House of God
Today’s Topic: The Concept of The Primogenitor: Elijah and Elisha, John and Jesus
Scripture: 2 Kings 2:9-15; Revelation 1:5; John 14:7,9b; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Isaiah 9:6;
Greetings Kingdom Citizens:
I hear many people pray “they want a double portion” of God’s Spirit and as I was studying, do we understand truly what we are asking for? I know it sounds good and the request is to “mean” we want more of God but what is this double portion because in scripture the double portion is specific and points to a concept that many do not understand and I pray we take the time to study this so we are not just saying things because it sounds good.
In 2 Kings 2:9-15 we have the story between Elijah and Elisha and the point where Elijah, who is the only one in scripture that I have been seen to be taken by chariot to Heaven, is about to be taken up. Now we studied in our previous series on “Sonship” Elijah was a type and shadow of John the Baptist and Elisha was a type and shadow of Jesus. Matthew 11:11-14 speaks about the greatness of John the Baptist and what he meant and at the end in verse 14 it says “And if ye will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to come”. Now it is John the Baptist who announces Christ in the spirit of Elijah. So if we go back to the story in 2 Kings 2:19, Elisha is asking Elijah for the double portion of the spirit he had. Now before we go any further I want to bring this concept out here and then the picture will become clearer.
The double portion is a reference to a biblical concept called the primogenitor. Now for those of you who have been with us for a while this word may look familiar but it is slightly different. The word primogenitor is related to the word “father”. The root word of father and primogenitor is pater. Now the two words I want to show you so there is no confusion is:
Progenitor – Originator of a line of descent i.e. God the Father
Primogenitor – is the first son from the Progenitor that brings the culture of the father to the next generation.
So the primogenitor is the son of the father that brings the culture of the father to the next generation. Now when we look at Elijah and Elisha the primogenitor is the one who receives the double portion from the progenitor and carries on the culture. Elisha had been under Elijah for some time and in the scripture Elijah says if you see me go up then you shall receive the double portion (paraphrasing). Elijah was spiritually talking about Jesus who would receive the double portion from the Father because He was coming to represent the Father. Just like Elijah pointed to Elisha who would receive the double portion, John the Baptist would point to Jesus who receives the double portion from the Father. So in that day, Jesus is the primogenitor who shows us the progenitor (God the Father) by His own actions and activities.
The primogenitor is the Faithful and True Witness (Revelation 1:5), Jesus Christ, who is the reliable representation of the Heavenly Father hence Jesus said this:
John 14:7,9b:”If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him. He that has seen me hath seen the Father.
So now we can look at 2 Corinthians 5:19 and see the picture open a little wider. “To wit that God was in the Primogenitor (Christ) reconciling the world unto Himself.” Now the Son, Jesus has established His own body in the Earth. As a result, Jesus has the power and authority (Matthew 28:18) to represent the Father to the Body of Christ, Hence Jesus is called the Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6). So whoever is in the Body of Christ you are a member by spirit of the spiritual House of God and joined to the anointing who assembles you in Christ.
Not to get to far in this, in the next example I want to show you another Old Testament story of a type and shadow that brings us to the Primogenitor, Jesus Christ
At the Father’s Service,
Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.
