The WT Strikes Out!

I was looking at the WT of June 1, 1988 p. 15 when the section title “Accurate Knowledge of God and His Son Leads to Life, ” caught my attention. I decided to look at the first (3) verses the WT touts as leading to accurate knowledge. In STEEE-RIKE 1! here I looked at John 17:3. In STEEE-RIKE 2! here I studied Revelation 4:11 along with Colossians 16-17. Now I will investigate Colossians 1:15. WT quotes are in BLUE.

Streee-Rike 3. Colossians 1:15. The JW’s teach that Jesus is a created being and not equal to the Father and therefore, cannot be eternal. The WT in the "Aid to Bible Understanding" book states the following about Jesus, “Thus the scriptures identify the Word (this is Jesus before he was made flesh, the pre-human state) as God’s first creation, his firstborn Son. This son was actually a creation of God.” (p. 918). To back their claim that Jesus was created, the WT turns to Colossians 1:15, “And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.” The WT equates “firstborn” to mean “first created.” What the WT doesn’t tell you is that there is a Greek word for “first created” (Protóplastos) that the apostle Paul could have used if he wanted to say that Jesus was “first created,” but since he did not, we need to ask ourselves what did Paul mean by using “firstborn,” (Prototokos).

The Bible is best used to define its own words. In Psalms 89:20, 27 it reads, "I have found David My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him . . . I also shall make him My first-born." David was the youngest of eight brothers but here is referred to as “first-born.” In what sense is he “first-born.” He was the one whom God selected to be king of Israel. He was the “preeminent one,” selected by God to lead Israel.

Look at Genesis 41:51 where Manasseh is first-born (here it means first in numeric order) and Ephraim is second born. But in Jer. 31:9  God states, “For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My first-born.” How can this be if firstborn means first created? But it makes perfect sense if firstborn means the “preeminent one.”

Lastly, Exodus 4:22, “then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD, ‘Israel is My son, My first-born.’” Again, Israel is obviously not the first created among nations but is “preeminent” among the nations in that it was chosen by God to be the channel to produce the Messiah and to be a nation of priests, prophets, and missionaries to the world. God’s intent was for Israel to be a distinct people, a nation of people that pointed others towards God and His promised provision of a Redeemer, Messiah, and Savior.

Firstborn can also be shown to mean “preeminence” in Colossians by simply continuing to read through verse 18. The verses read: “ . . .“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.”

Only the Almighty God, omnipresent and omnipotent can hold all things together. Colossians also says that Christ “is before all things” and “is the beginning.” This shows that Christ is eternal. No ‘angel’ could have such power! No angel is eternal. Only God, creator of the universe, Who came to earth and "became flesh’’ and rose from the dead could be described in such lofty words. Christ alone, as God, deserves worship and praise as given to Him by the angels in heaven. (Heb. 1:6; Luke 4:8).

Therefore, Paul is saying that Christ is the head, the ruler, the creator, the Preeminent One (Prototokos) over all creation. He was not first created (Protóplastos).