Colossians 1:15
King James Version (KJV)
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Translations
Colossians 1:15 - Amplified Bible
[Now] He is the exact likeness of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible]; He is the Firstborn of all creation.
Colossians 1:15 - American Standard Version
who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;
Colossians 1:15 - Bible in Basic English
Who is the image of the unseen God coming into existence before all living things;
Colossians 1:15 - Darby Bible
who is image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation;
Colossians 1:15 - English Standard Version
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Colossians 1:15 - King James Version
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Colossians 1:15 - La Biblia de las Americas
El es la imagen del Dios invisible, el primogénito de toda creaciòn.
Colossians 1:15 - The Message
We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
Colossians 1:15 - New American Standard Bible
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Colossians 1:15 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy
El es la imagen del Dios invisible, el primogénito de toda creaciòn.
Colossians 1:15 - World English Bible
who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Colossians 1:15 - Young's Living Translation
who is the image of the invisible God, first-born of all creation,
Colossians 1:15 - Additional Comments
Does the phrase "firstborn over all creation" here mean that Jesus was the first one to be created?
That which is born cannot be created, as an understanding of the Greek word, and the context of Scripture, makes clear.
Christ existed at the point that time began (in the beginning), therefore He must have existed before that point, before the beginning, and so cannot be a created being. All things which are made were made through Him (John 1:1,3, 14). Micah 5:2 says Jesus' "goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."
"Prototokos" is a legal term not a biological one, meaning, "first in rank, status, pre-eminent, supreme, superior, and unique." A person can be "first-born" but not born first (e.g. Jacob and Esau).
We must consider that, if prototokos means "biological first-born", how do we explain how the term is used in Job 18:13 (first-born of death) and Isaiah 14:30 (first-born of the poor)?
Other evidence to consider is that if Paul had really intended the reader to think of Jesus as some sort of biological creation, he would have used either protoktisis (first-created) or protoplastos (first-formed). Both refer to a biological/creative process and not a "God-begotten" act.
This meaning of pre-eminence is also shown in Colossians 1:18, which talks of Jesus being the firstborn from the dead. Was He the first one to rise from the dead? No. The rest of the verse shows what it means though - He would be pre-eminent over death because He would never die again.
The meaning of firstborn in Scripture is "pre-eminence over". Thus, Colossian 1:15 does not mean that Jesus was first to be created but that He is pre-eminent over creation.
Or, some see it meaning that Jesus was the first one to rise from the dead to eternal life. Others rose from the dead but died again. Jesus rose from the dead to eternal life. Only He is the first one resurrected to eternal life.
Comments are closed.