Was Christ Created?

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation" (Colossians 1:15).

Some say Colossians 1:15 means Jesus is not really God, but He is the first created thing. The way we address this issue with those who disagree with Christ being God, is the same way we conclude that He is God. We simply share our reasoning.

A useful rule is, “Never read a Bible verse.”¹ Read at least a paragraph. You need the context. You should also use other parts of the Bible to understand verses with multiple possible interpretations. If a verse seems unclear, is there another place where Scripture is clear on that issue? The broader context of this passage in Colossians 1 is not about Christ's origin but His nature and role.

You don’t need to look beyond verse 18 to see the same word used to say Christ is the "firstborn from the dead." That’s the second birth He was speaking of in John 3 with Nicodemus. If “firstborn” is figurative in verse 18, then why not in verse 15?  Now we have two possible interpretations. What other verses may help us decide which interpretation is best?

In John 1 Jesus, referred to as “The Word,” is said to be God. In John 10:30 He states, “I and the father are one.” In Romans 9:5, Jesus is referred to as, “the eternally blessed God.” Taking these verses into consideration (and there are many others clearly stating similar things), it seems most likely that the “firstborn” in verse 15 is not an actual "birth order" describing Jesus as the first created thing. Jesus is plainly taught in other places of the Bible to be the eternally existent God. Therefore, He could not have been a creation of God.

Also, some claim the idea of deity was a later addition to Christianity. According to Dr. William Lane Craig this is not the case. “The New Testament writers appropriated the word for God’s name (Yahweh) in the Old Testament as it appears in Greek translation in the Septuagint (kyrios = Lord) and called Jesus Lord, applying to him Old Testament proof-texts concerning Yahweh (e.g., Rom. 10.9, 13). Indeed, the confession “Jesus is Lord” was the central confession of the early church (I Cor. 12.3).”²

^{From the very earliest accounts Jesus claimed to be God, and His disciples claimed He was God. While someone may not accept that claim as true, it is an error to claim that the Bible teaches something different.}

1. Gregory Koukl, Never Read a Bible Verse, Stand to Reason Blog, accessed May 11^th, 2014. http://www.str.org/blog/never-read-a-bible-verse-2
2. William Lane Craig, A Formulation and Defense of the Doctrine of the Trinity, ReasonableFaith.org Article Archive, accessed May 12, 2014.http://www.reasonablefaith.org/a-formulation-and-defense-of-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity