Jesus, the Firstborn of All Creation

Colossians 1:15 tells us that Christ is “the firstborn of all creation.” This is a challenging phrase for some and there continues to be a great deal of confusion over it, even among self-described Bible-believing evangelicals. The problem is more pronounced in a couple of American-made religions, which often rely on excessive literalism in their interpretation. One of the dangers of not understanding Colossians 1:15 rightly is that it allows Christians to be picked off by cults.

Manning the Watchtower for Jehovah’s Witnesses

The Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, in an official publication argue:

“From [several] Biblical statements [including Col 1:15] it is reasonable to conclude that the Son of God is the firstborn of all creation in the sense of being the first of God’s creatures. . . . There are many who object to the idea of Jesus as being a created person.  They argue that since “in him all things were created” (CB)—during his prehuman existence in heaven—Jesus himself could not be a creature. Such individuals believe that Jesus is himself Almighty God, the second person of a “trinity” of three coequal, coeternal persons in one “godhead. . . . . Since Jesus as the firstborn of all creation is a created person, he cannot be Almighty God.”

Houston, we have a problem.

The argument they posit, based on their commentary on this passage, is that Jesus is “the first creation by Jehovah God. Seven of the eight occurrences of the Greek term for “firstborn” (pro·toʹto·kos) in the Christian Greek Scriptures refer to Jesus. The usual Scriptural meaning of the term “firstborn” is the one born first in order of time, such as a firstborn child.”

But contrary to this assertion, there are a number of times in Scripture that firstborn is not meant literally, but used to refer to the heir who was chosen in place of the chronologically first son.

In Exodus 4:22, God says to Moses:

“Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son”

Israel was once called Jacob. And Jacob was second son who gained the birthright––the status of firstborn. Thus, the firstborn was not literally the first to be born, but the one who was prominent in the family and through whom the line would extend.

Isaac was not Abraham’s firstborn, Ishmael was. But it was Isaac who was the one God chose to be the heir.

In a Messianic prediction in Psalm 89:27, the psalmist writes,

“And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.”

That was not about David, who was also not the literal firstborn who became the prominent son by divine action, but about Jesus himself who was the long-expected Messiah.

Mormon Misunderstanding

But the Jehovah’s Witnesses are not alone in their misunderstanding of this passage. The Mormons also believe that Jesus Christ is a created being.

In Joseph Smith’s Bible Dictionary, he notes that,  “Jesus is the firstborn of the Spirit Children of our Heavenly Father.”

Bruce McConkie, who was a theological authority within the LDS religion makes clear that “firstborn” in this sense means chronologically first: “Christ is the Firstborn, meaning that he was the first Spirit Child born to God the Father in pre-existence.”

But lest we let that error pass, let us flip over to the entry in Smith’s Dictionary for “Spirit,” where we read, “Every person is literally a son or a daughter of God, having been born as a spirit to Heavenly Parents previous to being born to mortal parents on the earth.”

There are a number of errors all wrapped up in Mormon theology. They believe that God the father has a physical body and that we have potential of becoming like gods—one might say gods ourself—if we do enough good works. Jesus is not the product of a truly virgin birth, but of a literal union between God the father and Mary who would later become the wife of Joseph. All of that is problematic in addition to their belief that Jesus was a created being.

Beware the leaven of the Mormons. When I was a kid they emphasized their distinction from Christianity because they were the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” But recently they have asked everyone to refer to them as “The Church of Jesus Christ,” and are thus claiming the mantle of true Christianity when they have replaced the true Christ with a semi-divine being of their own choosing.

Theology matters. Biblical interpretation matters. It’s a dangerous world out there and you can ill afford to be ill–informed.

Seeking Clarity

Because biblical interpretation takes work, Colossians 1:15–20 is a passage that has led people on a dark pathway away from truth and an unwillingness to hold two truths at the same time:

(1)          Jesus Christ was fully human.

(2)          Jesus Christ was fully divine.

We need to interpret Scripture with Scripture and hold all the truths of the Bible together at the same time.

That’s why we understand that Jesus is co-equal with the other two persons of the Holy Trinity and there was never a time when he was not. As question 3 of the New City Catechism tells us: “There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.”

The second person of the trinity “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), but he has always been God without dilution of his divinity.

Don’t be fooled when the Jehovah Witnesses or Mormon missionaries come knocking at your door. They are not carrying salvation, but deception. There is no question and no negotiation on that fact. There is no common faith between a Christian and either of those groups.

And yet, there are troubled signs within self-described “born again believers” who actually affirm important “Evangelical Beliefs.” A 2018 study by LifeWay Research in partnership with Ligonier Ministries showed that 78% percent of those with “Evangelical Beliefs” Agreed or Strongly Agreed with the statement: “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.”

That is a significant theological error, which is not consistent with Scripture.

As the Chalcedonian Definition tells us:

….Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with us according to the manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the virgin Mary, the mother of God, according to the manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning have declared concerning him, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.

The Chalcedonian Definition is a faithful summary of the teaching of Scripture, handed down for generations, which should serve as a summary of biblical doctrine, as we seek “to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3b) As we read Scripture and interpret it, we should look at how the body of Christ has interpreted it in the past.

While that interpretation does not override the actual content of Scripture, it should help form our reading as we communicate with those Spirit-filled believers who have sought to faithfully exegete God’s Word in the past. That will help us avoid being picked off by errant teaching, like that offered by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Latter Day Saints.