Christ is Firstborn Son of God & we’re God’s many Sons being Conformed to His Image

In His resurrection, Christ as the only begotten Son of God from eternity, was begotten by God to become the firstborn Son of God, and at the same time we as the many believers in Christ were born to be the many sons of God, who are now being conformed to the image of Christ. Hallelujah!

Two of the most amazing events in the whole universe are Christ’s incarnation and His resurrection.

God created all things in this universe, and in particular, He created man in His image and according to His likeness.

God’s creation is amazing, and the creation of man is also quite particular and wonderful, for man was created not according to his own kind but according to God’s kind. Wow!

However, the creation of man was not as important or amazing as the incarnation of Christ.

The infinite God who created all things, the One who cannot be contained by the universe but is expressed in it, became a man.

This is incomprehensible to the human mind, for the God who is outside of time and space, the One who is self-existing, ever-existing, and above and beyond all that we can think, this One became a man.

The divine essence mingled with the human essence to produce a God-man, Jesus Christ. No wonder that, at the time of His birth in Bethlehem, miriads of angels sang and praised God, for God truly was incarnated to be a man!

The next amazing and wonderful event was His death, and then His resurrection.

God cannot die, but in His incarnation, as a man in the flesh, God can die; however, He cannot be held by death, for He is life beyond death.

God is resurrection and life, and through the death and resurrection of Christ, He has proven that He cannot be held back by death.

Christ was resurrected from the dead, and in His resurrection, three wonderful things happened.

According to 1 Cor. 15:45, Christ was transfigured to become, from a man in the flesh, into a life-giving Spirit. Wow!

He became a life-giving Spirit, so He could come to His disciples on the evening of the day of His resurrection to breathe Himself into them and tell them, Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).

The second thing that happened in His resurrection is that Christ was begotten by God to be the firstborn Son of God in His humanity (Psa. 2:7; Acts 13:33).

And the third thing is that we, the believers in Christ, were regenerated by God in the resurrection of Christ to be the many sons of God (1 Pet. 1:3).

These are not just facts; these are part of our history, and they define us, for they bring us into an organic relationship with God, causing us to be born of God through faith in Christ. Hallelujah!

The Eternal Only Begotten Son of God was Begotten by God to be the Firstborn Son of God in His Humanity in His Resurrection

John 3:16 is a well-known and beloved verse telling us that God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us, so that whoever believes into Him may not perish but have eternal life.

By faith in Christ, we would not perish but have His divine life to live eternally. This verse tells us that God sent us His only begotten Son.

From eternity to eternity, Christ is the only begotten Son of God in His divinity, and in this One God finds all His delight.

But something happened in time: in His economy, Christ as the only begotten Son of God, was incarnated to be a man.

The only begotten Son of God has only divinity, but now, through incarnation, He put on the human nature.

By being born of Mary, the Son of God became the Son of Man. Wow!

This is His first birth; Christ as the Son of God was born of Mary to be the Son of Man.

When man saw Him, they saw a man, but within this man there was God Himself, the Son of God – even the only begotten Son of God.

The disciples saw Him and they saw the glory of God in a man, and they received of His fullness, grace upon grace.

He had the glory as of the only Begotten from the Father, being full of grace and reality (John 1:14).

Then, through His death and in His resurrection, Christ was begotten by God again, in His second birth, this time to be the Firstborn Son of God in His humanity (Rom. 8:29).

Psa. 2:7-8 prophesies concerning this, and Paul explains and applies this to Christ in Acts 13:33, saying that Christ was begotten by God to be His Son in His resurrection. Wow!

So Christ was begotten twice: first, He was begotten to be the Son of Man, and second, He was begotten by God to be the firstborn Son of God. How about that!

We may have never considered this, but Christ is the Son of God in two ways: first, He is the only begotten Son of God in His divinity, and second, He is the firstborn Son of God in His humanity.

From eternity, He is the only begotten Son of God, and in time, He was begotten by God in His resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God.

The only begotten Son of God became the firstborn Son of God.

The eternal only begotten Son of God in divinity was begotten by God to be the firstborn Son of God in humanity in His resurrection. This is truly wonderful!

He is the firstborn among many brothers, and we are the many brothers of Christ, the many sons of God.

This shows us God’s original intention from the creation of man: He wants to obtain many sons, many God-men who have His life and nature to express Him and represent Him.

He is not content to only being the Triune God – the Father, the Son, and the Spirit; in His economy, He desires to have an increase, a duplication, a reproduction, even a corporate expression.

For this, He took two steps: first, He stepped out of eternity into time to become a man through incarnation, and second, He was resurrected after His death to become a life-giving Spirit and to be begotten by God as His firstborn Son in His humanity.

