Thomas... My Lord and my God

[Runningman]

I'm sure you know how to make a List of Judaizing Unitarian Heresies. You have shown yourself to be an expert in doing that.

We're all still waiting for you to correct your Gaffes. You've got more evasive excuses than a flea bitten dog has fleas.

There is nothing at all to correct except your misunderstandings, but I am absolutely sure you would not listen to any of it.

 

[Runningman]

Isaiah 43:11 (NKJV)
“I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior.”

Hosea 13:4 (NKJV)
“Yet I am the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me; for there is no savior besides Me.”

RIP Arianism.

I have to chuckle at you. Do you know how many are called saviors in the Bible aside from God and Jesus? There's a few.

 

[mikesw]

You're looking around you too much. Look within at the long history of your organization. It's a hot mess.

hmm. I did not know I was part of an organization. I guess it is so secret that it is hidden from me but not from you.

 

[synergy]

Jesus was not born yet when Isaiah 43:11 was written. Same with Hosea 13:4. In fact, his mother was not even born.

So what? The Word existed as God from all eternity past before he tabernacled as Jesus. Learn your Bible.

Your Arianism remains dead in its coffin after you spewed out another one of your Gaffes, where you blatantly contradicted the Biblical God. Stop paying homage to your Arian God.

If you don't learn from your Arian Gaffes but keep repeating them, I will have to create a running list of Peterlag Gaffes as I currently do with RM.

 

[synergy]

Yet the Word is entirely distinct from The God in the Greek. That never gets old pointing that out to you.

This is another repeat of your Gaffe #1.

There is nothing at all to correct except your misunderstandings, but I am absolutely sure you would not listen to any of it.

Your total reluctance to correct anyone of your Gaffes demonstrates to everyone how just how much you detest the Bible.

I have to chuckle at you. Do you know how many are called saviors in the Bible aside from God and Jesus? There's a few.

You just blatantly contradicted God who declared
"besides Me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11) and "there is no savior besides Me" (Hosea 13:4) without you making any effort to understand what God meant by "savior". This is your new Gaffe #25.

List of Unitarian RunningMan's Gaffes:

1. You mistake us for Modalists by falsely accusing us that we do not differentiate between the Word and the God (the Father).
2. Your ignorance of the Greek word ἐσκήνωσεν in John 1:14.
3. You have difficulty understanding the grammatical fact that pronouns implicitly point back to the Primary Subject as their Antecedent.
4. Your categorical mistake when you think that partaking of an item transforms your nature into that item.
5. Your ignorance of the Greek word κοινωνία,
6. Your ignorance of Greek neuter pronouns in 1 John 1.
7. You said that "the Word is not actually God" which flat out contradicts John 1:1c that says "the Word was God".
8. At no time does Jesus ever has to "partake" of divine nature. That's because he is God to begin with (John 1:1c).
9. The REV translates from God only knows which originals when they dreamt up the phrase "what God was the word was".
10. Your ignorance of the Uncreated Word of God, in the OT (1 Kings 12:22 and 1 Ch 17:3), who came to people as a Communicative Person and who has all the attributes of a Person (Mind, Will, Individuality, etc...).
11. You ignore the prevailing Greco-Roman paganism at that time when you mistakenly present John 17:3 as being against Trinitarianism. You're also working backwards from John 17:3 to wipe out what John explicitly wrote in John 1:1.
12. Your attempt to rewrite John 1:1c from "the Word was God" to "the Word was godly" was denied.
13. You forget that God said "Let us make man in our Image". That proves that there are multiple Creator Persons.
14. You are denigrating God's Shekinah Light (το φως το αληθινον) that radiated out of the OT Tabernacle and out of Jesus at his Transfiguration. Just as God tabernacled and radiated his Shekinah in the OT, the Word now tabernacles and radiates his Shekinah Light as Jesus.
15. Your deliberate ignorance of the Greek word ὅραμα which means “something seen” or “spectacle.” and cancels the heretical idea that the Transfiguration event was imaginary or unreal.
16. Your denial of the Glory of God being Jesus' intrinsic Glory (John 1:14), proving once again that the Word was God.
17. Your refusal to understand how the Greek word ἐρχόμενον (coming) (in John 1:9) aligns perfectly with Jesus' Kenosis.
18. You don't believe Jesus when he declared that he can resurrect himself. In fact, Jesus has full.authority over life and death by being "The Resurrection and The Life" (John 11:25).
19. Unitarians will be the ones in heaven refusing to offer worship towards the Father's Throne because of Jesus' presence on that Throne.
20. You are ignorant of the fact that belief that Jesus is Lord (translated from Yahweh in the LXX) is required for our salvation.
21. You are ignorant of the fact that there are Bible version that do capitalized the Word in the Bible.
22. You conflate both old and new covenants and you have no appreciation of why Jesus is the one and only Mediator between God and men. Hint: John 1:1c and the rest of the Bible.
23. If Jesus was not God, as you claim, Jesus' statement in John 14:1 would be blasphemous according to Jer. 17:5–7.
24. Your desperate attempt to portray Jesus as just a common man when you left out the part that he personally had no need of the baptism of repentance.
25. You just blatantly contradicted God who declared "besides Me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11) and "there is no savior besides Me" (Hosea 13:4)

