Israel is my son. — Compare Hosea 11:1. This tender relation, now first revealed, is not a mere metaphor, meaning “as dear to me as a son,” but a reality. The Israel of God enjoys the sonship of adoption by being taken into the True Son, and made one with Him (Romans 8:14-17).
My first – born. — Admitted to sonship in the Messiah before the other nations of the earth.