What does it mean that Jesus is the "first-born" over Creation?

Secondly, there passes before us the glories of the Son in relation to the whole created universe. Having come into creation, the Son is "the firstborn of all creation" (N. Tn.). The word "firstborn" is often used in Scripture, as with ourselves, to signify priority in time — the one who comes first. Scripture also uses the word to signify pre-eminence and dignity. God speaks of Ephraim as "My firstborn", though, historically, Manasseh was Joseph's first-begotten son (Jeremiah 31:9). Again it is said of David, "I will make him my firstborn higher than the kings of the earth" (Psalm 89:27). Here the word is used to express the pre-eminence of David over the kings of the earth, and thus a figure of Christ. If the son comes into the creation He must of necessity have pre-eminence in position and dignity above every created being, and, in this sense, He is called "the Firstborn of all creation".

Moreover, we are told why the Son has thus the supreme place as the Firstborn. "For by Him were all things created", whether in heaven or on earth; whether seen or beyond the limits of our vision; whether material powers, or spiritual powers. Further, not only were all things created by Him, they were also created "for Him", as equally for the Father. Then we are further guarded against the infidel thoughts of men who may profess to believe in His pre-eminence over creation, and yet say that He, Himself, had a beginning; for we are definitely told, "He is before all things". This statement tells us in no uncertain terms of the divine and eternal glory of the Son. We are carried back to a time when there was nothing created that has been created, to learn not merely "He was", but "He is". These are words that while they forbid the thought that "He began" or that "He was made", plainly tell us of His eternal existence as the Son. Lastly, in relation to creation we are told, "All things subsist together by Him" (N. Tn.). Not only do created things subsist, but they "subsist together". The vast creation is sustained by the Son in all its several parts as one harmonious whole. Men would use what they speak of as the laws of nature to shut the Creator out of His universe; but apart from the sustaining power of the Son all would dissolve into ruin. Doubtless there are laws by which God maintains the universe, for God is a God of order, and possibly amidst all men's changing speculations they may have partially discovered some of these laws. But we may ask if gravity is one of these laws, by which the earth is held in its orbit round the sun. Who is it that sustains gravity? Scripture answers, "By Him all things subsist".

We must here remember that the title of "First-born" does not necessarily speak of priority in time, but of place and dignity. The actual first-born might lose his place, and another obtain it, as we see in Jacob and Esau, Reuben and Joseph; and so God says of David, "I will make him My first-born, higher than the kings of the earth" (Ps. 89:27). So with the "assembly of the first-born ones, whose names are written in heaven" (Heb. 12:23), which is without doubt the Christian assembly, in plain distinction from the "spirits of just men made perfect," who are the saints of the Old Testament. Yet it is the latter who are the first-born in time, while the former have the precedence in place and privilege. And it is thus I understand the language in Colossians 1:15, where, speaking of the Lord, the apostle calls Him the "image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature." Here, it is in manhood that He declares the Father; and He who has thus become man, yet is Creator of all, as the apostle goes on to say, if He take His place, in marvelous condescension and love, in His own creation, must needs do so at the head of it. It is His pre-eminence, not priority in time, as many have thought, that is asserted. That "He is before all things," the seventeenth verse plainly declares.

The same passage in Colossians distinguishes also two things that are in danger now of being, by some, confounded: "And He is the Head of the body, the Church: who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence." This is stated as another thing from being "first-born of every creature," although for us the two things have now become practically one. But He was the "Second Man" before He was the risen Man, as we also are born again before the quickening of our bodies.

Adam was the first man, but was not nor could be the first-born. How could Christ, so late in His birth here below, be said to be the first-born? The truth is, if Christ became a man and entered the ranks of creation,* He could not be anything else. He is the Son and Heir. Just so we are now by grace said to be the Church "of the firstborn," although there were saints before the Church. It is a question of rank, not of date. Christ is truly first-born of all creation; He never took the creature place until He became a man, and then must needs be the first-born. Even if He had been the last-born literally, He must still be the first-born; for it has nothing to do with the epoch of His advent, but with His intrinsic dignity. All others were but the children of the fallen man Adam, and could in no sense be the first-born. He was as truly man as they, but with a wholly peculiar glory. What makes it most manifest is, that He is here declared to be first-born of all creation, "for by Him were all things created." This makes the ground perfectly plain. He was first-born of all creation, because He who entered the sphere of human creaturedom was the Creator, and therefore must necessarily be the first-born. This is the plain and sure meaning of the passage, in the strongest way confirming the deity of Christ, instead of weakening it in the least, as some have conceived through strange misunderstanding. Hence these have changed the rendering to "born before all creation." It is unnatural to take it so, spite of some ancients and moderns. But indeed there is no need for a change. God's Word is wiser than men. There is no scripture which assumes His dignity more than this.