 

[synergy]

Josh makes some good points I have not heard elsewhere. One is about there being two words for "son" in the Greek. Jesus is not identified as the type of "son" by the relations of a man and his wife.

Thanks for that video. Can you tell us at what time is the word "son" discussed in the video? Any other points you have not heard elsewhere?

 

[Runningman]

So what? The Word existed as God from all eternity past before he tabernacled as Jesus. Learn your Bible.

Your Arianism remains dead in its coffin after you spewed out another one of your Gaffes, where you blatantly contradicted the Biblical God. Stop paying homage to your Arian God.

If you don't learn from your Arian Gaffes but keep repeating them, I will have to create a running list of Peterlag Gaffes as I currently do with RM.

Wow it's like you have never studied the Bible. In the entire Bible, when something "became" something, i.e., "the word became flesh", it always refers to something either coming into existence that previously did not exist or being created.

Look, Jesus was created. That flesh came into being. Jesus is a human, the "Word" is not flesh, rather the Word created flesh. God spoke and created Jesus using words.

A literal translation of John 1:3,14 (Berean Literal Bible)

John 1
3All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, a glory as of an only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Trinitarian Synergy's bloopers:

1. Synergy thinks that the Word incarnated, contrary to Scripture explicitly stating that the flesh of Jesus came into being.

 

[synergy]

Wow it's like you have never studied the Bible. In the entire Bible, when something "became" something, i.e., "the word became flesh", it always refers to something either coming into existence that previously did not exist or being created.

If that is true then you've got 2 Cor 5:21 as saying that Jesus came into existence as sin. You just reached a new low. Congratulations.

2 Corinthians 5:21 – “He became sin for us, who knew no sin.”

Also, you've got Matt 5:45 as saying that you came into existence when you became sons of God. Silly me, I thought I existed before that.

Matthew 5:45 – “that you may become sons of your Father in heaven.”

This is your new Gaffe #26.

A literal translation of John 1:1 (Berean Literal Bible)

Look, Jesus was created. That flesh came into being. Jesus is a human, the "Word" is not flesh, rather the Word created flesh. God spoke and created Jesus using words.

John 1
3All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.

This is a repeat of your Gaffe #3.

Trinitarian Synergy's bloopers:

1. Synergy thinks that the Word incarnated, contrary to Scripture explicitly stating that the flesh of Jesus came into being.

I correct your Gaffes, you don't. That's the difference between you and me.

Growing List of Unitarian RunningMan's Gaffes:

