Firstborn of All Creation – Colossians 1:15-20

In my several conversations with Jehovah’s Witnesses (see here for an example, but be warned, it’s long) it is inevitable that they get to their focus on Jesus not being God, but God’s highest creation. And they inevitably go to Colossians 1:15 and Paul’s description of Jesus as “firstborn” to bolster their view. But as we’ll see, that is not Paul’s view at all and not the meaning of “firstborn.”

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20, ESV)

Paul now launches into basic apostolic teaching on the core tenets of the gospel, beginning and ending with Jesus, his person and his work.

As to his person, Jesus is an exact replica of the Father and the most pre-eminent being in the universe. Though the use of the descriptor “invisible” of the Father might seem to suggest that it is in his visible aspect that Jesus is an exact representation of the Father, Paul and all other Scripture rejects the view that a physical representation of God is given to us as an aid to worship. Rather, Jesus is the image of God in the sense that he is in every way just like the Father, though, as other Scripture would show, unique in his personality. We are talking here about the attributes of God.

A convenient and powerful description of God’s attributes is afforded us in the Westminster Confession of Faith catechism referring to God as “infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.” Jesus fits this “definition” perfectly. And so, he is the “firstborn of all creation.”  

We see from the use of the term firstborn in Scripture that firstborn does not necessarily refer to birth order. Israel is called God’s firstborn even though as a nation she was not God’s first “child,” (Jeremiah 31:9) and king David (Psalm 89) is made firstborn, defined as the “highest” of all the kings, not the first. Rather, the intent of the word “firstborn” in contexts like this is ‘the highest honored one’, the one who, like the firstborn child in a family, was given extra honor and privilege and responsibility for the family.

If, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, we focus instead on the birth aspect of this word, we still do not get the result they get, that Jesus is the highest created being in the universe. Being born is not the same as being created. If we think of Jesus being “born” we must consider him as an exact DNA-like replica of the Father, generated from all eternity, there never being a time when he was not so generated. Though there is merit in this view it is not being taught explicitly here. “Firstborn” is further explained in what follows.

Jesus is the Creator to whom all must submit and who continues to sustain the universe, holding it together. Likewise, this makes him the head of the church. And in relation to the Church he is the first one raised from the dead, the one whose resurrection is most honored and the evidence that his work of sacrifice was effective.

We are speaking now of the work of Christ. His work was to make a reconciliation of all rebellious creatures possible through his sacrificial death on the cross. He makes that shalom possible by paying the price for our sins, death, in our stead, just like the sacrificial animals of Jewish ritual did, though they could not really take away sin. Only the “firstborn” of all creation can do that.

Your view of Christ will affect the way you live.   Heresy in regard to Jesus will lead to ungodly living.