our quality of faith is measured by not only the quantity but quality of good deeds. To not have any good deeds is a sign of counterfeit, non-saving faith. James reminds us in James 2:17 "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead,
being by itself." The church at Laodicea had deeds, however the deeds were neither refreshing nor reviving. According to Revelation 3:16, they were like lukewarm water, unpalatable and causing Jesus Himself to literally want to "spit" or "vomit".
John Walvoord in his commentary characterizes the situation at Laodicea where the church had turned into an organization of "churchianity" rather than "Christianity". Walvoord writes: If those who are shepherds of the flock never make clear the necessity of the New Birth and the need for a dramatic change in life...and do not proclaim accurately the depravity and sin of the human heart and the divine remedy provided alone in the salvation offered by the crucified Christ...the result is churchianity."1
What kind of quality of deeds ought Christians be occupying? Like the cold refreshing waters of Colosse, deeds of refreshing are like what Jesus describes in Matthew 10:42 "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." Cold water deeds refresh and relieve the downtrodden and depressed. James again states in James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." Likewise we as believers must occupy in the reviving hot water deeds. Should not being in contact with God's people lead you to have zest to live more for Jesus? Too often our churches seem to suck the spiritual life out of people. Jesus is calling His church to occupy in good deeds. As we read in the opening part of Hebrews 10:24 "and let us consider how to stimulate one another onto love and good
deeds...".
More tomorrow...
Endnotes:
1. John Walvoord. A Commentary on the Book of Revelation. Moody. 1966. Page 93
Psalm 33:6 "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host."
Review
Yesterday we began considering how the Biblical record of origins of the universe contrasts with other ancient records of origins from other religions and cultures of antiquity. The universe is not just a random collection of objects that arose out of non-being into being, but is in actuality a creation. We offered a definition of creation from our study of scripture and the Baptist faith & Message 2000: God brought into existence by the word of His mouth the universe, life and humanity. Anytime we speak on the subject of the origin of universe, we call such an area "cosmogeny" (beginning or genus of the universe, which is also called cosmos).
With that review of yesterday, we now can turn to today's post and offer some more reflections on this important area of the origin of the universe or "cosmogeny".
The Book of Genesis was uniquely inspired and accurate among other records of antiquity
We contended that the Biblical record is unique and Divinely inspired, whereas the other accounts of origins had their starting point at the false religious system promoted at the tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9. Such a scenario in which all of humanity was centrally located and speaking the same language after the flood best explains why different religions and languages tell the same lie of primordial conflict to bring about the universe.
Whenever you read Genesis 1 and the nearly 60 other Bible passages that speak on creation, you discover major contrasts to the above would-be contenders:
A. There is no big battle or primordial conflict between multiple deities nor is there any episode where God has to consult with lesser deities. God alone had control and created "in the beginning". The first three days of Genesis 1:1-13 would had been used by Moses to refute belief systems like the Babylonian version.
B. In the Bible God creates the sun on the fourth day along with the moon and stars in Genesis 1:14-19. God's revelation of this truth to Moses would had been necessary to refute the Egyptian cosmogeny or theory of origins that claimed the sun to be a creator.
C. Only the Bible mentions definitive days in the creative episode "first day", "second day" etc. No other religious nor secular account of origins mentions any definitive record of time frames. Genesis and the Bible alone shows that God is supreme over time and history itself, and that time and history is dependent upon Him for its existence.
With the Genesis account being unique among the other mistaken records of antiquity on the origin of the universe (cosmogeny), what about the versions we hear circulated today?
The Genesis creation account of the universe is completely different, unique and true from other would be contenders today
Theories such as the Big Bang and other secular models of origins employ the tools of science and complex mathematical equations to communicate their accounts of origins. With that said, the worldview driving the Big Bang model is one that believes all existence arose out of material processes (a worldview called materialism). Whenever you consider their most fundamental foundations, they are really no different than the ancient accounts. Genesis 1 and the nearly 60 other scriptures about creation can still be used today to give the only correct account of the origin of the universe. What modern options of origins are there today and how do they compare with the Bible? Below is a summary of the options and issues one typically encounters when comparing modern worldviews of origins versus the Biblical account.