1. You mistake us for Modalists by falsely accusing us that we do not differentiate between the Word and the God (the Father).
2. Your ignorance of the Greek word ἐσκήνωσεν in John 1:14.
3. You have difficulty understanding the grammatical fact that pronouns implicitly point back to the Primary Subject as their Antecedent.
4. Your categorical mistake when you think that partaking of an item transforms your nature into that item.
5. Your ignorance of the Greek word κοινωνία,
6. Your ignorance of Greek neuter pronouns in 1 John 1.
7. You said that "the Word is not actually God" which flat out contradicts John 1:1c that says "the Word was God".
8. At no time does Jesus ever has to "partake" of divine nature. That's because he is God to begin with (John 1:1c).
9. The REV translates from God only knows which originals when they dreamt up the phrase "what God was the word was".
10. Your ignorance of the Uncreated Word of God, in the OT (1 Kings 12:22 and 1 Ch 17:3), who came to people as a Communicative Person and who has all the attributes of a Person (Mind, Will, Individuality, etc...).
11. You ignore the prevailing Greco-Roman paganism at that time when you mistakenly present John 17:3 as being against Trinitarianism. You're also working backwards from John 17:3 to wipe out what John explicitly wrote in John 1:1.
12. Your attempt to rewrite John 1:1c from "the Word was God" to "the Word was godly" was denied.
13. You forget that God said "Let us make man in our Image". That proves that there are multiple Creator Persons.
14. You are denigrating God's Shekinah Light (το φως το αληθινον) that radiated out of the OT Tabernacle and out of Jesus at his Transfiguration. Just as God tabernacled and radiated his Shekinah in the OT, the Word now tabernacles and radiates his Shekinah Light as Jesus.
15. Your deliberate ignorance of the Greek word ὅραμα which means “something seen” or “spectacle.” and cancels the heretical idea that the Transfiguration event was imaginary or unreal.
16. Your denial of the Glory of God being Jesus' intrinsic Glory (John 1:14), proving once again that the Word was God.
17. Your refusal to understand how the Greek word ἐρχόμενον (coming) (in John 1:9) aligns perfectly with Jesus' Kenosis.
18. You don't believe Jesus when he declared that he can resurrect himself. In fact, Jesus has full.authority over life and death by being "The Resurrection and The Life" (John 11:25).
19. Unitarians will be the ones in heaven refusing to offer worship towards the Father's Throne because of Jesus' presence on that Throne.
20. You are ignorant of the fact that belief that Jesus is Lord (translated from Yahweh in the LXX) is required for our salvation.
21. You are ignorant of the fact that there are Bible version that do capitalized the Word in the Bible.
22. You conflate both old and new covenants and you have no appreciation of why Jesus is the one and only Mediator between God and men. Hint: John 1:1c and the rest of the Bible.
23. If Jesus was not God, as you claim, Jesus' statement in John 14:1 would be blasphemous according to Jer. 17:5–7.
24. Your desperate attempt to portray Jesus as just a common man when you left out the part that he personally had no need of the baptism of repentance.
25. You just blatantly contradicted God who declared "besides Me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11) and "there is no savior besides Me" (Hosea 13:4).
26. Your poor understanding of the Biblical usage of the word "became" causes 2 Cor 5:21 to say that Jesus came into existence as sin and causes Matt 5:45 to say that you came into existence only when you became sons of God, not when you were born.

 

[Runningman]

If that is true then you've got 2 Cor 5:21 as saying that Jesus came into existence as sin. You just reached a new low. Congratulations.

2 Corinthians 5:21 – “He became sin for us, who knew no sin.”

Also, you've got Matt 5:45 as saying that you came into existence when you became sons of God. Silly me, I thought I existed before that.

Matthew 5:45 – “that you may become sons of your Father in heaven.”

Deal with the fact that "became" always means coming into existence, creation, something becoming something it previously was not, etc. Look at the pattern in John 1.

John 1:6 - John came from God. Not an incarnation.
John 1:10 - The world came into being. A creation.
John 1:14 - The "Word became flesh." The Word came into existence as flesh.

The word is not a pre-incarnate being. Word means exactly how it sounds; words, a speech, a command, an utterance... not a person. God's command created flesh, God's words created a man.

Trinitarian Synergy's bloopers:

1. Synergy thinks that the Word incarnated, contrary to Scripture explicitly stating that the flesh of Jesus came into being.
2. Synergy desperately wants the word "became" to not mean what it means, so he weaponizes Scripture against itself to distort it to mean something bad about Jesus.

 

[civic]

Deal with the fact that "became" always means coming into existence, creation, something becoming something it previously was not, etc. Look at the pattern in John 1.

John 1:6 - John came from God. Not an incarnation.
John 1:10 - The world came into being. A creation.
John 1:14 - The "Word became flesh." The Word came into existence as flesh.

The word is not a pre-incarnate being. Word means exactly how it sounds; words, a speech, a command, an utterance... not a person. God's command created flesh, God's words created a man.

Trinitarian Synergy's bloopers:

1. Synergy thinks that the Word incarnated, contrary to Scripture explicitly stating that the flesh of Jesus came into being.
2. Synergy desperately wants the word "became" to not mean what it means, so he weaponizes Scripture against itself to distort it to mean something bad about Jesus.

so words created everything, not God.

good to know you believe such an erroneous doctrine.

 

[synergy]

so words created everything, not God.

good to know you believe such an erroneous doctrine.

