Revelation 1:5

For the Lord, having been born "the First-begotten of the dead"

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

Having previously written about the incorporeal Word of God, and having spoken about Him as "He who was"; now John speaks about His incarnation, saying,

"and from Jesus Christ," not dividing Him into two, but testifying both this and that about Him, that He is both the Word of the Father and that He was incarnate.

Who is a "faithful witness"; for according to the apostle, he bore witness before Pontius Pilate to the good confession. (1 Tim. 6:13)

which "He was," that he is God and Lord of all, even though he was incarnate.

And such "witness" is indeed true; for he speaks the truth and is worthy of faith.

"the firstborn of the dead." This also Paul bears witness to, saying that "He is the first fruits, the firstborn from the dead." (Col. 1:18) He is called "the firstborn from the dead" as the one who has superiority in the common resurrection, and who has initiated for us a new and living way, the resurrection from the dead, through the veil, that is, his flesh according to what is written. For all who rose from the dead before the Lord again fell under death; for that was not the true resurrection, but a temporary release from death. Therefore, none of them was called "firstborn from the dead." But the Lord is called this, as having become the beginning and cause of the true resurrection. And just as having become a kind of first fruits of the resurrection of mankind, having become like one who also went before, as if from a certain threshing floor, from death to life. For concerning the Lord alone, the divine Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Romans, saying: "knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has dominion over him. For he who has died, has died once for sin; but he who lives, lives for God." (Rom. 6:9-10)

"and the ruler of the kings of the earth," Daniel also said this to the Babylonian: he says. "Until he says you will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of heaven; and to whomsoever he will, he gives it." (Dan. 5:22) Therefore, Christ reigns over all those things in Heaven. But now John speaks concerning those on earth; and going forward, he shows Him also reigning over the holy orders in Heaven.

The arrangement [σύνταξις] of the speech returns from the last to the first. He says to him, The glory and the power belong to the one who loved us; for how could he not have loved, "who gave himself as a ransom for the life of the world?" (1 Tim. 2:6)

"and has washed us from our sins in His blood." For He Himself bore our handwritten record that was against us in the decrees; and He fastened it to the wood of His cross (Col. 2:14), stretching out our sins to His own death and freeing us by His blood from our offenses, "having subjected Himself to death, even death on a cross, (Philip. 2:8) to heal our disobedience.

"and has made us a kingdom." And who says that in becoming "priests to His God and His prophets" there is benefit for us? For it was deemed fitting for men to obtain these things, securing for us the future kingdom and bestowing upon us an unfading glory even in the present time. For to "wash us from our sins in His own blood" is a greater and more marvelous gift, worthy of the divine grace. Moreover, that those who have offered nothing beforehand should become "priests of God and prophets" is a gift of such a kind.

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.

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.

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.”

