"For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." (NKJV)
This passage provides several critical insights that point to Christ’s uncreated status:
Since it says that
“All things were created through Him and for Him”….how is something done “through” someone? We all understand agency, don’t we? Every actor in Hollywood has an agent….All things that the actor does is by means of his agent, who is employed for that purpose, conducting his business for him.
A construction crew act as agents for the architect, but the accolades go to the designer not the construction crew.
Proverbs 8:30-31 indicates that God had a “master workman” working alongside the him as Creator.
How are “all things created for him”? That is an odd thing to say about yourself…
You will also notice that
“He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
Well, if he is God‘s “firstborn“, then that indicates that God has other “sons” who were also created…..he being “the firstborn OF
ALL CREATION” makes him part of that creation…..ALL THINGS came into existence, but
through the agency of God’s firstborn. (”The beginning of God’s creation”. Rev 3:14)
And in him all things “consist”….now this is an odd word with many meanings….”
synistēmi” which means….
- to place together, to set in the same place, to bring or band together
- to stand with (or near)
- to set one with another. (Strongs)
So here again, I see no direct statement declaring Jesus uncreated. ”in him all things hold together”.
"He is before all things" – The Greek phrase here, πρὸ πάντων, directly indicates that Christ exists prior to anything created, affirming His preexistence outside of creation.
No, it actually says that he is “before all things” which if he was the one used by his Father in the creation of “all things”, he naturally existed before all of them. This suggests no pre-existence “outside of creation”at all, but is consistent with him being the first and only direct creation of his Father, and thereafter used to bring into existence all things that came after him.
In Colossians, Paul presents Jesus as both the Creator and sustainer, directly implying that He is not part of creation but rather its divine source. This, combined with passages such as John 1:1-3—which describes the Word (Christ) as being with God in the beginning and as God—strongly conveys the understanding that Christ is uncreated, eternally existent, and fully divine.
It does not strongly convey any such thing unless one reads into the words what they want them to say….
John 1:1-3 speaks of “the beginning” as it does in Genesis….what is it “the beginning” of? …since God is eternal and had no “beginning”.
It says that “the Word” was “with God” (ho theos) but that the Word was “theos” which in Greek is a term used for ‘any god, goddess or divinity’. Even human judges in Israel were called “gods” (theos) by God himself. (John 10:31-36)
"the firstborn of all creation" This was an OT metaphor for Jesus' unique and exalted position.
1. the rabbis said it meant preeminence (cf. Exo_4:22)
2. in the OT it was used for the eldest son as heir and manager of the family
Again, this does not fight with the scriptural truth that Jesus was created as God’s firstborn. He is “the eldest son as heir and manager of the family”….exactly as the scriptures describe him.
3. in Psa_89:27 it was used in a Messianic sense
4. in Pro_8:22 it referred to Wisdom as God's first creation and agent of creation. In context options #1 and #2 combined seem best
Psalm 89:27…
”And I will place him as firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.”
Again, the scriptures identify Jesus as both.
Whose firstborn son is he? Who made him King?
Proverbs 8:22 is an interesting verse if you read it in different translations.
Some render it….speaking as “wisdom personified” as…..
”God possessed me as the beginning of his way.”
Others render it…
”God created me as the beginning of his way”…still others as …
”brought me forth” ….
”made me”….so take your pick….
What rendering is in harmony with the entirety of Scripture?
If this is speaking about wisdom in an abstract sense, then how is wisdom something possessed by, or created by God? Was he not always wise?
If it is speaking about God’s firstborn, then it suggests that as “the personified wisdom of God, he was created….made…brought forth….(Col 2:3)
This phrase is not to be understood as Jesus being the first creation (#4). This would have played into the hands of the Gnostic teachers, who taught that Jesus was the highest angelic level next to the high god.
Then I believe that the Gnostics were closer to the truth than the Roman Catholic church.
I am of the belief that the pre-human Jesus was Michael the Archangel….. ”the great prince who stands on behalf of Jehovah’s people”. One of the titles that the son is given, is “Prince of Peace”. A Prince is the son of a King, who can also be a vice regent.
It must be interpreted in its Jewish OT setting. Jesus was deity's unique son (cf. Joh_1:18; Joh_3:16; Joh_3:18; 1Jn_4:9),
Yes…he is “the deity’s unique son”…..there is not another like him.…
yet Jesus was always Deity (cf. Col_1:17; Joh_1:1; Joh_5:18; Joh_10:30; Joh_14:9; Joh_20:28). He became a human in time, at Bethlehem, so that fallen mankind could comprehend and understand Deity (cf. Joh_1:14; Joh_1:18).
“The Word became flesh”…. but being called “theos” (god) is not identifying him as “ho theos”. (Yahweh)
Look up the word “theos” in a good concordance….it doesn’t mean what you think it does.
If those who represented Yahweh to his people can be called “theos”, (gods) by God himself, then calling Jesus by the same word, doesn’t make him deity. (God with a capital “G”) It can make him “divine” however. (John 10:31-36) or ‘divinely authorized’ as the judges in Israel were. (Matt 28:18)
Jesus had to be “sent” because the ransom could only be paid by a sinless mortal human…..
The Supreme Sovereign of the Universe could never become one of his own lowly creation.
As an immortal he could not die.
If Christ did not die the same death as Adam, we are not saved, because the redemption price was not paid.
You asked, and thou shall receive @Aunty Jane.
What I received was not convincing I’m afraid…..my studies reveal a very different picture….
God is not with the majority and never has been….”few” are found on the road to life because the devil has the rest hoodwinked. (Matt 7:13-14) Those who are traveling on the superhighway with the majority will find it to be a dead end. What beliefs do the majority hold that are not scripturally based?
Who God is…..that is a fundamental truth that we cannot get wrong, because it means that if we worship some other ‘god’, we have broken the first Commandment. (Ex 20:3)
According to Jesus himself, unless we “know the only true God
AND the one he sent”….we will not gain everlasting life……so, this is a salvation issue. (John 17:3)