“The Firstborn” (Romans 8:29)

Good morning. You look and sound great. All of you, some of you, most of you, a few of you.

All right, that’s my intro. If you’re new, it’s good to see you. If you’ve got a Bible, go ahead and go with me to Romans chapter eight. We’re going to continue our lightning quick blazing through there. We’re actually, believe it or not, going to finish verse 29 today. The title is taken directly from the text, and my goal is that when you read this in your Bible, you’ll go back and remember the richness of every single word used in the statements that are for your assurance. Again, Romans eight is what? It’s a chapter on the assurance for the believer. It begins with the fact that there’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and it culminates as it were in right about verses 28 and 29, and then the remaining verses in the chapter are a doxology of worship, and in reverence for what God has done, further assuring the believer. So, the title of this message is “The Firstborn” (Romans 8:29). The firstborn. This is right in verse 29, but we’ll start in verse 28 to capture the context once again. Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to His purpose, for those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He (that is the Son, that is Jesus) might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Now, there’s been controversy over what this means, and it’s always the same people. It’s the same people who don’t read the whole Bible. If you don’t read the whole Bible, you’re going to get it wrong. You don’t go to a verse in Scripture and rip it from its context of the entirety of the Scriptures and make a theological decision. That’s not how you do it. That’s how you end up in error. And so, I have to refute two errors in this text, and then I’m going to tell you what it actually means in this word, “prototokos,” which is the word for “firstborn”. It’s the Greek word for firstborn. Let me tell you first of all what it does not mean in these two ways.

1. “Firstborn” Is Not Referring To Jesus Being Born

It’s not referring to that. It’s not talking about His physical birth. There are verses people use to try and say, “Yes, this is where Jesus was born, and this is what it means.” But it does not mean that was He born? Yes, He was born. There was a moment in time when He took on human flesh. This is Luke 2:7a, “And she (that is Mary, His mother) gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, laid Him in a manger.” Right? You know that because you’ve either studied the Bible or you’ve experienced Christmas. Now He is firstborn, but this is talking about firstborn to Joseph and Mary. He was not conceived by Joseph. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Thus, He does not have an Adamic nature. He does not have an Adamic seed in Him, as it were, with this basically naturally born into sin, as all of us are born into Adam. Until you’re born again, you’re under the wrath of God, and you bear that sin and its consequence. Jesus is the only escape for that, and He had to have a sinless perfection, so He could not be conceived by a human being. Now later they had more kids. I don’t know if you know that Catholics like to teach what they call the perpetual virginity of Mary, which is a lie. She had other kids. Her and Joseph had sex, and if that blows your mind, I’m sorry. It’s normal. That’s what actually happened. But this was not the birth that Romans 8:29 is talking about. Not even close.

In fact, let me show you a few places that refer to the body of Jesus. Hebrews 10:5 says it this way. “Consequently, when Christ came into the world (that is at His birth) He said, (and this is a quote of Psalm 40) ‘Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but a body (speaking to the Father) a body You have prepared for Me.’” So, was His body a real body? Yes, or an actual body. He did not have that body, but He took on flesh and blood. He had to be a full man, fully God, so He could survive the wrath of God, and fully man, so that He could be the sacrifice. It took a man to die for men. You had to have a person die for people, and that’s why He had to have a body, but it was a body prepared for Him, meaning He preexisted the day of His birth. In fact, look at Colossians 2:9. It says, “For in Him (that’s in Jesus) the whole fullness of deity, all of it, dwells bodily.” Now you might say, “Well, I don’t understand that. How is it possible that an omnipotent, omniscient God could dwell inside of a limited body? How is that possible?” Let me answer it for you. I have no idea. No idea. Neither do you. There are things in the Bible that are true and yet mysterious. Two things can be true at once. It is true, and we don’t understand it because I’m not sure if you’ve ever done this. But your brain does fit inside your head. You’ll notice it doesn’t take up any more space than that. We are that limited, okay? And so, the whole fullness of deity dwelled in Him. In other words, that means He is God, thus pre-existent. In fact, Hebrews 1:6 says, “And again when He brings the firstborn, (that’s Jesus, this is the Father, when He brings the firstborn) into the world, He says, ‘Let all the angels of God (or let all God’s angels) worship Him.’” Okay, God is the only one worthy of worship. Thus, He’s the only one with the prerogative of being worshiped. If Jesus was not God, then He was not going to be worshiped. That would be a sin of idolatry. But He was, and He was worshiped in bodily form. Why? Because He was fully God and fully human. In fact, Jesus said this to the Pharisees that were questioning how old He was, John 8:58. He answers them. “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’” He uses that phrase. He is the “I am” that preexisted Abraham. And their argument was, “What? You’re not even 50 years old, and you know Abraham?” And this is his answer to that: is before Abraham, I am. Yes,  predates him. So, the firstborn is not talking about the day of His birth. So, eliminate that one.

