5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Great, then, was the mercy of God the Father. He sent the creative Word, who, when he came to save us, put himself in our position, and in the same situation in which we lost life. He loosed the prison bonds, and his light appeared and dispelled the darkness in the prison, and he sanctified our birth and abolished death, loosing those same bonds by which we were held. He showed forth the resurrection, becoming himself the firstborn from the dead, and raised in himself prostrate man, being lifted up to the heights of heaven, at the right hand of the glory of the Father. Just as God had promised through the prophet, saying, “I will raise up the tabernacle of David.” This means that which is fallen, the body sprung from David. This was in truth accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ, in the triumph of our redemption, that he raise us in truth, setting us free to the Father.… as the firstborn of the dead, head and source also of the life unto God.
"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first-begotten of the dead." In taking upon Him manhood, He gave a testimony in the world, wherein also having suffered, He freed us by His blood from sin; and having vanquished hell, He was the first who rose from the dead and "death shall have no more dominion over Him," but by His own reign the kingdom of the world is destroyed.
first begotten of the dead. For if the Christ is believed to be the first begotten of the dead, He is the first begotten of the dead as having risen in a glorified state before all others.
But Moses and Elias arose and appeared with this form of which you speak, before Christ suffered and rose. How then could Christ be celebrated by prophets and apostles as "the first begotten of the dead? "
They did not proclaim themselves witnesses, nor did they allow us to address them by this name. If any one of us, in letter or conversation, spoke of them as witnesses, they rebuked him sharply. For they conceded cheerfully the appellation of “Witness” to Christ “the faithful and true Witness,” “firstborn of the dead,” and prince of the life of God. They reminded us of the witnesses who had already departed, and said, “They are already witnesses whom Christ has deemed worthy to be taken up in their confession, having sealed their testimony by their departure. But we are lowly and humble confessors.”
Although it was after us that he was made man for us and became our brother by likeness of body, still he is called and is the firstborn of us. Since all people were lost through the transgression of Adam, Christ’s flesh was saved first of all and was liberated, because it was the Word’s body. Henceforth also we, having become joined together with his body, are saved through it. For in his body the Lord becomes our guide to the kingdom of heaven and to his own Father, saying,“I am the way” and “the door,” and “through me all must enter.” Wherefore he is also said to be “firstborn from the dead,” not because he died before us, since we died first, but because he suffered death for us and abolished it, and therefore, as man, was the first to rise, raising his own body for our sakes. Therefore, since he has risen, we too shall rise from the dead from him and through him.
first begotten. I know that some think that at the death of Christ a resurrection such as is promised to us at the end of the world was granted to the righteous, founding this on the statement in Scripture that, in the earthquake by which at the moment of His death the rocks were rent and the graves were opened, many bodies of the saints arose and were seen with Him in the Holy City after He rose. Certainly, if these did not fall asleep again, their bodies being a second time laid in the grave, it would be necessary to see in what sense Christ can be understood to be "the first begotten from the dead," if so many preceded Him in the resurrection. And if it be said, in answer to this, that the statement is made by anticipation, so that the graves indeed are to be supposed to have been opened by that earthquake at the time when Christ was hanging on the cross, but that the bodies of the saints did not rise then, but only after Christ had risen before them -- although on this hypothesis of anticipation in the narrative, the addition of these words would not hinder us from still believing, on the one hand, that Christ was without doubt "the first begotten from the dead." Letter 164.9
Since earlier he had recalled that Word who, before the assumption of the flesh, was with the Father in glory, he of necessity adds the humanity of the assumed flesh when he says, “And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness.” For through the humanity which he had assumed, he gave a faithful testimony to his divinity, and by his passion and blood he interceded for our sins and cleansed us from all unrighteousness. And so, for the sake of our frailty and weakness he brought a faithful witness to God the Father “with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
washed us from our sins. the splendor belonged to him who redeemed us through love from the slavery of death, and He washed the stains of sin through the outpouring of his life-giving blood and water.
It can be understood that, for a special reason, the Lord was said to be firstborn, according to what John says in the Apocalypse about him.… And the apostle Paul says, “Now those whom he has foreknown he has also predestined to become conformed to the image of his Son, that he himself should be the firstborn among many brothers.” He is the firstborn among many brothers because “to as many as received him he gave the power to become sons of God,” of whom he is rightly named the firstborn because in dignity he came before all the sons of adoption, even those who in their birth preceded the time of his incarnation. Therefore, they can with the greatest truth bear witness with John, “He who comes after us was before us.” That is, “He was born in the world after us, but by the merit of his virtue and kingdom he is rightfully called the firstborn of us all.”
The firstborn of the dead, etc. This is what the Apostle says: We have seen Jesus Christ crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. And elsewhere, explaining the disgrace of the cross, he added: Therefore God also has exalted him and given him a name that is above every name.
