Christ is the Firstborn of All Creation

Refocus: Humility in Ministry
Christ is the Firstborn of All Creation

Colossians 1:15
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation”

A while back, my father-in-law made a statement that doubled me over with laughter. I don’t recall the exact context of the discussion, but I’ll never forget what he said. He was speaking to my wife and made this comment “It’s your world; I’m just living in it.” He was referring to his willingness to adapt her circumstances, whatever they might have been at the time, as if to say “the world just revolves around you.” Obviously, he and my wife were joking with each other, as she is one of the most selfless people that I have ever met, but there is truth in that phrase… “It’s your world; I’m just living in it.”

After hearing and thinking on this comment, it is absolutely clear that it is just more than words. It is an attitude; even further, it is an attitude that we all have in common. Whether we have said it or not, we have all demonstrated this attitude of egocentricity when have wanted all eyes and schedules to be centered on us. It is evident in times like these that we fail to acknowledge who Christ is; we compete for a place of preeminence with Christ and even put ourselves on His level, when in reality we are so far down on the ladder that we cannot even be seen from Christ’s place of elevation.

The Bible makes this very clear in this section of Colossians (1:15). The verse states “He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Last week we looked at the first part of that verse and this week, we will look at the second half. Upon first glance of this, it seems that Scripture is indicating that Christ was the first to be created on the earth. Is this possible? If you take a look further in the same chapter, you will find that Christ is also given the descriptor of being “Creator of all things” (16). How can Christ be the first person to be created if He is the Creator?

Essentially, the word “firstborn,” in this context is not referring to act of being created first. Instead, it is referring to a place of prominence and power. This relates specifically to the Old Testament concept of the firstborn son within a family. Typically, the firstborn son of a Hebrew family would be the son that would inherit certain special privileges. However, there are some instances where the son does not have to be the first one born in order to have this status. Regardless, he would be the son that would replace the father as “head of the house” and in some cases, even receive a double portion as his inheritance. This is the reason that we see such deception from Jacob, as he wanted to achieve the birthright that was given to the firstborn son, Esau (Genesis 25).

When Paul was describing Christ as being the “firstborn of all creation,” he was not saying that Christ was the first one to be created, but that of all the things ever created and all things upon the earth, Christ is of highest rank and importance; he was stating that Christ was supreme over all things. This is an encompassing statement that includes you and me; Christ is supreme over us, regardless of what we think and, sometimes, illustrate. This is the same concept that is brought out in his writing to the Philippians as he states “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name…” (Phil 2:9). Christ was being lifted up to the position of sovereign Ruler and the preeminent One and no one could compete for this position or status.

This is absolutely sobering. To know that we compete for this position brings shame, yet we match up for competition daily. Equally sobering is the fact that the love of God flows most graciously despite our competing. In ministry, it is easy to shift the focus to our messages, to the way that we are perceived, and sadly, to ourselves. May we be quick to understand and submit to the reality that it is not about the one delivering the message but that it is about Christ; He is the preeminent One that is deserving of all glory and honor.

Happy Reading,

CBMaxwell