But if He is also called 'First-born of the creation ,' still this is not as if He were levelled to the creatures, and only first of them in point of time (for how should that be, since He is 'Only-begotten?'), but it is because of the Word's condescension to the creatures, according to which He has become the 'Brother' of 'many.' For the term 'Only-begotten' is used where there are no brethren, but 'First-born ' because of brethren. Accordingly it is nowhere written in the Scriptures , 'the first-born of God ,' nor 'the creature of God ;' but 'Only-begotten' and 'Son' and 'Word' and 'Wisdom,' refer to Him as proper to the Father. Thus, 'We have seen His glory , the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father John 1:14 ;' and 'God sent His Only-begotten Son 1 John 4:9 ;' and 'O Lord, Your Word endures for ever ;' and 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God ;' and 'Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God 1 Corinthians 1:24 ;' and 'This is My beloved Son.' and 'You are the Christ , the Son of the Living God.' But ' first-born ' implied the descent to the creation ; for of it has He been called first-born ; and 'He created' implies His grace towards the works, for for them is He created. If then He is Only-begotten, as indeed He is, 'First-born' needs some explanation; but if He be really First-born, then He is not Only-begotten. For the same cannot be both Only-begotten and First-born, except in different relations;— that is, Only-begotten, because of His generation from the Father, as has been said; and First-born, because of His condescension to the creation and His making the many His brethren. Certainly, those two terms being inconsistent with each other, one should say that the attribute of being Only-begotten has justly the preference in the instance of the Word, in that there is no other Word, or other Wisdom, but He alone is very Son of the Father. Moreover , as was before said, not in connection with any reason, but absolutely it is said of Him, 'The Only-begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father John 1:18 ;' but the word 'First-born' has again the creation as a reason in connection with it, which Paul proceeds to say, 'for in Him all things were created Colossians 1:16 .' But if all the creatures were created in Him, He is other than the creatures, and is not a creature, but the Creator of the creatures. 63. Not then because He was from the Father was He called 'First-born,' but because in Him the creation came to be; and as before the creation He was the Son , through whom was the creation, so also before He was called the First-born of the whole creation, not the less was the Word Himself with God and the Word was God. But this also not understanding, these irreligious men go about saying, 'If He is First-born of all creation, it is plain that He too is one of the creation.' Senseless men! If He is simply 'First-born of the whole creation,' then He is other than the whole creation; for he says not, 'He is First-born above the rest of the creatures,' lest He be reckoned to be as one of the creatures, but it is written, 'of the whole creation,' that He may appear other than the creation. Reuben, for instance, is not said to be first-born of all the children of Jacob , but of Jacob himself and his brethren; lest he should be thought to be some other beside the children of Jacob. Nay, even concerning the Lord Himself the Apostle says not, 'that He may become First-born of all,' lest He be thought to bear a body other than ours, but 'among many brethren Romans 8:29 ,' because of the likeness of the flesh. If then the Word also were one of the creatures, Scripture would have said of Him also that He was First-born of other creatures; but in fact, the saints saying that He is 'First-born of the whole creation Colossians 1:15 ,' the Son of God is plainly shown to be other than the whole creation and not a creature. For if He is a creature, He will be First-born of Himself. How then is it possible, O Arians , for Him to be before and after Himself? Next, if He is a creature, and the whole creation through Him came to be, and in Him consists, how can He both create the creation and be one of the things which consist in Him? Since then such a notion is in itself unseemly, it is proved against them by the truth , that He is called 'First-born among many brethren?' because of the relationship of the flesh, and 'First-born from the dead,' because the resurrection of the dead is from Him and after Him; and 'First-born of the whole creation,' because of the Father's love to man , which brought it to pass that in His Word not only 'all things consist ,' but the creation itself, of which the Apostle speaks, 'waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God , shall be delivered' one time 'from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.' Of this creation thus delivered, the Lord will be First-born, both of it and of all those who are made children, that by His being called first, those that come after Him may abide , as depending on the Word as a beginning.

He who is first begotten is called first-born, whether he is only-begotten or the first of a number of brothers. If then the Son of God was called first-born, but was not called Only-begotten, we could imagine that He was the first-born of creatures, as being a creature. But since He is called both first-born and Only-begotten, both senses must be preserved in His case. We say that He is first-born of all creation since both He Himself is of God and creation is of God, but as He Himself is born alone and timelessly of the essence of God the Father, He may with reason be called Only-begotten Son, first-born and not first-created. For the creation was not brought into being out of the essence of the Father, but by His will out of nothing.

Critics often dispense with Colossians 1:15-17 by arguing that Paul was not arguing that Jesus was a particular preexistent being, but was rather saying that wisdom was "now most fully expressed in Jesus" versus previous manifestations.

If this is so then it seems odd that the language does not express that Jesus became these things -- the image of God, etc. -- versus that he is, was, and always was, as the language implies. It is hard to swallow that Paul (or the creed he quotes) made these numerous allusions to pre-existent Wisdom and yet did not make this very important distinction clear.

Furthermore, what "fuller expression" could there be than actuality? To assume that borrowing the language was not intended to transmit a truth about the identity of Jesus fails to explain how otherwise Paul could have written in order to directly equate Jesus with Wisdom.

> Colossians 1:15-18 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

This passage is full of allusions to the Wisdom literature, identifying Jesus with God's eternal Wisdom. Note the following parallels:

> Colossians 1:15a -- He is the image of the invisible God...

