“Firstborn” in Greek is prototokos. Proto means the first one or the beginning; tokos means born, produced. Hence, prototokos means the first one born, the one produced in the beginning; it can thus be translated “the firstborn.” The New Testament uses this word six times in referring to Christ. It says: He was the “firstborn son” of Mary (Luke 2:7); He is the “firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29); He is the “firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15); He is the “firstborn from among the dead” (Col. 1:18); He is the “Firstborn” of God (Heb. 1:6); and He is the “Firstborn of the dead” (Rev. 1:5). Although the above six references use different terms, all the terms refer to Christ being the Firstborn One. That Christ is “the firstborn of all creation” means He is the first One, the chief of all creation. This absolutely does not mean that He is before all creation and is therefore not included in all creation.

Colossians 1:15-18 says twice that the Lord is the Firstborn. In verse 15 it says the Lord is the “firstborn of all creation”; in verse 18 it says He is the “firstborn from among the dead.” “The firstborn from the dead” means the Lord is the first One among the resurrected. “The firstborn of all creation” means He is the first One among the created. This means that all in all, whether among the created ones or resurrected ones, the Lord is the Firstborn, the Beginning, and occupies the first place.

There are two great categories of things in the universe: the created and the resurrected. In this passage, from the second half of verse 15 through verse 17, it speaks of the first category, including all creation, among whom the Lord is the Firstborn, the first One. Verse 18 is concerned with the second category, including the church, among whom also the Lord is the Firstborn, the first One. In both categories the Lord is the Firstborn, the first One. This passage proves that in all things He is the Firstborn, and He has the preeminence. Whether among the created or the resurrected, He is the Firstborn, He is the Head; therefore, He is above all and has the preeminence in all things. The central thought of this passage is that Christ has the preeminence in all things. Unless He is the Firstborn of all creation and the first One of all creation, how could He have the preeminence among all creation?

Christ is a creature because He became “flesh” (John 1:14), took part of “blood and flesh” (Heb. 2:14), was born a “child” (Isa. 9:6), and became a “Man” (1 Tim. 2:5). “Flesh,” “blood and flesh,” “child,” and “man”-these surely indicate creatures. Are not “flesh” and “blood and flesh” created things? Are not “child” and “man” created things? Of course they are! Then, since Christ became these things, how can we say that He is not a creature? If we acknowledge that Christ is man, then we must admit that He is a creature; if we deny that He is a creature, then we deny that He is a man.

We saw earlier that Christ is a man in the flesh not only before His death, but even after His resurrection He is still a man with bones and flesh-He still has a created body; however, it is a resurrected body. Furthermore, He still wears the created human nature in heaven today, just as the last line of stanza 5 in Hymn #113 says: “He wears our nature on the throne” (Hymns, Living Stream Ministry). Even in the future when He shall come again and in eternity, forever He is man and always wears human nature. Since He became flesh and put on human nature, He will never put it off. From His incarnation to eternity He is always man, always wears the created human nature, and always is a created one.

Christ is the “only begotten Son of God (John 1:18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9); He is uniquely one, has divinity and Godhead, and is without beginning, existing in Himself just like God. But Christ as the “firstborn of all creation” or “Firstborn” in resurrection does not come into being by Himself; rather, He has a beginning in creation and resurrection. As to His being the Firstborn of all creation, He has the created human nature. As to His being the Firstborn of the resurrected, He has the uncreated, divine nature and the created, resurrected human nature as well. He, the Firstborn of the resurrected, becomes the firstborn Son of God. As to His uncreated divine nature, He is God’s only begotten Son and is the same as God, without beginning and self-existing. However, according to His uncreated, divine nature, plus His created, resurrected human nature, He is God’s firstborn Son, the Firstborn of the resurrected, but not without beginning and not self-existing, but rather, beginning from resurrection. Regarding His created human nature, He is the Firstborn of all creation, so He surely is not without beginning nor is He self-existing; rather, He begins from creation. He is the uncreated, self-existing One; He is also the Firstborn of the created ones and the resurrected ones. He is called “the Firstborn of all creation” because even before creation God foreordained that He (Christ) should become a created man, just as we have quoted earlier from Watchman Nee’s word: “For in His eternal plan, before the foundation of the world, God has preordained that the Son should become flesh to accomplish redemption (1 Pet. 1:20). In God’s plan, therefore, the Son is the first One among the creatures.” This is not in accordance with Arius’s assertion that Christ was created before the foundation of the world. Such assertion is without scriptural basis. The Bible shows us that before the foundation of the world, even before anything was created, God had foreordained that Christ become a created man in order to accomplish His purpose. Hence, in God’s plan and in His eternal view, Christ is the first one created-He is the Firstborn of all creation, the Head of all the created ones. Therefore, to say that Christ is created and that He is the “firstborn of all creation” is altogether in agreement with the scriptural revelation and is altogether founded on scriptural ground.