Through incarnation, He brought God into man; through death and resurrection, He brought man into God.

The way has been opened for us as men to be begotten of God and become the many sons of God and the brothers of Christ, even genuine children of God who are born of God (John 1:12-13). Hallelujah!

There is a great difference between the only begotten Son of God in eternity past and the firstborn Son of God in resurrection: the only begotten only has divinity, but the firstborn Son also has humanity.

As the only begotten Son, Christ cannot have any brothers; however, through His incarnation, He put on humanity and, in His resurrection, He was begotten of God to be the firstborn Son of God (John 1:18; 1 John 4:9).

Now the firstborn Son of God can have many brothers. He sonized His humanity, bringing it into His divinity and divinizing it to make His human part the Son of God. Wow!

This is what we call deification: Christ as a Man was deified to become a God-man, even to bring humanity into divinity and divinize it.

Now, as the life-giving Spirit, He enters into us, the many brothers of Christ and sons of God, to regenerate us and bring us into the process of being deified.

We are in the process of becoming the same as Christ in life, nature, expression, and function, but not in the Godhead.

May we see that being born as the firstborn Son of God was a great work that Christ accomplished through His resurrection, and we all are involved and included in this work!

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming as the only begotten Son of God to accomplish redemption for us. Thank You for dying for us on the cross to redeem us and bring us back to God. We believe into You, Lord, and we receive You as our life and our everything. Hallelujah, the only begotten Son of God came through incarnation to express God, make God known to us, and even more, to die for us and redeem us! Praise the Lord, through His death and resurrection, the only begotten Son of God became the firstborn Son of God in His humanity! Wow, Lord, we praise You for Your resurrection through which You were begotten by God in Your humanity to be the firstborn Son of God! Hallelujah, Jesus Christ is the firstborn Son of God and we are the many sons of God! Amen, Lord, we believe that, by faith in Christ, we have the authority to be called children of God, those who are born of God! How we thank and praise You, Lord Jesus, for opening the way for us to enter into God to partake of what God is by being born of God through regeneration!

Christ is the Firstborn Son of God and we’re the Many Sons being Conformed to His Image

What does it mean that Christ is the firstborn Son of God and how does this relate to us, or how can this be experienced by us?

Heb. 2:10 says that it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Christ was begotten by God in His resurrection to be the firstborn Son of God, and He is leading us, the many sons of God, into glory.

He entered into glory by being perfected through His sufferings on the earth; He entered into glory not just as the Son of God but even more, as the Son of Man who was glorified through His death and resurrection. Wow!

He opened the way, even a new and living way for us to enter into God and be one with God so that we may be the many sons of God.

We believers in Christ are the many sons of God, the many brothers of Christ.

1 Pet. 1:3 tells us that God, according to His great mercy, has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

According to our view and history, we were regenerated in time at the time that someone preached the gospel to us and we repented and called on the name of the Lord.

According to God’s view, we were regenerated by God in the resurrection of Christ.

At the same time that Christ was begotten by God to be the firstborn Son of God, we also were begotten by God to be the many sons of God.

Hallelujah, we were regenerated in the resurrection of Christ to be the many sons of God!

When the only begotten Son of God became the firstborn Son of God, in His resurrection, we also were begotten by God to be His children. Praise the Lord!

Now God is conforming us to the image of Christ.

Rom. 8:29 says that God foreknew us and predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that Christ might be the firstborn among many brothers.

What God wants is many sons who are conformed to the image of Christ, the firstborn Son of God, so that He may be the Firstborn among many brothers.

We are now in the process of being conformed to the image of Christ.

Even as He is, so we will be; we’re in the process of becoming like Him.

Through regeneration, we entered into a process of being conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God.

Day by day, as we contact the Lord, live the Christian life, and learn to fellowship with the Lord and with the saints, we are in the process of being renewed, transformed, and conformed to the image of Christ, the firstborn Son of God.

On the day of Christ’s resurrection, all of God’s chosen people were resurrected and were born to be the many sons of God, the many brothers of Christ.

We had only humanity, but now divinity was added to our being so that we may be not just men but God-men, men who are born of God.

We may not have realized what happened at the time of our regeneration, but another life came into us, and this divine life is growing in us, spreading in us, transforming us, and shaping us to the image of Christ.

Day by day, we are being conformed to the image of Christ, God’s firstborn Son.

May we remain in this process of being conformed to His image!

Just as He has both divinity and humanity, so we, His believers as God’s many sons, also possess both the human nature and the divine nature!

And He is leading us, the many sons of God, into glory! Praise the Lord!

