Prōtotokos Monogenēs

In the previous post I wrote,

“‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through Him might believe.

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.’ (John 1:1-10,14).”

And, then I quoted a large section from Proverbs chapter 8. I won’t quote Proverbs 8 again, but I will quote a portion of it from my comment that followed the larger scripture I quoted from Proverbs 8.

“Both ‘beginnings’ [in Proverbs 8 and John 1] were not eternity past, but what seemed like eternity past; that is, creation week. Creation was ‘the beginning’ to the Israelites and the Bible writers. Thus, we can know from Proverbs 8:22,23,30 that the Word of God and the Wisdom of God was the only begotten of God the first-begotten Son of God, the Prōtotokos. ‘The LORD possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old.

I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:...

Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him;

Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth; and My delights were with the sons of men.’”

In Patriarchs and Prophets Ellen White quoted John 1 and Proverbs 8 when describing the growing up of Michael, the only begotten of God.

“The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of beneficence. He had an associate—a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.’ John 1:1, 2. Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father—one in nature, in character, in purpose—the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. ‘His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’ Isaiah 9:6. His ‘goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.’ Micah 5:2. And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: ‘The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting.... When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.’ Proverbs 8:22-30.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 34.

From the other verses in Proverbs 8 we see that not only was Michael brought up with God the Father, but He was brought forth from God the Father. How the bringing forth happened may forever remain a mystery. But what is revealed is for us and our children forever. And what has been revealed is that the begetting of Michael did happen. And the begetting from the Father happened only once; it never happened again. One begetting. One bringing forth of the only-Begotten, “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. 3:14).

“When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth^H2342…”

H2342 chûl a primitive root; properly to twist or whirl…, to writhe. in pain (especially of parturition) or fear…: - bear, (make to) bring forth, (make to) calve…be in pain,… travail (with pain), tremble, trust, wait carefully (patiently)…

H525 ‘âmôn From H539, probably in the sense of training; skilled, that is, an architect (like H542): - one brought up.

Among other related interpretations of chûl the meaning comes through that the bringing forth of the Holy One, the Son of the Highest was a real event. Added to Mrs. White’s use of Proverbs 8 are her non-trinitarian statements in the same paragraph from Patriarchs and Prophets, page 34. Even though she didn’t quote from the “bringing forth” verses, she repeatedly used Christ’s title as, Only-begotten Son, and described another non-trinitarian thought—that a third person of a trinity was not involved in creation. “The Sovereign of the universe … had an associate”, “a co-worker”, “Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God”, “one in nature, in character, in purpose—the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God”, “…the Son of God declares concerning Himself: ‘The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting.... When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.’” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 34.

“The King of the universe summoned the heavenly hosts before Him, that in their presence He might set forth the true position of His Son and show the relation He sustained to all created beings. The Son of God shared the Father’s throne, and the glory of the eternal, self-existent One encircled both. About the throne gathered the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng—‘ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands’ (Revelation 5:11.), the most exalted angels, as ministers and subjects, rejoicing in the light that fell upon them from the presence of the Deity. Before the assembled inhabitants of heaven the King declared that none but Christ, the Only Begotten of God, could fully enter into His purposes, and to Him it was committed to execute the mighty counsels of His will. The Son of God had wrought the Father’s will in the creation of all the hosts of heaven; and to Him, as well as to God, their homage and allegiance were due. Christ was still to exercise divine power, in the creation of the earth and its inhabitants....” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 36.

The only-begotten Son was the only being who could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God, “…the Son of God declares concerning Himself: ‘The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting.... When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him..’” Then what does that make the Holy Spirit if Christ could be the only other being in the work of creation? Doesn’t it make the Spirit a non-being? Doesn’t the above texts exclude the Holy Spirit as a co-worker in creation? Doesn’t it exclude a third person of a trinity as an associate among Them who said, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness”, and then They made Adam and Eve without a third person?

“This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him; male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.” (Gen. 5:1,2).

All by itself, her use of those two words, “Only-Begotten”, makes Ellen White a non-trinitarian, because the Trinity doctrine states that Father, Son, and Spirit are co-eternal, and that they were three co-equal Gods who decided at some point in eternity past to each role-play three parts for the benefit of intelligent creation. The Trinity was pagan pantheism dressed in Christian theology. Paganism is at the core of the very subtle Godhead heresy. The Bible and Ellen White both call the Son “firstbegotten” “only begotten”, G3439 G4416, “prōtotokos” “monogenēs”, the only first begotten Son of God.

Our Prōtotokos Monogenēs is and—from the beginning—was the only Co-worker with His Father in the work of creation, “Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father—one in nature, in character, in purpose—the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God.”