A. Either the universe is eternal, self created or created by God.
Secular theories of origins like the Big Bang suggest the universe popped into existence nearly 14 billion years ago by chance. Other secular theorists suggest our universe is in an eternal Big Bang/Big Crunch cycle that goes on and on for eternity. In all observable scientific experiments and measurements, we know that there is not enough energy in all of the universe to render the conclusion that it is eternal. All available, usable energy in the universe is declining, meaning that the universe is like a clock that is winding down (called in physics the second law of theremodynamics). Therefore the universe had a beginning. Likewise no known physical process or scientific measurement can demonstrate that something pops into being out of nothing. Lest there is a more Powerful force than the universe itself bringing it into being out of nothing, all theories that claim the universe's self-creation are not supported by science, and are nothing more than hypothesis or educated proposals. In contrast, the Biblical record has the universe created out of nothing by the all powerful, Triune God, as well as having a definite beginning.
B. Either the universe is billions of years old or thousands of years old.
Every secular model for the origin of the universe proposes that the universe is at least 13.7 billion years old. Other models suggest trillions of years to eternal in age. In Christian thought, some have tried to align the Biblical text to read the alleged time scale of modern astronomical models. Only the recent Biblical creation interpretation preserves the Bible's affirmation that God's creation was originally good and that no death nor dying took place until after the fall.
C. Either the universe popped into being randomly or was created with fixed laws by the All-powerful, Intelligent Creator.
Astronomy as a science must be distinguished from whatever worldview or understanding of reality is driving the science. If one's worldview believes that all existence arose from material processes, then that worldview will color how one theorizes about the formation of galaxies, planets, etc. However if one holds that the all powerful Triune Created all things, there will be an anticipation of pattern and purpose. Order (cosmos) can never emerge out of chaos. When one studies the history of science in general, many of the pioneers of science were Christians and many of the assumptions used in science today were borrowed from scripture.
Perhaps the most fundamental assumption in science is that there is an objective reality that can be measured and that as a definite order and pattern (a "cosmos"). Though many secular scientists may deny the existence of God, the scientific method which they employ is being used from the "borrowed capital" of a Judeo-Christian understanding of the universe as a "cosmos", not a "chaos" or disordered environment. As you view creation through the microscope or telescope, you discover amazing order and design that is not a mirage, but evidence of the One who is the source of all order and design.
D. Either God and the universe are completely different, both are the same or both are one and the same.
If we say God is the universe or that God and the universe are same, we are no different than the ancient worldviews that were shown to be false and unreliable by the scriptures. The Bible alone proclaims God being radically different and the origin of all things. To believe otherwise is not only unbiblical but illogical, since chaos cannot produce cosmos (order) nor non-intelligence produce intelligence.
Conclusion:
My hope is that these collections of thoughts can be used by others and perhaps for more detail and structured blog posts in the future. May the Lord Jesus Christ be honored and glorified as you see His handiwork in creation all around you.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Introduction
Whenever you consider the first verse of the Bible, the amazing thing about it is that it ends in a period. Why of all things would I begin today's post with such an unremarkable observation? Because periods mark the end of sentences that state established facts. There is a calmness and effortless tone in which God speaks forth all creation into being in Genesis
1. In the Genesis record there is no long war that God has to fight in order to create time (in the beginning), energy (created), space (the heavens) and matter (the earth). God is, was and always will be. In today's post and tomorrow's, I want to jot down some thoughts and reflections on the subject of the origin of the universe (called by the technical name cosmogeny= cos-mo-gin-ee).1 I will contend that whenever you compare the Biblical record with other religious or secular accounts of origins (cosmogeny = the origin (genus) of the order (cosmos) of the universe, the Bible alone is unique and henceforth the only Divinely revealed true record of the origin of the universe.