And here’s number two: “Firstborn” Is Not Referring To Jesus Being Created

This is one of the oldest heresies that there are, and if people still propagate that and they try to, it’s just an old heresy. This is part of Mormon doctrine. It is not part of Christianity, though. There is a distinction there. You understand? Firstborn is not referring to Him being created. Why? Because He’s fully God. He was not created. He had a point where His body came into being, yes, but that was not where He came into being. He has no beginning. He is eternal. He was not created. I want to show you a verse that’s often used by people who are, but what the Bible calls ignorant and unstable, and that’s not a put down. That just simply means there’s things the root of ignorance is ignored. They’ve either ignored willingly or passively, and they don’t read the whole council. So, they take a verse like this, Revelations 3:14, and they misunderstand it. It says, “To the angel of the church in Laodicea, write now (this is Jesus talking) ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.’” And they say this: they say, “Oh, look, look! God made Jesus first.” In other words, “Okay, He didn’t make Him at His birth, but He had made Him an eternity past at some point. God made another God named “Jesus”.” No, no, He did not. That’s not what this is referring to. The beginning of God’s creation means all of creation finds its origin in its Creator. Jesus is the one that created and sustains the entire universe. We’re very clear on that, and we’ll see that actually in the text here today. But I want you to hear this. This has to be rightly understood with what? The whole counsel of God, because if God, if Jesus is a creative being, He is by nature not God, but He absolutely is. This simply means that creation finds its beginning in Him.

We’ll take the easy route to this one. John 1:1-3. Some of you knew we’re going there. Look at one through three first of all, it says, “In the beginning was the Word.” Now, when it says “The Word” is that talking about your Bible? No, this is talking about Jesus Christ, because in verse 14 we understand the Word is made flesh. He’s referred to as the Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was (watch) the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” You say, “How does that work?” Because this is Father, and this is Son. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. That’s the Trinity. There is one God in three persons, three persons in the Godhead, but one essence. You say, “Tell me that in a detailed way that I can understand. Give me an illustration.” No, I can’t. They’re all going to fail. Well, God’s like water. He has three forms: liquid, gas, and ice. No, that’s modalism. That’s a heresy as well. Well, God’s like an egg. Don’t get me started on the egg. There’s the shell, the white, and the. Look, I got nothing against eggs, but that’s not God. Nothing in creation can demonstrate Creator. It’s impossible. So, we have to take it for what it says and accept it. That’s how faith works. By faith we understand. In fact, speaking of the word, look down at verse 14, “And the word.” Look at this, “And the word.” Oh, actually, I skipped verses, didn’t I? Thank you very much. Would you go back to one, two? My bad. Thank you, Olivia. “He’s Jesus. He was in the beginning with God. All things (verse three) were made through Him. (There it is) the beginning of creation. Through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” He is the Creator. Then we know it by name. We know him by name because look down in John 1:14 finally, “And the Word became flesh (there He is, that’s Jesus) He became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. Glory is of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” This is not talking about a created being, and it’s not just in the New Testament; it’s in the Old as well. Multiple places we could go, but I want to show you one that you’ll understand because you’ve probably experienced Christmas, right? Still, Isaiah 9:6, right? Here’s one of the prophecies about Jesus’ birth specifically, it says, “For to us a child is born, and to us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulders.” The government of where? Israel, America? No, the universe, the entire creation. “The government will be upon His shoulders, and His name shall be called (now, these names matter) Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, (referring to Jesus), everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Jesus is not a created being; He is the Creator and Sustainer of everything that was ever made.