In verse 15 two words call for brief remarks. The word "Image" has the force of "Representative." The invisible God is exactly represented in Him, a thing impossible apart from the fact of Himself being God. Some are inclined to slightly demur to this on account of the second word in the verse, to which we have referred. In the word "Firstborn" they lay too much stress in their minds upon the second half of the word. "But He was born," they say. The word "firstborn" however besides its primary meaning has also a figurative sense (as in Ps. 89:27; Jer. 31:9), meaning, the one who takes the supreme place as holding the rights of the firstborn. That is the sense in which it is used in our passage. The Lord Jesus not only stands forth as the Representative of all that God is, He also stands forth absolutely pre-eminent over creation. All creation's glory and its rights are vested in Him, for the simple reason that He is the Creator, as verse 16 states.

Over this whole scene the Lord is, as Second Man, head and ruler. He is "the first-born of every creature," "the beginning of the creation of God:" terms which speak, not of priority in time, but in excellence and power. The "first-born" is of well-known use in this way. Thus God says to Pharaoh, "Israel is My son, even My firstborn;" and again, in Jer. 31:9, "I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My first-born;" and so once more in the psalms (Ps. 89:27), "Also I will make him My first-born, higher than the kings of the earth." The word in Rev. 3:14, again, although the regular word for "beginning," has very commonly the sense of "principality," and is so translated (Rom. 8:38; Eph. 1:21; Eph. 3:10; Eph. 6:12; Col. 1:16; Col. 2:10, 15; Titus 3:1).

But in Colossians 1, He is spoken of not only as the “Image of God” but as the “Firstborn of all creation.” If He had been the last to be born, He must still have the Firstborn’s place, and the reason for this is given; He created all! and when the Creator-Son comes into His creation, He must necessarily have the first place. And, further, new creation subsists in Him. All subsists in Him. The first place must belong to Him, for all that which is here defined stands in relation to Him.

He is then the image of the invisible God, and, when He takes His place in it, the Firstborn of all creation. The reason of this is worthy of our attention — simple, yet marvellous: He created it. It was in the Person of the Son that God acted, when by His power He created all things, whether in heaven or in the earth, visible and invisible. All that is great and exalted is but the work of His hand; all has been created by Him (the Son) and for Him. Thus, when He takes possession of it, He takes it as His inheritance by right. Wonderful truth, that He who has redeemed us, who made Himself man, one of us as to nature, in order to do so, is the Creator. But such is the truth.

In Colossians 1, the Son's title, "Firstborn of all creation," is closely associated with that of "Image of the invisible God." The Son of the Father's love is, in a single sentence, declared to be both the one and the other: "Son of His love … Who is Image of the invisible God, Firstborn of all creation." In relation to the Godhead or Deity He is the Image, and in relation to all created things He is the Firstborn; moreover, both these relations are combined in His blessed Person, from which they each take their incomparable character. It is the Son Who is Image and Who is Firstborn.

But still more: — when God introduces the Firstborn into the world, all the angels are called to worship Him. God presents Him to the world; but the highest of created beings must then cast themselves at His feet. The angels of God Himself — the creatures that are nearest to Him — must do homage to the Firstborn. This last expression also is remarkable. The Firstborn is the Heir, the beginning of the manifestation of the glory and power of God. It is in this sense that the word is used. It is said of the Son of David, "I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth" (Ps. 89:27), Thus the Messiah is introduced into the world as holding this place with regard to God Himself. He is the Firstborn — the immediate expression of the rights and the glory of God. He has universal pre-eminence.

Now, it will be seen from the context of Col. 1:15 that supremacy and excellence are inseparably associated with the use of the title of "Firstborn" in this passage. The reason why the Son of the Father's love is "Firstborn of all creation" is plainly stated: it is "because by Him were created all things." The Son's degree of superiority is that elevation which the Creator possesses above His own creation. Because the Son made the earth and the heavens, He necessarily, when He appears for our redemption, takes the dignity of "Firstborn" in relation to the earth and the heavens and to all contained in them.