Briefly defining the Biblical view of creation
Before we compare the erroneous ancient versions of the origins of the universe, I feel it necessary to briefly define what we mean by the Biblical view of creation. The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 (BFM 2000) makes the following statements: "There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe." The BFM 2000 states again: "God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men." Then one more statement from the same source: "Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation." When you look at this marvelous summary of God's relationship with His creation, we discover three fundamental truths that contribute to forming a Biblical definition of creation, namely: God created from nothing, by the Word of His mouth
1. the universe
2. life
3. humanity
With that definition in mind, we will briefly list a summary of the ancient proposals of the origin of the universe by non-biblical religions and pagan philosophies to demonstrate how the Biblical account is not only unique, but alone the Divinely inspired record of such an event.
The origin of the universe according to ancient non-biblical religions & philosophies
A. The Persian religion of Zoroastrianism depicts two equally power deities: Ahura Mazda is the so-called good deity, with his lesser sub-deities and Angru Mainyu is the so-called evil deity who has lesser sub-deities. The conflict between the two results in a choice between existence and non-existence, with existence winning out.
B. The Old Babylonian creation epic features a deity named Marduk who has an epic battle with another Tiamat and slays her, creating the earth and sky from her body.
C. The ancient Greek writer Hesiod wrote his account of the origin of the universe (also called a theogeny) in 750 b.c. According to him, Chaos was in the beginning, from whence came forth voice, followed by earth and then eros (physical love). The earth then made the starry sky above.
D. The ancient Egyptians of Moses' day had a theogeny called "Akhentan's Great hymn to the Aton", written shortly after the Exodus of Egypt. In Egyptian worship, the sun was central and the source of all life and maker of the underworld. The Egyptians worshipped other deities and in similitude to the other ancient worldviews, included some conflict that led to the formation of the universe.
E. Then finally we see the Greek philosopher Plato in his classic Greek piece called "Timaeus", wherein his version of Deity had to bring order (cosmos) out of disorder (chaos) and make the universe like himself. In Plato's scenario, the universe is in a sense eternally old.
Reasons as to why the ancient accounts of origins are similar and how the Biblical record is completely different
No matter the culture, language or age in which they were written, the non-biblical origins accounts (cosmogenies) tell the same story: a great conflict and war was fought between multiple gods and chaos, with the deities in question narrowly winning and the universe being the result. In other versions, the universe was the source of the deities, since it has always been. The commonalities between these non-biblical records stem from the false religious system that came from the tower of Babel as recorded in Genesis 11:1-9. Interestingly enough the varieties of secular and non-divinely inspired theories for the universe's origins are somewhat repeated in more sophisticated terms today. As I stated before, There is a calmness and effortless tone in which God speaks forth all creation into being in Genesis 1. In the Genesis record there is no long war that God has to fight in order to create time (in the beginning), energy (created), space (the heavens) and matter (the earth). God is, was and always will be.
In Conclusion
In contrast to the non-divinely inspired records of pagan antiquity and philosophy, the Divinely inspired and inerrant Biblical record of origins knows of no conflict, since the God of scripture alone is Sovereign and simply spoke everything into being by the Word of His power. (Psalms 33:6; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-20)
More tomorrow....
Endnotes:
1. As we stated, "cosmogeny" deals with the origin of the universe. A closely related word "cosmology" is a field of astronomy that deals with the structure and overall development and proposed end of the universe. A third word "eschatology" is a term used often in discussions surrounding Bible prophecy, but in discussions surrounding creation and origins, eschatology would propose how the universe will end, and as to whether or not there is an ultimate purpose to all things. Christians and the Bible assert that God through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit created all things (cosmogeny). Second, God through Christ with the Spirit is sustaining the universe and stretching it out for the sake of His glory and our enjoyment of His glory (cosmology). Finally, The Son will return, and by the Spirit set up His Kingdom on earth, raise the righteous, end with the raising and judgment of the unrighteous and Satan and the presentation of the Kingdom to the Father (eschatology).
