What Does It Mean That Jesus Is the "firstborn of All Creation"?
1) Direct answer
“Firstborn of all creation” means Jesus holds the place of preeminence and heirship over everything God made. It does not mean He is a created being. He is the visible image of the invisible God, and all things were made by Him, through Him, and for Him.
2) Scriptural explanation
- The Bible says, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by Him were all things created… and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:15–17). If all things were created by Him and He is before all things, He cannot be one of the created things.
- It also says He is “the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). So “firstborn” speaks of rank and preeminence—He is Head over creation and Head of the new creation by resurrection.
- God calls the king “My firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth” (Psalm 89:27). “Firstborn” there clearly means highest place, not first one to exist.
- “God was manifested in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). The body is the Son; the Life in Him is God. As to the flesh, Sonship began in time (Luke 1:35). As to the Life, He is the Word by whom all things were made (John 1:1–3,14).
- He is also called “the beginning of the creation of God” (Revelation 3:14)—the One in whom creation has its start and the One who begins the new creation by rising from the dead.
3) Simple clarifying logic
- If He created all things, He is not a creature. Creator and creation are not the same.
- “Firstborn” in Scripture often means the heir with preeminence. Israel was called God’s “firstborn” (Exodus 4:22) as a position, not because it was the first nation.
- So “firstborn of all creation” means He is the supreme Heir over it, and “firstborn from the dead” means He is the first to rise in immortality, bringing in the new creation and taking the Headship.
4) Reinforcing statement
Now notice… it’s not three persons. One God was manifested in flesh. The Son is the body God used, and in that body He took the rights of the Firstborn over all creation and, by resurrection, became the Firstborn of the new creation. That’s the mystery—preeminence, not creaturehood.
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What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Christ is the mystery of God revealed
63-0728 §52
Now, I want you to turn to the book of Colossians, the 1st chapter of Colossians. And then, while we read this, beginning with... I want you, when you go home, to read the entire chapter of these Colossians. But I want you to read this morning with me from the 15th verse, 29th inclusive. And now, just be as patient as you can, for I feel that in this here, if God will help me, will reveal and bring into your mind all these other things that I have talked on all through the days of the tabernacle; why I have said wh...
The deity of Jesus Christ
49-1225 §20
Like someone was speaking the other day; he said, "God, what was He?" When He was back yonder, millions and millions of years ago, when He was no--just like this space here; and then He gathered up into the Logos; and then He came from the Logos down into Christ. See, it's just God coming down like this to the earth, then going right back into God again. Don't you see what I mean? Just revolving, coming down from space, from eternity; rolling together, coming down into the Logos, and the Logos down into man, then r...
Images of Christ
59-0525 §42
We don't find that sincerity no more. It seems like it's all gone. What's the matter? What's the matter? Let's go back to the first love we have, and: Just be like Jesus, to be like Jesus, On earth I long to be like Him; All through life's journey from earth to glory I only ask to be like Him. Would you really? Let's sing it with our hands up. Just to be like Jesus, to be like Jesus (Conformed to His image), On (love one another) to be like (We're members of His body. We must be like Him.) All through life's journe...
Behold a Greater than all of them is here
62-0715 §62
Now as I said last night... And we all know that every prophecy has a compound meaning. Compound, it repeats itself. Did you ever read over there in Matthew 3, where it said, "Out of Egypt I've called my son," that it might be fulfilled when Jesus went into Egypt? Run your reference on there, and see if it don't mean Jacob. But Jacob was his son. And so was Jesus his son. See, it's got a... Each time it repeats itself, like history. God's Word's eternal. It just keeps going.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 7:E-69
Now where is this book located? Luke 10:17-24, "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through Thy Name. And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. In that hour J...