So, here’s what we’ve done: we’ve eliminated two big errors in understanding that word “firstborn”,
that He might be firstborn among many brothers.” We’re understanding what it isn’t. That’s a huge part of learning your Bible. You have to know what it says, exactly what it means by what it says, how it impacts your life based upon the person and work of Jesus, because it’s ultimately the Bible is about Him, not you and me. And then you need to be able to say what it what it doesn’t mean. It’s negative theology. It doesn’t mean you’re being ugly. It pushes that to the side so that you can focus and actually understand it.

So, here’s number three. Here’s what it means. 3. “Firstborn” (in Romans 8:29) Refers To Jesus’ Preeminence And Priority

In other words, we would say it this way: His firstness, His uniqueness, His priority means that He is ultimately what God the Father was caring about in the divine decree from eternity past. He said, “Well, I thought God loved me?” He does. You get in on that because you’re in Christ. That’s the way that works, and if you don’t understand that, you’ve yet to understand God’s priorities. God’s full priority is His own glory. His full priority is His own glory. All other benefits come from God being about His glory. If you say, “Well, that seems a little egotistical.” Well, it would be for a man to do that because the man’s not worthy, but if God isn’t first and foremost for His own glory, He would be lying against the truth. He is the most valuable thing in the universe, if you will, person in the universe. He is the most valuable anything, and He knows His own worth. So, He would be falsely humble if He said, “Ah, shucks, come on, guys, don’t sing another song to Me.” Some of y’all think that that would be fitting for the Jesus maybe that you’ve been introduced to, but who you’ve been introduced to is not the real Jesus. You’ve met Jesus Bo Peep, and you see Him as a precious moment. He’s got these big eyes and little staff, and He wanders around lost and hopes someone will accept Him into their heart. He’s pathetic. That’s not God. That’s not the real Jesus. That’s not Him. He is the King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords. He is the Prince of Peace. He is called the man of war. He is the king of righteousness. He’s Savior. And does He love? Yes. Is He kind? Yes. Is He gentle? Yes. Is He tender? Yes. But He’s also completely holy, and He’s completely deity. Let’s look at the text one more time here, Romans 8:29, and see the word again. “For those whom he foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be firstborn.” Prototokos, is it? It is the word the Greek word means prioritized or the premier one, the primary. He is that He might be first, and you need to see this. It’s in order that. Now, what does this mean? This means all the things you’ve been seeing since chapter eight, verse one, have been gifted to you in Christ, and they were all gifted to you in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. In other words, this whole story you’re involved in is because of Him, and it’s for Him, and through Him, and it’s unto Him. He is the main actor. He is the reason for it all. And here’s what happens when men hear that initially. This is a person. They hear it’s all about God, and it gives them the sads. Why? Because you want it to be all about you, you two-year-old, you little two-year-old, “Mine, me!” And you know, and you don’t act like that anymore hopefully. Ah, but in your heart, has the heart been dealt with? Because let me tell you what: if it’s all about you, you’re going to be miserable your whole life. You’ll never have any assurance before God because you’ll tend to think in terms of “I’ve got to measure up to some standard” instead of looking to the one who measured the standard, putting your hope, your faith, and all your trust in Him. Thus, He gets all the credit and all the glory. And guess what? You get joy because that’s a true sense of humility. And then you have the frown turned upside down. You say, “You’re being condescending.” Don’t worry, I talk to myself this way too, because my pride needs it. We need to be reminded this isn’t all about us. If you think it’s all about you, that’s where frustration really grows in people’s lives. The best illustration I’ve used for years is traffic. This is why you’re screaming at people in your car, because they have yet to realize that you are the center of the universe. And if they knew it was you, they’d get out of the fast lane. I mean, “How do they see? It’s me. Take your fill somewhere else. I’ve got to get where I’m going.” “Oh, we didn’t know it was you. Here, let me get over and crash. It’s whatever it takes to get out of your way.” Driving the point home. Those are going to be miserable people. Let me ask you this: Are you happy when you’re frustrated? No. So how do you free yourself from that? You come under the truth that it’s all about God, and that God is first and foremost for God, and you get in on the goodness of God and the love relationship within the Trinity in Christ. He’s not looking at you for your intrinsic value, as Pastor Matt said, “You’re clothed in the righteous robes of Jesus Christ.” That’s where righteousness, peace, and joy exist. That’s the kingdom of God. That’s what the Holy Spirit wants to minister to you, not your own self-worth. That’s why we don’t give you life hacks, and that’s why sometimes you might leave Sherman Bible Church going, “You know, I need to go away and pray. I need to go away, and I need think I need to repent.” I hope you’re not walking out to your car after these sermons, going, “I’m pretty awesome. This is pretty awesome.” Because you know what you’re going to do. You’re going to behave a certain way with your brothers and your sisters in the parking lot, and we have cameras and we see it. What is this referring to? This firstborn. He has the Hebrew mindset. Paul was a rabbi, wasn’t he? Yes. And in the Hebrew mindset, what was the firstborn? The firstborn was the one that had all the family authority gifted to them. He was the chief heir among the other brothers. He had all the family rights, all the authority. He got all the privileges. He had first place. He always had the greatest portion of everything. That’s what it’s referring to. He is prototokos. He is the first. And listen to me, Christian. You want it that way because the only other option is you’re going to compete with Him, and you’re going to lose, and He opposes those who are prideful, but then he gives grace to those who are humble. Look at Hebrews 1:1-2, it says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.” Who’s that talking about? This is talking about the Old Testament. This is the OT. That’s how people heard from God, but then the scriptures were compiled. The revelation of God was complete. It was canonized. Says verse two, “But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed (the what?) the heir of (what?) all things, through whom also He created the world.” Jesus is the firstborn. In that He is first. He is the heir of all things. Of course He is. He’s God. He gets everything God gets. Why? Because He is God. And this is an interaction we get to see in understanding Romans eight. This is of a better assurance than constant just trying to convince yourself of something that you’re doing that’s good enough to earn His love. It’s better to be able to look at Him and saying, “I got in on a predetermined plan. He’s letting me see Him. He’s letting me know Him in this way.” Jesus is the heir.