Another one of @Runningman's Gaffes. Eventually, the Forum will run out of space trying to store all of his Gaffes, even though I record them all in note form!!

 

[civic]

Deal with the fact that "became" always means coming into existence, creation, something becoming something it previously was not, etc. Look at the pattern in John 1.

John 1:6 - John came from God. Not an incarnation.
John 1:10 - The world came into being. A creation.
John 1:14 - The "Word became flesh." The Word came into existence as flesh.

The word is not a pre-incarnate being. Word means exactly how it sounds; words, a speech, a command, an utterance... not a person. God's command created flesh, God's words created a man.

Trinitarian Synergy's bloopers:

1. Synergy thinks that the Word incarnated, contrary to Scripture explicitly stating that the flesh of Jesus came into being.
2. Synergy desperately wants the word "became" to not mean what it means, so he weaponizes Scripture against itself to distort it to mean something bad about Jesus.

Yet John who was 6 months older than Jesus, was born 6 months before Him said the following which proves His pre existence.

I will believe Gods word over your false teaching about Christ.

John 1:15
John testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’”

John 1:30
This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘After me is coming a Man who has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’

 

[synergy]

2. Synergy desperately wants the word "became" to not mean what it means, so he weaponizes Scripture against itself to distort it to mean something bad about Jesus.

Scripture tears heresies to shreds, not itself. In your dillutional thinking, you're equating Scripture with your Judaizing Unitarian Heresies. New Gaffe #28.

Growing List of Unitarian RunningMan's Gaffes:

1. You mistake us for Modalists by falsely accusing us that we do not differentiate between the Word and the God (the Father).
2. Your ignorance of the Greek word ἐσκήνωσεν in John 1:14.
3. You have difficulty understanding the grammatical fact that pronouns implicitly point back to the Primary Subject as their Antecedent.
4. Your categorical mistake when you think that partaking of an item transforms your nature into that item.
5. Your ignorance of the Greek word κοινωνία,
6. Your ignorance of Greek neuter pronouns in 1 John 1.
7. You said that "the Word is not actually God" which flat out contradicts John 1:1c that says "the Word was God".
8. At no time does Jesus ever has to "partake" of divine nature. That's because he is God to begin with (John 1:1c).
9. The REV translates from God only knows which originals when they dreamt up the phrase "what God was the word was".
10. Your ignorance of the Uncreated Word of God, in the OT (1 Kings 12:22 and 1 Ch 17:3), who came to people as a Communicative Person and who has all the attributes of a Person (Mind, Will, Individuality, etc...).
11. You ignore the prevailing Greco-Roman paganism at that time when you mistakenly present John 17:3 as being against Trinitarianism. You're also working backwards from John 17:3 to wipe out what John explicitly wrote in John 1:1.
12. Your attempt to rewrite John 1:1c from "the Word was God" to "the Word was godly" was denied.
13. You forget that God said "Let us make man in our Image". That proves that there are multiple Creator Persons.
14. You are denigrating God's Shekinah Light (το φως το αληθινον) that radiated out of the OT Tabernacle and out of Jesus at his Transfiguration. Just as God tabernacled and radiated his Shekinah in the OT, the Word now tabernacles and radiates his Shekinah Light as Jesus.
15. Your deliberate ignorance of the Greek word ὅραμα which means “something seen” or “spectacle.” and cancels the heretical idea that the Transfiguration event was imaginary or unreal.
16. Your denial of the Glory of God being Jesus' intrinsic Glory (John 1:14), proving once again that the Word was God.
17. Your refusal to understand how the Greek word ἐρχόμενον (coming) (in John 1:9) aligns perfectly with Jesus' Kenosis.
18. You don't believe Jesus when he declared that he can resurrect himself. In fact, Jesus has full.authority over life and death by being "The Resurrection and The Life" (John 11:25).
19. Unitarians will be the ones in heaven refusing to offer worship towards the Father's Throne because of Jesus' presence on that Throne.
20. You are ignorant of the fact that belief that Jesus is Lord (translated from Yahweh in the LXX) is required for our salvation.
21. You are ignorant of the fact that there are Bible version that do capitalized the Word in the Bible.
22. You conflate both old and new covenants and you have no appreciation of why Jesus is the one and only Mediator between God and men. Hint: John 1:1c and the rest of the Bible.
23. If Jesus was not God, as you claim, Jesus' statement in John 14:1 would be blasphemous according to Jer. 17:5–7.
24. Your desperate attempt to portray Jesus as just a common man when you left out the part that he personally had no need of the baptism of repentance.
25. You just blatantly contradicted God who declared "besides Me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11) and "there is no savior besides Me" (Hosea 13:4).
26. Your poor understanding of the Biblical usage of the word "became" causes 2 Cor 5:21 to say that Jesus came into existence as sin and causes Matt 5:45 to say that you came into existence only when you became sons of God, not when you were born.
27. You think words created everything, not God.
28. In your dillutional thinking, you're equating Scripture with your Judaizing Unitarian Heresies.