Thank You, Lord, for regenerating us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! Hallelujah, we believers in Christ were raised together with Christ and we were begotten of God in the resurrection of Christ! What a wonderful fact it is that we were begotten of God to be the many sons of God in the resurrection of Christ from the dead! Hallelujah, we are now children of God, those who are born of God! Thank You, God and Father, for begetting us to be Your many sons. We believe into the Lord Jesus and we repent and receive Him as our life and as our everything. Hallelujah, we now are God-men, those who possess both the human life and the divine life! Praise the Lord, just as Christ as the firstborn Son of God has divinity and humanity, so we today as the many sons of God have humanity and divinity! Hallelujah, Christ as God’s firstborn Son is leading us into glory! Amen, Lord, we open to You and we want to remain in the process of being conformed to the image of Christ as the firstborn Son of God!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1980, vol. 2, “The Secret of Experiencing Christ,” pp. 471-472, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2) (2024 December Training), week 13, The Seed of David Becoming the Son of God.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Christ becoming the firstborn Son and the life-giving Spirit and regenerating all his believers to be God’s children, God’s species, a portion from, The Issue of Christ Being Glorified by the Father with the Divine Glory, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
  – Christ’s Birth in Resurrection, via, Living to Him.
  – Christ as the seed of David becoming the Son of God, a portion from, The High Peak of the Vision and the Reality of the Body of Christ, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
  – Romans (Program #23) – God’s Selection, Our Destiny (1), via, Bible study radio.
  – Christ – firstborn from among the dead, a portion from, Life-Study of Colossians, Chapter 9.
  – 3 Wonderful Things That Happened in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – Being born of God to be sons of God, a portion from, Basic Principles of the Experience of Life, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
  – Conformed to the Image of God’s Firstborn Son (2), via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Christ the Son, a PDF tract via, LSM.
  – Children of God becoming deified sons, article by Roger Good via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – 3 Wonderful Things That Happened in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, via, Bibles for Europe blog.
  – How can Christ be both the only begotten Son of God and the firstborn Son of God? More via, Joshua Davis blog.
  – How Jesus’ Second Birth Made Him God’s Firstborn Son, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Christ becoming the firstborn Son and the life-giving Spirit and regenerating all his believers to be God’s children, God’s species, a portion from, The Issue of Christ Being Glorified by the Father with the Divine Glory, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
  – Christ’s Birth in Resurrection, via, Living to Him.
  – Christ as the seed of David becoming the Son of God, a portion from, The High Peak of the Vision and the Reality of the Body of Christ, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
  – Romans (Program #23) – God’s Selection, Our Destiny (1), via, Bible study radio.
  – Christ – firstborn from among the dead, a portion from, Life-Study of Colossians, Chapter 9.
  – 3 Wonderful Things That Happened in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – Being born of God to be sons of God, a portion from, Basic Principles of the Experience of Life, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
  – Conformed to the Image of God’s Firstborn Son (2), via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Christ the Son, a PDF tract via, LSM.
  – Children of God becoming deified sons, article by Roger Good via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – 3 Wonderful Things That Happened in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, via, Bibles for Europe blog.
  – How can Christ be both the only begotten Son of God and the firstborn Son of God? More via, Joshua Davis blog.
  – How Jesus’ Second Birth Made Him God’s Firstborn Son, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – By Thy death and resurrection, / Thou wast made God’s firstborn Son; / By Thy life to us imparting, / Was Thy duplication done. / We, in Thee regenerated, / Many sons to God became; / Truly as Thy many brethren, / We are as Thyself the same. / Once Thou wast the only grain, Lord, / Falling to the earth to die, / That thru death and resurrection / Thou in life may multiply. / We were brought forth in Thy nature / And the many grains became; / As one loaf we all are blended, / All Thy fulness to proclaim. (Hymns #203 stanzas 2-3)
  – God ordained us unto sonship, / Ere creation’s work was done, / To conform us by His Spirit / To the image of His Son; / That His only dear Begotten / Might become the firstborn One, / And by Him with many brethren / His expression full be won. / By divine regeneration / We the sons of God became, / But we must mature to fullness, / Thus the birthright to obtain. / Born and fully grown to manhood, / God’s adoption we may share; / By the measure of full stature, / We God’s sonship will declare. (Hymns #741 stanzas 1-2)
  – But in th’ economy of God / There is not one, but many sons. / One is the firstborn Son of God / With many other living ones. / Christ will inherit all God’s things, / And we’re the heirs of God with Christ. / We’re growing now to be matured; / As heirs we’ll soon be legalized. / We’re joint-heirs with the firstborn Son, / Inheriting the universe. / We’re in this corporation vast— / All partners of Christ and the church. (Hymns #1322 stanzas 5-7)