Colossians 1:15-18. “He is the image (or icon is the Greek word) of the invisible God.” In other words, you want to see God? You look at Jesus. He is the image of the invisible God. He uses the word the firstborn of all creation, the prototokos. Why? Not because of His birth, certainly not because He was created, because He wasn’t, but because of His priority, because of His preeminence. “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 (what?) for Him.” That means all things were not created for you; you were created for Him. And when that gets to the center of your pride, it can melt it away, and you can walk in humility before God. You can say, “I know the one who holds eternity past and who it’s all about.” You can call Him the lover of your soul, the Savior of your life. That’s tremendous privilege. Look at the comfort that’s in that. That’s the assurance. And again, why is assurance so important? It’s so important that when you see yourself, and when you stumble, when you sin, when you fail, when your tempter becomes your accuser, what does he want you to do? He wants you to move back from God. He wants you to move back and give Him some time to cool off. I bet at least someone here, if not here, it’s those bad people in third service. I bet there’s been at least one time some of you would say, “You know, there was a time when I stayed home from church one week because I didn’t feel worthy to go.” Now I got to look somewhere when I say it. Nobody wants to look me in the eyes, so I want. Is that right? Here’s the facts. That’s true. You’re not worthy. But we don’t come here to celebrate your worthship. We come to celebrate His worthship. And the place to deal with sin is not backing away from the presence of God. It’s to running to His throne of grace. I would say it this way: the place to deal with sin is in your Father’s lap. It’s to embrace His conviction, to confess and repent. Yes, then you run toward. That’s the goal of this instruction: that you don’t back away from Him, but that you trust Him more and more and more. That’s why we tell you on repeat: “You are loved.” We’re not talking about some passing sentimental idea of love. We’re talking about the true love of God, and you get that, and it draws you to Him. Insecurity always reduces relational intimacy, but the more relaxed and the more comfortable you are in the relationship, and you feel secure, the more relaxed you are, and the more intimate you have, the more intimacy rather you have. All things created through Him and for Him. And look, it goes on, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things (what?) hold together.” You know, He holds the universe together by the word of His power. Scientists can’t figure out why atoms don’t fly apart. Did you know that? Every atom is spinning around and carries enough energy to create a bomb. Every single particle of matter, every single atom, is a potential bomb waiting to blow up. Scientists can’t figure out what keeps them keeps them together. I can answer it for them. Jesus, He holds it together by the word of His power, and there will become a there will come a day when He will thermonuclear the whole thing. Why? Because He’ll stop holding it together, and it will all burn up. Peter says, with a fervent heat. That’s an understatement. Then there’ll be a new heaven and a new earth, untainted by sin. But right now, who’s holding the universe together? Jesus is the same Jesus that gets mocked is giving the people who mock Him the borrowed breath on His planet. That’s quite a statement, isn’t it? If you’re in covenant with Him, this should bring assurance to your heart. He goes on verse 18. He says, “And He is the head of the body.” What was he talking about? The head of the body. Well, it’s a metaphor because He’s the head of the church. If He’s holding the universe together by the word of His power, if He’s the one that purchased a people for His own possession through His life, death, resurrection, His ascension, and His second coming, if He’s the one that did that, let me ask you a question: Who should get to make the rules at Sherman Bible Church? Let’s go through some options. Rich people. How about the people who give the most money get to make the most decisions? Oh, here’s another one. How about the people who gripe the loudest online? Tell me you’re a coward without telling me you’re a coward. How about not? How about what we do is we find biblically qualified men according to Scripture who will do one easy thing and say yes to Jesus. Whatever He wants done in His church, He’s revealed it in His Word, and we’re going to go ahead and do that because He holds the universe together and He purchases His sheep and He wants to be head of His church. So, if we let Him do that, we can one day hear what? “Well done, good faithful servant.” That’s the goal. I think we all want that. I wouldn’t want to put my family anywhere where the senior pastor had a vision. Now, just in case you’re new, I have no vision. I am the senior pastor here. That’s the title. It means very little. It means I talk the most. You’re like, “We know, dude.” But I don’t have a vision for the church. I don’t have a bright idea. I don’t. I don’t have anything creative. I got nothing. “Pastor, stand up. God gave me a vision.” No, God gave me a Bible, and we just stay with that. And why is that important? Because then we’re under the head, and if we’re under the head, we’re underneath the one by whom creation was made by, and it’s all about. And thus, we’re going to line up perfectly with His will. And now we’re going to stumble forward. There’s no such thing as a perfect church. Doesn’t exist. By the way, if you’re looking for one and you’re here, going, “I’m going to see if this one’s perfect.” Let me just go ahead and blow it for you right now. Give us 10 minutes. In fact, you’ve been here more than 10 minutes. We’ve probably already blown it. And maybe the more I talk, the worse it’s getting for you. But our heart is to submit to this one, the head of the church. He is the beginning, and here’s the word used, prototokos, “He’s the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be (look at the word) preeminent.” In other words, He’s the point. He is the one that we’re to be about, because if God is going to be glorified. He’s going to be glorified because disciples of Jesus Christ have been made, and Jesus made that very clear. Is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit? Look at Philippians 2:9-11. We’ll see this extended even a little bit. Maybe you’ve never noticed this. Verse nine, “Therefore, God, (that would be God the Father) has highly exalted Him (that is God the Son) and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that (there’s a reason. Name above every name, so that) at the name of Jesus, every knee (that literally means every knee, that means both knees, every knee) should bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth.” Look at me, family, it doesn’t matter what people are doing right now. Is they’re jacking their jaw, mocking God, acting like He doesn’t exist, mocking His church, using His name in vain, and perverting even things related to little kids. They’re not going to escape this. Their knees will bow. Their knees will bow. You show me a scoffer, you’re going to see me look at their knees. “Those knees are going to bow.” Now, don’t literally do that. Don’t go around be like, “Let me look at your knees.” If you do, don’t tell them you come to Sherman Bible Church. Don’t do it. Don’t be wearing any of our swag, but it’s true. Their knees are going to bow. That means they may not want to, but they’re going to because He has determined it that way, and He is not some little wimp shows up and goes, “Would you please worship Me, King of Glory?” You’ll have His glory. And verse 11, “And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” The verse doesn’t end there, though. Why? “To the glory of God the Father.” And that’s the way it works. He will take all of those things that are gifted to Him, including the kingdom one day, and He will present them to His Father.