 

[Runningman]

so words created everything, not God.

good to know you believe such an erroneous doctrine.

Another one of @Runningman's Gaffes. Eventually, the Forum will run out of space trying to store all of his Gaffes, even though I record them all in note form!!

No example of an incarnation. The only precedent regarding God's creating using the logos is speaking, not a separate person named the word.

Genesis 1:3 (LXX): “And there was (ἐγένετο) light.” Light did not incarnate; it came into being.

Became refers to creation:

Genesis 2:7: Man became (ἐγένετο) a living soul. This is the moment of man’s creation as a living being, not an incarnation of something pre-existent.
Exodus 9:10: “It became (ἐγένετο) a boil.” A new condition came into existence.
John 2:9: “Water became (ἐγένετο) wine.” The water was transformed into something it was not before; a new substance was created.

Deal with the fact that "became" always means coming into existence, creation, something becoming something it previously was not, etc. Look at the pattern in John 1.

John 1:6 - John came from God. Not an incarnation.
John 1:10 - The world came into being. A creation.
John 1:14 - The "Word became flesh." The Word came into existence as flesh.

The word is not a pre-incarnate being. Word means exactly how it sounds; words, a speech, a command, an utterance... not a person. God's command created flesh, God's words created a man.

 

[synergy]

Yet John who was 6 months older that Jesus, was born 6 months before Him said the following which proves His pre existence.

I will believe Gods word over your false teaching about Christ.

John 1:15
John testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’”

John 1:30
This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘After me is coming a Man who has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’

@Runningman has Gaffes coming out of his ears.

 

[Runningman]

so words created everything, not God.

good to know you believe such an erroneous doctrine.

You intentionally misunderstand scripture. Now you're saying God isn't the creator.

 

[Runningman]

Yet John who was 6 months older that Jesus, was born 6 months before Him said the following which proves His pre existence.

I will believe Gods word over your false teaching about Christ.

John 1:15
John testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’”

John 1:30
This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘After me is coming a Man who has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’

Jesus didn't exist before John. The word "exist" there is a bad translation because it doesn't refer to chronological time, but rather to importance.

Jesus is more important than John in regards to rank and status, but didn't exist before John in the sense of time. Read John 1:30 again.

before
πρῶτός (prōtos)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's Greek 4413: First, before, principal, most important. Contracted superlative of pro; foremost.

 

[Runningman]

Yet John who was 6 months older that Jesus, was born 6 months before Him said the following which proves His pre existence.

I will believe Gods word over your false teaching about Christ.

John 1:15
John testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’”

John 1:30
This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘After me is coming a Man who has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’

Trinitarian Synergy's bloopers: @synergy

1. Synergy thinks that the Word incarnated, contrary to Scripture explicitly stating that the flesh of Jesus came into being.
2. Synergy desperately wants the word "became" to not mean what it means, so he weaponizes Scripture against itself to distort it to mean something bad about Jesus.
3. Synergy gave a like to Civic's post that claims Jesus "existed" before John without studying the Greek which explicitly says "before" refers to importance, not time.

 

[civic]

You intentionally misunderstand scripture. Now you're saying God isn't the creator.

God is the Creator, not words.

 

[civic]

Trinitarian Synergy's bloopers: @synergy

1. Synergy thinks that the Word incarnated, contrary to Scripture explicitly stating that the flesh of Jesus came into being.
2. Synergy desperately wants the word "became" to not mean what it means, so he weaponizes Scripture against itself to distort it to mean something bad about Jesus.
3. Synergy gave a like to Civic's post that claims Jesus "existed" before John without studying the Greek which explicitly says "before" refers to importance, not time.

You are wrong again it has several meanings one of which is existing before another.

Obviously you do not know the first thing about biblical Greek.