John to the seven churches which are in Asia. By the number seven is represented the universal Church, because of the seven gifts of him who has filled the earth. Hence Elisha made the child upon whom he lay gape seven times, [2 Kings 4:32 et seq.] because the people that died from unfaithfulness is brought back to life by the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. So the number seven is perfect, being formed by the number three and the number four; for the number three is considered perfect in the divine Scriptures because of the mystery of the Trinity, because of the three virtues: faith, hope, and love, or because of the three classes of the faithful: preachers, celibates, and married people. As for the number four, it is perfect because of the four parts of the world, because of the four cardinal virtues (namely prudence, temperance, courage, and justice) or because of the four books of the Gospels. Therefore, because knowledge of the Trinity encompasses the four cardinal points of the sky; because hope, faith, and love complete the sum of the four cardinal virtues; or because the three classes of believers submit to the commandments of the four Gospels, it is right for the universal Church to be symbolized by this number seven. One should nonetheless know that it was especially to the seven churches of the Ephesians that he sent these mysteries he wrote in exile. So species is not excluded, but in the species a genus is shown, namely the universal Church. It is appropriate to say that the universal Church is in Asia, for Asia translates to “pride.” The word “pride” is not always used to refer to a vice, but sometimes to the summit of virtue, as in I will make thee to be the pride of worlds, [Is. 60:15] that is “I will make you despise all pleasures and low honors;” and elsewhere, He hath lifted thee up above the height of the earth. [Cf. Is. 58:14] So it is in this height of pride that the Church takes its place. Alternatively, if “pride” is being used to refer to a vice, we should not take it to mean that the Church will remain proud, but that it was raised in the arrogance of pride some time ago, but is predestined to become humble through a heavenly gift, according to this: Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, or has thou beheld the treasures of the hail: Which I have prepared for the time of the enemy, against the day of battle and war? [Job 38:22-23] Grace be unto you and peace from him that is, and that was, and that is to come, and from the seven spirits which are in the sight of his throne, and from Jesus Christ. Grace means forgiveness granted freely, and it is with it shining on us when we were servants of sin that we were adopted as children of justice. It is this grace that Peter and Paul first mentioned in their salutations when they were about to write to the faithful, in order to show, before exhorting the peoples of grace, that the whole sum of the salutation was in this grace. It is proper for grace to be put before peace, because no one could have come to God's peace reconciled if the grace of mercy had not preceded them. As for the fact that he says from him that is, and that was, and that is to come, it should be taken as referring specifically to the only-begotten Son of God. He is in essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and has never been affected by mutability, according to this saying of Paul's: There was not in him « it is » and « it is not », but « it is » was in him [Variant of 2 Cor. 1:19], because, before he was born of the Virgin in time, he spent all times with the Father. Whence the same John says, in the beginning was the Word. [John 1:1] It is also the same who is to come to judge the living and the dead in the humanity he assumed, as it is written: He shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven. [Acts 1:11] So, since it is certain that the Church has received this grace not only from the Son and the Holy Spirit but also from the Father through the Son and the Holy Spirit, why is the person of the Father not mentioned in this passage? Because it is habitual in the sacred Scriptures, where one or two of the persons of the Trinity are mentioned, for the whole Trinity to be understood at the same time. As for the words from the seven spirits, he says this because of the sevenfold operation of one spirit; and this spirit is said to be alone in the sight of the throne, that is of the Church, that is in the memory of the saints, because it is to this same spirit in particular that the remission of sins is ascribed, according to this: Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them. [John 20:22-23] Or if not, then surely the whole Trinity is understood in the Spirit. In saying from Jesus Christ, he mentions the person of the Son again, because the one referred to existed before the ages, and was made man in the end of the ages. Who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. It is obviously a way of speaking when he calls Christ specifically the faithful witness, while there are three who give testimony: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the three are one God. [Cf. 1 John 5:7] One may also call the Son specifically, in the role of man he assumed, a faithful witness, in that he went as far as the death of the flesh for the sake of the testimony of the truth. For while the whole Church, in the holy preachers, gives testimony concerning Christ, the ones called martyrs, that is “witnesses,” are principally those who suffered physical death for Christ. He is called first begotten because no one before him rose never to die. A different interpretation would be that all the saints are dead to the world, as it is said in for you are dead, [Col. 3:3] but he is so in a special way, because there has been no sin in him. By the kings, he means either all the saints, who know how to govern themselves well, or at any rate the preachers, who become partners with the good but raise themselves above the wicked, like Peter above Ananias, [Acts 5:1 et seq.] and Paul who brandishes his scepter, saying, What will you? shall I come to you with a rod? [1 Cor. 4:21] Because he hath loved us. How he has loved us, the pains he suffered clearly show. He did not however love us as we were, that is wicked ones, but as he made us by love itself. Whence it is added right afterwards, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; but in what way he has washed us in his own blood, the apostle indicated, saying, All we, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in his death. [Rom. 6:3]

QUESTION: What does it mean that John salutes only seven churches whereas the Master of truth says, Go ye into the whole world, and preach to every creature? [Mark 16:15] ANSWER: Through these seven churches, he writes to the whole Church. Indeed totality is often represented by the number seven, because all this worldly time flies by in cycles of seven days. THERE FOLLOWS: Grace be unto you and peace from him that is, and that was, and that is to come, and from the seven spirits. ANSWER: He wishes the pious people grace and peace from God the eternal Father, the sevenfold Spirit, and Jesus Christ, who gave testimony to the Father in the human form he assumed. He names the Son in the third place as he is going to say more about him. He also names him last because he is the first and the last, and he has already named him together with the Father when he said that is to come. The first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

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.