352. 'The firstborn of the flock' means the holy which is the Lord's alone. This becomes clear from the firstborn in the representative Church, where everything was holy because it had regard to the Lord, who alone is 'the Firstborn'. Love and faith deriving from it are the firstborn. All love is the Lord's and not a trace of it man's, and this is why the Lord alone is 'the Firstborn'. This was represented in the Churches of the ancient era by the requirement to consecrate the firstborn of man and of beast to Jehovah, Exodus 13:2, 12, 15. It was also represented by the tribe of Levi, which in the internal sense means love - though Levi was born later than Reuben and Simeon, who in the internal sense mean faith - being taken instead of all the firstborn and becoming the priesthood, Numbers 3:40-46; 8:14-20. That the Lord as regards His Human Essence is the Firstborn of all is clear from the following statement in David,

He will cry to Me, You are My Father, My God, and the Rock of My Salvation; I will also make Him as the Firstborn, supreme over the kings of the earth. Psalms 89:26-27.

And in John,

Jesus Christ, the Firstborn from the dead, and Prince of the kings of the earth. Revelation 1:5.

Please note that the firstborn of worship mean the Lord, while the firstborn of the Church mean faith.

Title: If

Topic: Salvation

Summary: We ponder the mysteries of predestination and freewill through the use of the word "if" in Scripture and passages about free choice.

Use the reference links below to follow along in the Bible as you watch.

References:
Romans 8:28,31
Ephesians 1:3, 9, 11
Revelation 7:4, 9-10
Genesis 4:7
Exodus 19:3-6
Leviticus 26:3, 14, 27, 40
Deuteronomy 30:10, 17, 19
Joshua 24:15
1 Samuel 12:24-25
2 Samuel 24:11-13
Psalms 119:30
Proverbs 1:28-31; 3:31
Isaiah 1:16, 19-20; 56:4
Jeremiah 7:3-7
Matthew 6:14-15; 19:16-17, 21
Luke 10:41-42
John 15:6-7, 10, 14
Romans 8:13; 11:22
Philippians 1:22
James 2:8-9
2 Peter 1:5, 8, 10
Jeremiah 17:19-27
Zechariah 6:9-15