The Greek adjective πρῶτος (prōtos) serves the New Testament writers as their primary term for “first,” whether in sequence, rank, importance, or priority. Its wide distribution—spanning Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation—allows Scripture to present a unified theology of primacy that centers on Jesus Christ, unfolds the redemptive story, and instructs the Church in ordered devotion.

Primacy in Chronology

1. Narrative markers: “On the first day of Unleavened Bread” (Mark 14:12), “the first day of the week” (Mark 16:9) establish historical settings with precision.
2. Sequential miracles and events: The two-stage prison escape in Acts 12:10 locates the “first” gate to heighten dramatic tension and underscore divine deliverance.
3. Doctrinal comparisons: Hebrews contrasts the “first covenant” with the superior new covenant (Hebrews 8:7-13; 9:1-18), showing salvation history progressing from shadow to substance.

Primacy in Rank and Preeminence

1. Greatest commandment: When the scribe asks, “Which is the most important?” Jesus replies, “The foremost is: ‘Hear, O Israel…’” (Mark 12:29-30). Prōtos conveys supreme authority over every moral imperative.
2. Chief men and leaders: Acts 28:17 refers to “the leading men of the Jews,” indicating social prominence; likewise, Mark 6:21 speaks of “the leading men of Galilee” invited to Herod’s banquet.
3. Paul’s self-assessment: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15). Prōtos here underscores Paul’s felt prominence in sin, magnifying grace.

Christ, the First and the Last

Revelation repeatedly bestows on Jesus the title “the First and the Last” (Revelation 1:17; 2:8; 22:13). Prōtos anchors His eternal preexistence, sovereign priority in creation, and lordship over consummation. The term thus furnishes a Christology of absolute supremacy:
• Pre-incarnate glory—“He was before me” (John 1:15, 30).
• Resurrection precedence—“Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again” anticipates “the firstborn from the dead” in concept (cf. Revelation 1:5).
• Eschatological authority—His self-designation secures the certainty of final judgment and new creation.

The First Resurrection and Eschatological Blessing

“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection” (Revelation 20:6). Prōtos distinguishes the resurrection of the righteous prior to the millennial reign from the later resurrection unto judgment (Revelation 20:5). Participation in the prōtē anastasis guarantees exemption from “the second death,” underscoring the hope of believers.

First Works and First Love

Ephesus is warned, “Remember how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the works you did at first” (Revelation 2:5). Prōtos pinpoints original fervor as the standard for ongoing faithfulness. Earlier in the same letter Christ says, “You have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4), making primacy a qualitative benchmark for devotion, not mere chronology.

Reversal of First and Last

Jesus’ repeated paradox—“The first will be last, and the last will be first” (Matthew 19:30; 20:16; Mark 10:31; Luke 13:30)—subverts worldly notions of greatness. Prōtos here warns against pride, promises vindication for the humble, and illustrates kingdom values in contrast to human systems.

Firstfruits of Ministry and Mission

• Philippians 1:5 recalls “your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,” celebrating unwavering commitment.
• Acts 11:26 notes that in Antioch the disciples “were first called Christians,” marking a pivotal identity moment.
• Paul’s missional order—“To the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 implied by 10:19 use of prōtos)—demonstrates covenant priority without ethnic exclusivism.

Priorities in Christian Ethics

1. Family care: “Honor your father and mother—this is the first commandment with a promise” (Ephesians 6:2). Prōtos recalls Exodus 20 but applies it within Spirit-filled households.
2. Ministerial discipline: Timothy is told that younger widows incur condemnation “for casting off their first faith” (1 Timothy 5:12), guarding purity of devotion.
3. Doctrinal essentials: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins…” (1 Corinthians 15:3). Prōtos clarifies the gospel’s non-negotiable core.

Historical and Cultural Context

In Greco-Roman usage prōtos denoted civic rank (e.g., “first men” of a city, Acts 28:17), athletic placement, or logical precedence in rhetoric. New Testament writers appropriate this semantic range but consistently infuse it with redemptive meaning—whether locating Jesus above Caesar, covenantal newness above Mosaic types, or humble service above social climbing.

Prōtos and Covenant Transition

Hebrews offers the fullest theological meditation: the “first” tabernacle (Hebrews 9:2, 6, 8) and “first” covenant give way to the “greater and more perfect tent” (9:11). The adjective thus functions as a pivot between old order and new, assuring believers of the sufficiency of Christ’s priesthood.