Revelation 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:
Among the titles that Jesus uses in His letter to Laodicea, the one that stands out is the one rendered by the NASB "the Beginning of the creation of God". In surveying several other English translations, "God's Word Translation" of 1995 renders it the best: "the source of God's creation". In simpler terms, we could take this word and translate the Greek text as "the beginner of God's creation." Hence in today's post we will briefly consider what Jesus meant when He termed Himself "The beginning (or beginner) of God's creation."
The church of Laodicea appears in Colossians and would had been familiar with Jesus' designation as the beginning (or beginner)
There is only one other place in the Bible where the city of Laodicea appear - Paul's letter to the Colossians. In Colossians 4:12-13 "Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis." Laodicea, Hierapolis and Colosse were little more than 5-10 miles from one another and drew their wealth and livelihood from living around the fertile area of the Lycus River. Now the reason why we are interested in the book of Colossians is because the Greek word translated "beginning" in Revelation 3:14 is the same word we find in Colossians 1:18. Colossians 1:18 states: "He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything." Whenever you read the previous verses of Colossians 1:16-17, as well as the following verses of Colossians 1:19-20, you discover that all things were created through Him and for Him, and that all things (including the church) consist or hold together because of the Son. Thus whenever you read the word "beginning" in Colossians 1:18, you could just as easily translate the word as "beginner". Colossians 1:19-20 applies this same thought to Jesus being the Beginner or head of His church. With the Laodicean church having received Paul's circular letter to the Colossians, they would had been familiar with the terminology of Jesus being "the beginning" or more appropriately translated "the Beginner".
All of creation began through the Son
John 1:3 says these words - "All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." The message of this verse is powerful in that it states something about Jesus Christ as the Beginner both positively and negatively. A positive statement tells us what something is, whereas a negative statement defines something by noting what is not present. Positively, Jesus Christ is the Agent through which all things came into being. By His action and agency, everything, both visible and invisible, came into existence. To further reinforce this point, John states the same truth negatively, namely that without the Son, nothing could exist. This second phrase is important in that it proves that Jesus Christ is not a creature nor part of the creation. Rather His sharing in the same nature with the Father and the Spirit makes Him, along with the Father and the Spirit, the Creator God. As One God, the Father is the Author, the Son is the Agent and the Spirit is the Animator of creation.
The Old Testament asserts the eternal pre-existence of the Son as the Beginner
Proverbs 8:22-23 states: “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. 23 “From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth." The NASB handles this verse perhaps better than most English translations in that it captures the point that Solomon is making about the Eternality of Wisdom. Wisdom is personified in Proverbs 8, prompting many able Bible commentators to conclude that this is an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ speaking. Despite the failed efforts of some, Proverbs 8:22-23 does not disprove the Deity of the Son, rather it reinforces the full Deity of Jesus Christ. How? If the Son has been possessed or as some translations put it "acquired" from eternity, at what point in eternity would that had occurred? Answer: in eternity there is no beginning, since eternity by definition is an endless succession of moments. The following logical statements below will bear out (hopefully) the point I am making:
Major Premise: Eternity means an endless stretch of moments had no beginning nor ending before creation
Minor Premise: God the Father had acquired or possessed the Son in eternity
Hence: The Son is eternal as the Father is eternal, having been with Him from all eternity.
Conclusion about the title of the Son as being the Beginning (or Beginner) of creation
We looked today at the title used by Jesus in Revelation 3:14 "the beginning of God's creation". Through word studies in Colossians 1:18 and Proverbs 8:22-23, we concluded that we could rendered this title as Jesus being the Beginner of creation and His church. Such a title is Jesus' way of asserting His eternality and His co-shared role as Creator along with the Father and the Spirit.
