Firstborn, Part 2

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether throne or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” ~Colossians 1:15-17

Have you ever wondered about the phrases, “the firstborn over all creation” and “the firstborn from among the dead?” What does it mean to be “firstborn” in the Bible in reference to Jesus Christ?

As we entered into the weekend sermon preparation and I knew Boss was going to be preaching on these verses, I had to know more to satisfy my own curiosity biblically and academically. Maybe you’ll enjoy what I discover here, too, although the sermon is going to blow your minds. (I’m not covering anything Boss will teach!) I’ll try to remember to put a link HERE once we archive it so you can link up later and watch it online next week.

FIRSTBORN:

prototokos (4416) Greek. meaning firstborn, eldest, also preeminent.

prōtótokos (“firstly”) specifically refers to Christ as the first to experience glorification, i.e. at His resurrection (see Heb 12:23; Rev 1:5). For this (and countless other reasons) Jesus is “preeminent” (4416/prōtótokos) – the unequivocal Sovereign over all creation (Col 1:16).

from protos: first, before, principal, most important.

4413 prṓtos (an adjective, derived from 4253 /pró, “before, forward”) – first (foremost). 4413 /prṓtos (“first, foremost”) is the superlative form of 4253 /pró (“before”) meaning “what comes first” (is “number one”).

This is from the Strong’s Numbers Concordance with Hebrew and Greek Lexicons for the word “Firstborn.” This is a list of what Paul means in Colossians describing Jesus Christ in the word “Firstborn:”

eldest,

preeminent,

unequivocal,

first,

principal,

most important,

superlative,

foremost,

what comes first.

fullsizeoutput_1ebb — “One” and “First” always point heavenward…

THIS is Jesus;

this is the point of Colossians.

This is the point of Christianity:

The Supremacy of Christ.

Jesus is MORE than we can begin to understand because He is outside of what we can understand. He has blazed the trail for us, having been with the Father from the beginning. He was putting all creation together with His Father. The sun, moon, earth, and stars revolve around Him because He created them, He is in them, and they exist for Him. Jesus created all peoples, and all peoples were created for Him. He is preeminent–surpassing all others. He is the greatest, the foremost, the best, the finest, the chief, the most outstanding, most excellent, most distinguished, most prominent, most important, most renowned, most celebrated, the most illustrious. Jesus existed before anything else and in Him all creation holds together. (Colossians 1:17, NLT)