“Firstborn of all creation” — What does it really mean?

Opening

1.For Jehovah’s Witnesses, the matter has long been settled: Jesus Christ is a creature. He is Jehovah’s first creation, the “archangel Michael” in human form, the greatest of created beings — but a created being all the same. This conviction is so deeply rooted that most brothers have never paused to ask: on what exactly is it based?

2.The most cited verse in support of this doctrine is Colossians 1:15, where the apostle Paul describes Jesus as “the firstborn of all creation.” For the organization, “firstborn” means “first created.” But is this really the meaning of the word? What does the original Greek text reveal? And what does the Bible itself teach about the use of this term?

3. Like the Beroeans of Acts 17:11, who “carefully examined the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so”, we invite you to examine this verse with us — not through the filter of a preset interpretation, but in light of the Scriptures themselves.

What the organization teaches

4.The introductory summary in the New World Translation for Colossians presents Jesus as “the firstborn of all creation,” and the organization’s study material systematically interprets this expression in the sense of “the first being created by God.”

5. The magazine Awake!of February 8, 1979 stated: “Jesus is God’s first creation.” This is the official position: Jesus was created directly by Jehovah, and then through him all “other” things were created. Jesus would therefore be a creature — the most exalted, certainly — but ontologically of the same nature as the other creatures.

6. This interpretation is presented as a fact, not as one exegetical possibility among others. But does it hold up to closer examination? To answer, we must do what the organization itself invites us to do: examine the Scriptures.

“Firstborn”: what does it mean in the Bible?

7.The Greek word translated “firstborn” is protótokos(πρωτότοκος). If the Bible used this word exclusively in the sense of “first born chronologically,” the organization’s interpretation would be solid. But is this really the case?

8.Let’s examine Psalm 89:27 (88:28 in some versions). Here Jehovah says regarding David: “I will make him the firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.” Was David perhaps the first son of Jesse? Absolutely not. In 1 Samuel 16:11 we read that David was the youngest, the last of Jesse’s sons. Yet God calls him “firstborn.” In this context, “firstborn” does not mean “first born” but indicates a position of preeminence, of supremacy.

9. The encyclopedia Insight on the Scriptures(vol. 2), published by the same organization, under the entry “Firstborn,” admits that this term can indicate a position of rank and not necessarily a chronological order of birth. Yet, when we get to Colossians 1:15, this nuance is ignored.

10. Consider another example. In Exodus 4:22, Jehovah calls Israel “my son, my firstborn.” Israel was not the first nation to exist. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon had existed for centuries. But Israel was God’s “firstborn” in the sense that it had a special position, a unique rank among the nations.

11. In Jeremiah 31:9, Jehovah says: “Ephraim is my firstborn.”But Ephraim was not Joseph’s firstborn — Manasseh was (Genesis 41:51-52). Again, “firstborn” indicates preeminence, not order of birth.

12.Thus we see a consistent pattern in the Scriptures: the word “firstborn” (protótokos) is used repeatedly to indicate a position of supremacy, of higher rank — not to indicate that someone was the “first created” or the “first born” in a chronological sense.

13.It is significant that the organization’s own encyclopedia recognizes this use of the term, yet when it comes to Colossians 1:15 it insists on the literal interpretation of “first created.” This is an internal contradiction that deserves attention.

Colossians 1:16-17 — The four added words

14.To support the claim that Jesus is a creature, the New World Translation adds the word “other” four times in Colossians 1:16-17. The NWT text reads: “By means of him all [other] things were created... All [other] things have been created through him and for him.” The square brackets indicate that these words are not in the original Greek text.

15. The Greek text uses the expression tà pánta (τὰ πάντα), which literally means “all things” — without exceptions. Not “all other things.” Simply “all things.” Adding “other” radically changes the meaning of the verse: from “all things have been created through him” (which places him outside of creation) to “all other things have been created through him” (which includes him in creation).

16.Let’s compare the NWT with a translation without additions. The ESV translates Colossians 1:16: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” No brackets. No added words. The meaning is clear: allthings — without exception — were created through Christ.

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

17.The NWT itself, by using square brackets, implicitly admits that the word “other” is not found in the original text. The square brackets are a sign of typographical honesty — but the effect on the reader is still to alter the meaning of the verse.

18.If we remove the words in brackets — that is, the words that do not exist in the Greek — the verse says exactly the same thing in all translations: all things were created through Christ. This clearly places him outside creation, as Creator — not as first creature.

19.It is fair to ask: why does the organization feel the need to add words that are not in the original text? If the Greek text supported the idea that Jesus is a creature, no addition would be necessary. The very fact that “other” needs to be inserted four times shows that the text, as it stands, does not support the doctrine.

