Inigo Montoya Series: Colossians 1:15 - Was Jesus a Created Being?

Colossians 1:15 and the Meaning of “Firstborn”

Colossians 115 says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. And so that must mean that Jesus is a created being, right? He didn't fall? Inconceivable! You keep using that word.

I don't think it means what you think it means. You keep using that verse. I do not think it means what you think it means. Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Justin Peters. I hope that you and your family are doing well today.

I want to thank you very much for joining me for this podcast. So Colossians 115 is one of the favorite verses of both Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons to support their belief that Jesus was a created being.

Because it says that he is the firstborn of all creation. That means he was the first thing created. But that is not at all what firstborn of all creation means. In fact, all we need to do is look at the very next verse.

Context is always helpful, isn't it? So just look at the very next verse, verse 16. Paul continues,. For in him, in Christ, 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.

So if Jesus himself was a created being, then how could it be that all things were created through him? You see the logic here? If he is created, then he would be included in the all things that are created.

So therefore, Jesus could not be a created being if he is the one who created all things. For if he were created himself, then he would be in the all things that were created. But verse 16 just absolutely blows that out of the water.

So do many other passages as well. John chapter 1, Romans chapter 11. So this is not saying that Jesus was a created being. Not at all. For if he were created himself, then he could not have been the creator of all things.

Word-Faith Misuse of Colossians 1

But it's not just the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons who misuse this verse. Word faith and NAR folks misuse it as well. Now they have a bit different take on it. They use Colossians 1 to support their belief that if you are a Christian, then that means you are just like Jesus.

There's really nothing unique about Jesus. When a person gets saved and becomes a Christian, that person is just as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth. That is a direct quote, by the way, from Kenneth Hagan, the father of the modern word faith movement.

He says that every man who has been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a miracle. The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth. So watch this from Larry Huck and Paula White.

We really begin to understand that when Jesus Christ paid the price, the first thing that happened after he said it is finished is the veil was rent from top to bottom, signifying that no man could do that.

But the price that was paid was there's now no separation so that we have direct access in the Holy of Holies. We understand, according to Hebrews, that Jesus is our high priest and he's the first of many brethren, which means I now come into a priestly anointing.

So I now can say that again. I don't get it. I now come into a priestly anointing.

This is not the only begotten son of God. He is not. I'm a son of God. He's the first fruit. He's the first born of many. Jesus is not the only begotten son of God.

So there you see Larry Huck and Paula White flat out denying that Jesus is the only begotten son of God. And their proof text for this is Colossians 1 .15. And this is not an isolated statement amongst word faith preachers.

Not at all. In fact, I'm going to show you two clips now from Kenneth Copeland just this year. In fact, within the last, as of this recording, in the last few weeks. Watch this from Kenneth Copeland.

The goodness of God to love a mess like me. Wow. But he changed that mess. Yes. The day I accepted him as my Lord and Savior. Absolutely right. He's no longer the only begotten son of God. He's the first born from the dead.

The first born of many brethren.

And then as of this recording, just last week at the Southwest Believers Convention, that's Kenneth Copeland's annual big shindig that he does. He brings in some of the word faith luminaries like Creflo Dollar, Jesse Duplantis, Jerry Savelle, Bill Winston.

He brings these guys in. He's had Todd White. He's had Bill Johnson at the Southwest Believers Convention before as well. And Bill Johnson also teaches this. I don't have a video of it queued up, but he does.

At any rate, I digress. Watch this. I was actually there. I went to the Southwest Believers Convention last week for some field research. I might fill you in on some more of that later on. Anyway, he said this.

I was present when he said this.

Now, they'll take you off the radio for this. And social media, don't you be saying this, that you're equal with God.

What's your ugly, nasty self?

So Kenneth Copeland flat out saying that we are equal to God and even mocking those who would question that kind of theology. And that's not the only time he said that in that sermon, by the way. He actually said it multiple times.

And I'm actually going to incorporate some of that in my seminar, Clouds Without Water, because he belabored the point. He said it over and over and over. No mistaking his intent there. We are equal to God.