The structure of these words goes from the end to the beginning. He means that it was to Him who hath loved us that glory and empire are owed.
For how did He not love "who gave Himself as a ransom"(1Tim. 2:6) on behalf of the life of the world.
And washed us from our sins in his own blood: For He Himself removed the handwriting of the decree that was against us, which was contrary to us. And he hath taken the same out of the way, fastening it to the 'wood of His' cross, (Col. 2:14) paying for our sins by His own death, and with His own blood he freed us from the error of our transgressions. He did this by becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross, (Phil. 2:8) and so healing our disobedience.
And hath made us a kingdom: And what does it profit of our becoming, as he says, priests to God and his prophets? That man should be thought worthy of these things proves to us the kingdom to come and the assurance of the unspeakable glory in the present. For this is even greater and more miraculous than washing away our sins in His own blood, and is worthy to be called the gift of God, there has not been another kind of offering beforehand such as our empowering to be priests and prophets of God, this is a valuable gift.
He had written before concerning the pre-incarnate Word of God, describing of Him as “he who was”, but now he says concerning Him as the incarnate, saying, and from Jesus Christ. He does not divide him into two, but bares witness to Him in both states at one time, that He is both the Word of the Father and that He was made flesh.
He is the faithful witness- for according to the apostle "who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate, a good confession.(1 Tim. 6:13)" But He was because He is God and Lord of all even though He is incarnate. But this testimony is indeed true. He calls the one who is true faithful and genuine.
The first begotten of the dead: Paul also testifies, saying, "who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. (Col. 1:18)" They call Him the firstborn of the dead as being the one who founded the universal resurrection, and who, according to Scripture, "A new and living way which he hath dedicated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh" (Heb. 10:20), by the resurrection of the dead. For everyone who was raised from the dead before the Lord came died again, because that was not the true resurrection, but a temporary pardon from death. That is why they were not called the firstborn from the dead. But the Lord is called this, as He was both the beginning and reason of the true resurrection. And just as He is a type of first-fruits of the resurrection of man, so when He became a man he led the way as from a tomb, from death to life. Concerning the Lord, the blessed Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, saying, "Knowing that Christ rising again from the dead, dies now no more, death shall no more have dominion over him. For in that he died to sin, he died once; but in that he lives, he lives unto God. (Rom. 6:9-10)"
He says and the prince of the kings of the earth, Daniel also said this to the king of Babylon, "until he knew that the most high God is Lord of the kingdom of heaven, and will give it to whomsoever he shall please.(Dan. 5:21)" So Christ is the King of all those in Heaven too. But now he speaks concerning those on earth. As he continues he demonstrates how He is King of the holy legions in the Heaven too.
first begotten of the dead. Because he is not like those who died previously and rose and died again; but he is eternally immortal in the body which died.
washed us from our sins. Water flowed from Christ's side to wash us; blood, to redeem us. Wherefore blood belongs to the sacrament of the Eucharist, while water belongs to the sacrament of Baptism. Yet this latter sacrament derives its cleansing virtue from the power of Christ's blood.
washed us from our sins. Christ's Passion is the proper cause of the forgiveness of sins in three ways. First of all, by way of exciting our charity, because, as the Apostle says (Romans 5:8): "God commendeth His charity towards us: because when as yet we were sinners, according to the time, Christ died for us." But it is by charity that we procure pardon of our sins, according to Lk. 7:47: "Many sins are forgiven her because she hath loved much." Secondly, Christ's Passion causes forgiveness of sins by way of redemption. For since He is our head, then, by the Passion which He endured from love and obedience, He delivered us as His members from our sins, as by the price of His Passion: in the same way as if a man by the good industry of his hands were to redeem himself from a sin committed with his feet. For, just as the natural body is one though made up of diverse members, so the whole Church, Christ's mystic body, is reckoned as one person with its head, which is Christ. Thirdly, by way of efficiency, inasmuch as Christ's flesh, wherein He endured the Passion, is the instrument of the Godhead, so that His sufferings and actions operate with Divine power for expelling sin.
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness Of the glory of the Father and majesty, as is clear in the Gospel. the first begotten That is, the first among those rising from the dead, although before Him Lazarus and many others were brought back to life. Nevertheless, this was mortal life, which is more properly called death than life, as St. Gregory says in Homily 25, “The true resurrection is to immortal life to which Christ rose first. His resurrection is the cause of the resurrection of others. and the prince of the kings of the earth On account of this He said in his resurrection, “All power is given unto me in Heaven and on earth.(Matt. 28:18)” who hath loved us, and washed us That is, who alone by His love and not by our merits washed us. from our sins Original and actual sin. in his own blood The sacraments of baptism and penance, are made efficacious by His blessed passion.
[AD 202] Irenaeus on Revelation 1:5