The theological problem: if Jesus is a creature, does the ransom make sense?

20. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5-6: “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all.” The ransom of Christ is the foundation of Christian salvation. But if Jesus is a creature, does the ransom really work?

“There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all.”

21.If Jesus is a created being — even the greatest of created beings — then he is of the same fundamental nature as the angels. He is a creature who ransoms other creatures. But what makes his sacrifice of infinite value, sufficient to ransom all of humanity?

22.Consider the implications: if Jesus is a creature, then he and Satan belong to the same ontological order — they are both created beings, however different in power and morality. Satan is a rebellious angel; Jesus would be a faithful angel. But does the Bible present Jesus as a mere angel?

23. Hebrews 1:5 answers forcefully:

“For example, to which one of the angels did God ever say: ‘You are my son; today I have become your father’? And again: ‘I will become his father, and he will become my son’?”

The author of Hebrews draws a clear distinction between Christ and the angels — not a distinction of degree, but of nature.

24.It is precisely the difference of nature between Christ and creatures that makes the ransom effective. A sacrifice of infinite value requires a being of infinite value. If Christ were only a creature, his sacrifice — however noble — would be the sacrifice of a finite being for finite beings. The Scriptures, instead, present the ransom as something qualitatively different: the Creator giving himself for his creatures.

25. This is not an academic question. It is the very heart of the Christian faith. If we err on the nature of Christ, we err on the meaning of his sacrifice. And if we err on the meaning of his sacrifice, on what is our hope founded?

What the organization’s own sources reveal

26. The magazine Awake!of 1979 used an interesting argument to justify the addition of “other” in Colossians 1:16-17. The argument was this: in 1 Corinthians 15:27, when Paul writes that “all things have been subjected” to Christ, it is clear from the context that “all things” excludes God himself, who is the one who has subjected all things. So — the magazine reasoned — in Colossians too “all things” might exclude someone, namely Jesus himself.

27. But there is a fundamental difference this reasoning ignores. In 1 Corinthians 15:27, the exception is declared explicitly IN THE TEXT. Paul himself writes: “When he says that ‘all things have been subjected,’ it is evident that this does not include the One who subjected all things to him.” The exception is not added by the translators — it is an integral part of the inspired text.

28. In Colossians 1:16-17, however, the exception is NOTin the text. There is no phrase that says “except Christ himself” or “apart from him.” The exception has been added by the NWT translators, with square brackets. This is a huge difference: in the first case, it is the holy spirit that inspires the exception; in the second, it is men who insert it.

29.The magazine’s argument, therefore, turns against the organization’s position. If in 1 Corinthians 15:27 Paul felt the need to specify the exception, and in Colossians he didn’t, the most logical conclusion is that in Colossians there is no exception to be made. “All things” means all things — and Jesus is not among them.

Some questions to reflect on

Where these questions lead

30. If Jesus is not a creature but the Creator, then who exactly is he? The Scriptures do not leave us in doubt. John 1:1 declares: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The NWT translates the last part as “the Word was a god” — but this is another question that deserves a separate and thorough examination.

31. In John 10:30, Jesus himself states: “I and the Father are one.” This declaration was so clear that the Jews present immediately tried to stone him for blasphemy, “because you, although being a man, make yourself a god” (John 10:33).

32. Isaiah 9:6 prophesies regarding the Messiah: “His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God (El Gibbor), Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” The Hebrew expression El Gibbor (אֵל גִּבּוֹר) — “Mighty God” — is the same one used for Jehovah in Isaiah 10:21. If the Messiah is called with the same title as Jehovah, what does this tell us about his nature?

33.These questions — on the nature of Christ, on the meaning of John 1:1, on the identity of the El Gibbor— will be the subject of future studies. For now, it is enough to have established one fundamental point: the expression “firstborn of all creation” does not mean “first created,” and the Greek text of Colossians 1:16-17, without the additions of the NWT, presents Christ as the One through whom all things have been created.

Conclusion

34.In this study we have examined a single verse — Colossians 1:15 — and have discovered that the word “firstborn” in the Bible does not necessarily mean “first created.” We have seen that the Greek text of Colossians 1:16-17 says “all things” without exceptions, and that the word “other” was added by the NWT translators.

35.We have also seen that the very sources of the organization — the Insight encyclopedia and the Awake!magazine — contain information that, when carefully examined, contradicts the official conclusion. This is not an attack on the organization: it is an invitation to do what the organization itself asks us to do — to examine the Scriptures.

36.“Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). With these words, we invite you to continue studying, comparing, verifying. Truth is not afraid of examination. If what we believe is true, an honest investigation will confirm it. If it is not, wouldn’t we rather know?

“Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine.”

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

A Member of the Lovers of Truth
04/01/2026