And one of his proof texts, Colossians 115, firstborn of all creation. Jesus is the firstborn of that creation. We are a creation. And so we are in the God class. We are just like Jesus. Just as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.

What “Firstborn” Means in Scripture

So the question is, what does this word firstborn actually mean? Well, in the Greek, prototikos is the word that is rendered as firstborn. It does not mean first created. It does not mean first created as the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons and some of the word faith would say.

If Paul had wanted to make that point that Jesus was the first created being, then there is another word that he could have used. And that is prototikos. But that's not the word he used. He used prototikos, firstborn.

So what does firstborn mean? It could mean the firstborn son of other sons or children. It could mean that. In fact, this same word is used in Luke's gospel, Luke 2, in reference to Jesus. Verse 7, And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger.

So there it does mean firstborn son. Because Mary and Joseph, much to the consternation of Roman Catholics, actually did have other children. The old-fashioned way. But that's another subject matter for another video, right?

So it could mean firstborn among other siblings. Firstborn can also refer to preeminence. And we see that usage in the Bible as well. In fact, David is referred to as the firstborn in Psalm chapter 89.

But David was not the firstborn chronologically. His father, Jesse, had six other kids before David. Eliab being the first one. And then David picked up the rear. He was number seven. In fact, David was the lastborn to his father, Jesse.

So it doesn't always refer to a chronological order here. It also refers to preeminence. And the other verse that Kenneth Copeland cited, Revelation 1, verse 5, refers to Jesus as the firstborn of the dead.

It says that Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead. So this is not a chronological view here. Jesus was not the first person who had been raised from the dead. There were several other people who had been raised from the dead before Jesus was, right?

We see in 1 Kings 17, the widow of Zarephath's son. 2 Kings chapter 4, we see the Shunammite woman's son was raised from the dead. Then we had that curious example in 2 Kings 13, that a dead man was thrown into Elisha's grave.

And when he hit Elisha's bones, he came back from the dead. Jesus himself raised three people before he raised himself. The widow of Nain's son, Jairus' daughter, Luke chapter 8, and of course Lazarus there in John chapter 11.

So there were other people who had been raised from the dead before Jesus was raised from the dead. So it doesn't always refer to a chronological viewpoint. It often refers to being preeminent. And Jesus is preeminent over all of his creation.

So when Paul refers to Jesus as being the firstborn of all creation, that means he is preeminent over all the creation. It does not mean that we become exactly like Jesus. That we are just as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.

That is not what it is referring to. Now it is true, when God saves someone, that person becomes a Christian, is truly regenerate in Christ. We are adopted into the family of God. And Jesus is our elder brother in that sense.

We have been adopted by the merits of Christ into the family of God. But that does not mean that we are just like Jesus in every sense of the term. Not at all. We never have been. We never will be. Even when we are glorified, we are not going to be just like Jesus.

Now we will not be ensnared by any of the trappings of this fallen world in which you and I live right now. We are not going to have these bodies that don't work right. We are not going to be encumbered by sin.

All those things will be done away with. Not only will our bodies be glorified, our minds will be glorified. We will have the mind of Christ and we will worship Him fully. But we are still not going to be exactly like Jesus.

Jesus is not going to be worshipping us. We will be worshipping Him. So there is still a fundamental difference. John 3 .16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting eternal life.

Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. The Greek word is monogenes. Jesus is the monogenes of God. The monogenes Son of God. The only begotten and that means unique. Unique Son of God. So it is outright blasphemy and heresy.

Whether it is coming from the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormons or the Word of Faith folks. NAR folks to say that Jesus is the firstborn of creation. That means that we are in every way exactly like Jesus.

Jesus is not the only begotten Son of God.

Oh yes. He is Larry. Jesus is the only begotten unique Son of God. You are not. Thank you very much for watching this dear ones. I hope that this video has helped you to understand a verse that is so often misused and abused by the various cults.

Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Word of Faith. So until our next time together may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten unique Son of God, the love of God and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you all.