“He is the image of the invisible God,
Colossians 1:15 (NIV84)
the firstborn over all creation.”
I am the firstborn child of parents who are both firstborn children, and I have thought a good deal about the traits that firstborns may have in common. Consider the following from The Birth Order Book:
“What Makes the Firstborn Tick?
Whether compliant or powerful and assertive, there are at least two good reasons why firstborns come in downright upright (and often a little uptight) packages. Those two reasons are Mom and Dad. Oldest children serve as ‘guinea pigs‘ for parents who have never done this kind of thing before. Brand new parents are typically a bundle of ambivalence, one side overprotective, anxious, tentative, and inconsistent; the other side strict, disciplined, demanding, always pushing, and encouraging better performance.
Everything about a firstborn child is important. While little Festus or Mildred is still on the way, the very air is charged with expectance in more ways than one. With grand anticipation, young parents celebrate with baby showers, picking out names, choosing wallpaper for the nursery, buying baby clothes and toys…
Few will deny that the family sort of overdoes things with the firstborn. Parents, as well as grandparents, record every cry, look, whim, or move with a video camera or they’re sure to fill the family photo album [now social media!] with dozens (hundreds) of pictures. Research indicates firstborns walk and talk earlier than later borns. No surprise there. With all the coaching, prodding, and encouragement they get, they probably do it in self-defense!
…Firstborn children often go on to become the leaders and achievers in life. This isn’t necessarily their idea, but with only parents (and maybe grandparents, aunts, and uncles) for role models, they naturally take on more grown-up characteristics. This is why firstborns are often serious and not much for surprises. They prefer to know what’s happening and when; they thrive in being in control, on time, and organized — all characteristics that stand adults in good stead.
Remember that the child’s personality is pretty well formed by the age of five. When the firstborn is very young — starting before he is even twelve months old — he is already observing his parents and noting ‘the right way’ to do things. When you think about it, firstborns basically learn only from adults — those big perfect people who do everything correctly. No wonder they’re so willing to break their necks to be right, on time, and organized,”
(Dr. Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book, 1998, p.87-88).
Most of this resonates with me, except for the “on time” part (I have a knack for running 15 minutes behind schedule!). All of the above seems to apply to my own firstborn child. Does it sound like any firstborns you know?
The Gospel According to Luke tells us that Jesus was, in fact, the firstborn child of Mary of Nazareth.
Born in Bethlehem
“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”
Luke 2:4-7 (NIV)
Because He was the firstborn son of Jewish parents, Jesus was taken to Jerusalem to be consecrated to the Lord when the time came.
Consecrated in Jerusalem
“When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took Him (Jesus) to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord‘), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ‘a pair of doves or two young pigeons.'”
Luke 1:22-24 (NIV)
In Colossians 1:15, Paul describes Jesus as “the firstborn over all creation,” a designation that goes far beyond that of being Mary’s firstborn son. Paul also does not mean that Jesus is simply the “older brother” of all created beings. It is much more than that.
The First-born Over All Creation
“He is the image of the invisible God,
Colossians 1:15-16 (NIV84)
the firstborn over all creation.
For by Him all things were created:
things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;
all things were created by Him and for Him.”
Jesus is the firstborn… over all creation.
What does this mean?
How can the Creator, “for by Him all things were created,” also be the firstborn?
“It would be wrong to think in physical terms here, as if Paul were asserting that the Son had a physical origin or was somehow created (the classic Arian heresy) rather than existing eternally as the Son, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, in the Godhead,”
(The ESV Study Bible, 2008, p.2294).
So how do we reconcile this?
“The term ‘firstborn‘ does not refer to time, but to place or status. Jesus Christ was not the first being created, since He Himself is the Creator of all things. Firstborn simply means ‘of first importance, of first rank.’ Solomon was certainly not born first of all of David’s sons, yet he was named the firstborn (Psalm 89:27). Firstborn of all creation means ‘priority to all creation.’ Jesus Christ is not a created being. He is eternal God.”
Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Complete (p.48)
“Firstborn” = place, status, priority
“‘Firstborn‘ indicates His priority before all creation. His headship of all creation does not mean that He was born first. We need to understand what the Scriptures mean by ‘firstborn.’
Nowhere does Scripture teach that Jesus Christ had His beginning at Bethlehem. We are told in the great prophecy of Micah 5:2 that He would be born in Bethlehem, but that He came forth from EVERLASTING. Isaiah 9:6 tells us, ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given…’ The child is BORN, but the Son is GIVEN. He came out of eternity and took upon Himself our humanity,”
(J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary Series: Philippians and Colossians, p.129-130).
Firstborn Jesus is the God-man
I like how the Amplified Bible teases out the big theological idea of Jesus as God and man, God Incarnate, in Philippians 2:5-8:
“Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus [look to Him as your example in selfless humility], 6who, although He existed in the form and unchanging essence of God [as One with Him, possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes—the entire nature of deity], did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted [as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it]; 7but emptied Himself [without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity] by assuming the form of a bond-servant,
and being made in the likeness of men [He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man]. 8After He was found in [terms of His] outward appearance as a man [for a divinely-appointed time], He humbled Himself [still further] by becoming obedient [to the Father] to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Phil. 2:5-8 (AMP)
Jesus is truly God AND truly man.
Jesus is the Creator AND the Firstborn over all creation.
The Word Created
As we read in our last post [Day 63], the apostle John put it this way:
“In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. 2He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. 3All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. 4In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men.”
John 1:1-4 (AMP)
He is the Uncreated Firstborn of all creation.
DAY 64 PRAYER:
Father God,
We thank & praise You that Jesus is the firstborn of all creation! As the song says, He came “from a throne of endless glory/ to a cradle in the dirt” (“King of Kings”).
“What is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?” (Psalm 8:4). Christ Jesus “had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of Himself that He had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all.
“When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!
“Having become human, He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death — and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion.
“Because of that obedience, God lifted Him high and honored Him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth — even those long ago dead and buried — will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that He is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father,” (Phil. 2:5-11, MSG).
We look forward to the day when at Your Name every knee shall bow, “in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11, ESV)!
In that Name that is above every name we pray,
Amen.
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