Let’s see it this way through Ephesians 1:3-14. “Blessed be the God and Father.” So, we’re talking about the Father. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us (look) in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” That’s a huge statement. Don’t have time to unpack it. That means that’s a lot of things. God has done that to us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places because we’re in Christ, “Even as He chose us (this is God the Father, even as He chose us) In Him (when did He do it?) Before the foundation of the world.” Now there are going to be people who are new this weekend. They haven’t been in the series. They’re going to say, “Wait a minute, are you guys teaching predestination?” No, the Bible is. It’s all through it. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And once you submit to it, you’ll wonder why you never wanted to. But I’ll encourage you again: if you’re hearing these words for the first time, don’t run from them. And I know it feels uncomfortable. I went through that. It’s like being killed and born at the same time, it just feels like your whole identity is being crushed. It is. It’s called your pride. You say, “Well, I don’t want to be a robot.” He doesn’t make robots. He changes hearts that want to love Him. That’s what He does. That’s Ezekiel 11. That’s Ezekiel 36. It’s not new. Yeah, He predestined us. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him. And (look, look at this) in love, He does this (in love) He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.” And why did He do it? Because it was according to the purpose of His will. God is in the heavens, and He does whatever pleases Him. If you’ve never experienced it, this is called big God theology. This is God being God, and us not trying to hide that part of Him. He does what He wants. I have never woken up and heard Him say, “Hey, Steve, how do you think the weather should go today?” Not one time. He never asks my opinion on anything. It’s actually frustrating. He has that in common with the Dallas Cowboys, and that’s the only thing. You guys distracted me. “According to the purpose of His will.” Look at the next statement. It’s in the next verse, but it’s the next statement in the same sentence. “To the praise (look at this, to the praise) of His glorious grace.” Oops, that’s a terrible line. This is all through your Bible. Why has He done all that He’s done? It’s to the praise of His glorious grace. He chose a people who would be vessels of mercy and be demonstrations of vessels of honor under His mercy to show off His grace. You say, “God is doing that?” That’s exactly what He’s doing. And we get into Romans nine. Well, I’m telling you, we’re going to come so face to face with it. Sometimes it can get painful.

It’s like, “This is God being God. It’s almost like He has no regard for me.” He has regard for you. He’s  purchased you from your sin. If you’re in Christ, He’s given you all things. But who did He do it for? He did it for His glory, not yours. But He’s given you the joy of knowing Him and loving Him. This is the deepest assurance there is “To the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the beloved, in Him (that’s in Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses (according to what?) According to the riches of His grace.” You see how it’s being shown off? “Which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of His will (here’s the statement again) according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ.” He determined what He would do. What good news is that? That what you have, you did not earn, and therefore you cannot lose. People say, “Wait a minute! Do you believe once saved, always saved?” I believe in once saved, always saved, once saved. And once saved doesn’t mean you walk the aisle and whispered a prayer. Nothing wrong with walking the aisle. Maybe you got saved at a Billy Graham crusade. Great, but just doing that is not what salvation is. Salvation is a supernatural act by one actor, monergistic regeneration by the Spirit of God raising you from the dead, and then you see your sin and repent, and then you see your Savior and you trust Him. That’s how it works. If that’s the case, He gets all the praise and all the glory, and we don’t get to boast. That’s why men don’t like these doctrines because it removes from us the ability to brag. “According to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ.” Verse 10, “As a plan for the fullness of time to unite (look) all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.” He goes on, “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been (there’s the word again, Ooh, the p word, the Bible’s teaching it) been predestined according to the purpose of Him, who works all things according to the counsel of (your will? No) His will.” His will. This should bring great assurance to you, Christian. “So that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to (what?) praise of His glory.” See, that is what is embedded in the term “firstborn” in Romans 8:29. That’s exactly right. That’s what it means. It is the authorial intent, and it is to the joy of the church that we understand this. That when we read that verse, those words explode, and they go. We don’t just read past it. My prayer is that when you read Romans eight now, it’s gonna go slow because you’ll be, “I know what that word means. I know what that word means. I know what this statement means. I know why that’s there.” That’s why we study it. That’s why we eat meals here and then we digest through the week and we ruminate over it. We study it again. We have conversations about it. It’s very important. In case you didn’t know. This is why Sherman Bible Church does not have services on Sunday night. I am not lazy. It’s not because I wouldn’t want to speak again. It’s not because I have nothing to say, or I mean, the Bible always has something to say, so I can always open the Bible. But it’s this: it’s as we feast on the Word of God. Do you think you’re ready for another meal come 6o’clock? While I’m napping. People say, “Oh, it’s the Lord’s day.” Every day is the Lord’s day, and I know this is specific, and I honor that. That’s why we meet on Sunday. But if you think you’re ready to eat again after you have this kind of doctrine, I feel like you’re selling it short because there’s so much for you to lay in here and digest and repent and believe. I don’t believe you get this in 40 minutes. I don’t think that’s actually possible. The praise of His glory is what He’s after. Verse 13: “In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth (that was when you heard the proclamation of the external gospel) the gospel of your salvation, and believed (this is a gift, this is faith, believed in Him) you were (what? You were) sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire full possession of it.” Why would He do it? Here’s it again. Is this a theme or is it me? “To the praise of His glory.” He’s doing it all that all creation and all the church one day will redound to the glory of God. That’s actually His priority.