> Wisdom of Solomon 7:26 -- (Wisdom is) a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.

> Colossians 1:15b -- ...the firstborn over all creation.

Philo refers to Wisdom as the 'firstborn son' and offspring of God.

> Colossians 1:16a -- ...by him all things were created..

> Wisdom of Solomon 1:14 -- 'for he created all things that they might exist'

Sirach 1:4 and Philo refer to Wisdom as the 'master workman' of creation.

> Colossians 1:17b -- He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

> Wisdom of Solomon 1:7 -- ...that which holds all things together knows what is said...

The Jehovah’s Witnesses interpret the word “firstborn” here to mean “first-created” because it is consistent with their theological presupposition that Jesus is a created thing. Of course, Jesus, the Word become flesh (John 1:1, 14), is not a created thing; but that hasn’t stopped the Watchtower organization from claiming He is. Nevertheless, there is a Greek word for “first created,” and it was in use at the time of Paul’s writing to the Colossians. He did not use it here. The Greek for “firstborn” is proto with tikto which would give us “firstborn,” and that is what we find here in Colossians 1:15. The Greek for “first-created” would be proto with ktizo, and it is not used here.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exists.” (Col. 1:15-17, for context. The New World Translation – Emphasis added. Note the NWT’s addition of ‘other‘ into the text four times. This is discussed here).

Second, the biblical use of the word “firstborn” is most interesting. It can mean the first-born child in a family (Luke 2:7), but it can also mean “pre-eminence.” Psalm 89:20, 27, says, “I have found David My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him…I also shall make him My first-born.” (NASB). As you can see, David, who was the last one born in his family, was called the firstborn by God. This is a title of preeminence.

Third, ‘firstborn’ is also a title that is transferable.

- Ephraim and Manasseh – firstborn title switched
- Gen. 41:51-52, “And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: For, said he, God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
- Jer. 31:9, “…for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”
- King David – last born, becomes the firstborn
- 1 Sam. 17:12–14, “Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13 The three older sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab, the firstborn, and the second to him, Abinadab, and the third, Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul.”
- Psalm 89:20, 27, “I have found David, My servant; With My holy oil I have anointed him… 27 I also shall make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.”

Scripture best interprets scripture. Firstborn does not require a meaning of first created as the Jehovah’s Witnesses say it means here. “Firstborn” can mean the firstborn person in a family, and it can also be a title of preeminence that is transferable. That is obvious since Jesus is God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14) and is also the firstborn son of Mary. In addition, He is the pre-eminent one in all things. The Jehovah’s Witnesses should consider this when they examine Col. 1:15. Believers are encouraged to examine the Scriptures directly to understand the pre-eminent nature of Christ.

The phrase "firstborn of all creation" is not dealing with time, but status and position. It does not mean that Jesus is the first created thing. It means that Jesus is the one who is preeminent, the most important. We can see this here in Colossians.

> "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:15-17).

As you can see, Jesus cannot be the first created thing because the Bible says in verse 16 that he created all things. Of course, God is not created so when it is referring to all things being created by Jesus we must conclude that he is divine, God in flesh. Naturally, this would mean that he is the preeminent one.

Firstborn, πρωτότοκος, prototokos

The word "firstborn" is used in different contexts. Please consider the following chart, which lists all of the occurrences of the word in the Greek New Testament.

• Luke 2:7 - Literal Birth
• Luke 2:23 - Literal Birth
• Romans 8:29 - Preeminent
• Colossians 1:15 - Preeminent
• Colossians 1:18 - First Resurrected
• Hebrews 1:6 - Preeminent and worshipped
• Hebrews 11:28 - Literal Birth
• Hebrews 12:23 - Belonging to God
• Revelation 1:5 - First Resurrected

As you can see, context determines meaning and we cannot say that firstborn always means first created; that is, as would be understood in the context of literal birth.

Firstborn is transferrable

The term firstborn is a title of preeminence that is also transferable. Please consider the following...

> "I have found David My servant. With My holy oil I have anointed him, 21 with whom My hand will be established. My arm also will strengthen him. 22 The enemy will not deceive him, nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23 But I shall crush his adversaries before him, and strike those who hate him. 24 My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, and in My name his horn will be exalted. 25 I shall also set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers. 26 He will cry to Me, 'You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.' 27 I also shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth," (Psalm 89:20-27).

David was not the firstborn of his family. In fact, he was the last one born. We can see in this section of Scripture that David is called the firstborn, "the highest of the kings of the earth." It's clearly a title of preeminence.

• "And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: For, said he, God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction," (Genesis 41:51-52)
• Jer. 31:9, " . . . for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn," (Jeremiah 31:9).

We can see that the firstborn title was transferred from Manasseh to Ephraim. Clearly, the term "firstborn" does not necessitate the first one created or the first one born. Context always determines the meaning, and when the Bible says Jesus is the firstborn of all creation it is talking about his preeminence, his position of authority, and superiority over it. Again, we know this is the case because the very next verse in Colossians, v. 16, says that he is the creator of all things. Furthermore, when we combine this with a verse in Isaiah we have something most interesting.

> "Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, 'I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone'" (Isaiah 44:24).

Since the LORD (YHWH) is the one who formed all things by himself, alone, and we see that Jesus is also the creator of all things, then we must conclude that Jesus is God in the flesh, creator of all things. He is the firstborn of all creation. He is not the first created thing.