I won’t turn to the verses here, but I just want to read you a short list of the things that God in the Bible did explicitly for His glory and says He did it for His glory. He created mankind for His glory. He called Israel for His glory. He rescued Israel from Egypt for His glory. He raised up Pharaoh for His glory. He defeated Pharaoh for His glory. He spared Israel for His glory. He gave Israel victory for His glory. He shepherded David for His glory. He did not cast Israel away for His glory. He restored Israel for His glory. He answers prayer for His glory. He gave His Son for His glory. He saves His people for His glory. Jesus will one day return for His glory. He will gather the church for His glory. He will fill the entire earth with the knowledge of His glory, as the waters cover the sea, and we will one day behold His glory face to face. And that is the future for every true Christian. That’s His motive. And if you think it’s about you? Man, you’ve missed the bus. I say it to you often. We don’t sing any songs about you. Have you noticed your name’s not on there? We don’t sing a song called “How Great I Am”

Let’s look at the very end. Look at 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. Not the end of the Bible, but the end of time. It says, “Then comes the end,” and this will be after all Armageddon has taken place, all the enemies are conquered. “Then comes the end when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father (this is Jesus delivers the kingdom to God the Father. The Son delivers it to the Father after doing what?) Destroying every rule and every authority and power.” In other words, He’s conquered every enemy. “For He must reign (that’s Jesus must reign) until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under His feet’ (and then the Bible teaches you the Bible, it teaches you how to understand it, watch) but when it says, ‘All things are put in subjection.’ It is plain that He is excepted.” In other words, it’s talking to the Father. The Father is not going to be put under the feet of the Son. He is excepted who put all things in subjection under Him. “When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him (this is the Father) who put all things in subjection under Him. That God may be all in all.” You say, “Well, that looks like God the Father outranks the Son?” It’s not true. This is how they interrelationally love each other. This is how the Trinity functions. The Father decrees, the Son is sent, and the Spirit is spirated. It’s the theological term. You’re welcome. Impress your friends at parties. “That God may be all in all.”

One last final glimpse. Here’s what it looks like, Revelation 21:1-4. If you’re in Christ, this is your future. Start verse one. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away (that’s that fire we talked about) and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man,’ and He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” That’s incredibly good news. But I want to remind you: ultimately, did Ge do it for your joy? Well, in some sense, but He did it for His glory, and you get in on this. This is deep assurance. Then finally, Revelation 21:22-23, “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine in it, for the glory of God gives it light. And its lamp is the Lamb.” Let’s read the text one last time Romans 8:29, “For those whom He foreknew. He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (get this) in order that (this is why He does it all) He might be (the prototokos) the firstborn among many brethren.” No, it’s not about you and it’s not about me. Yes, it is about Him, but this is the greatest assurance and the greatest joy a believer can have, because we get in on it in Christ.

KEYWORDS

Firstborn, Romans 8:29, Assurance, Jesus Christ, Creator, Trinity, Glory, Predestination, Predestined, Salvation, Grace, Humility, Sovereignty, Redemption, Inheritance, Prototokos, Gospel, Preeminence, Priority, God, Spiration, Non-Denominational Church, Bible Church, Church In Sherman Texas, Church In Grayson County

Speaker

Steve LeBlanc