I talked to two Jehovah s Witness women and they told me, as part of our conversation, that Jesus is a created being and that I could see this in Col 1:15.  I asked them a question.  Looking at the verses that followed.

Col 1:15-17 (NASB) “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together.”

After she read this verse out loud she was like see Jesus was created first, and then created everything else afterward.

I told them that I was confused and if you look at it logically there seems to be an issue.  There are only 2 kinds of things.   There are those things that are created and those things that are not created.  Jesus created everything that is created so Jesus was not created. She went back and again told me that Jesus was created first by God.  She did not get it.  She said “look Jesus is the firstborn.”  The issue that I did not think of at the time is that just because Jesus is firstborn does not mean that he is created.  The truth of the meaning of Jesus being the firstborn is beautiful.

Later I asked others about this part of Jesus being the firstborn.  I was pointed to Exodus 13:11-16(NASB)  It reads as follows:

“^“11 “Now when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, ¹² you shall devote to the Lord the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the Lord. ¹³ But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. ¹⁴ And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ¹⁵ It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

Jesus is the firstborn that is provided by God.  He is the perfect sacrifice provided by God.  When I understood this I realized the beauty of this verse.  I had goosebumps.  I do not know if you understand the reality of what this is saying.  The verse is not saying that Jesus is the created being.  It is saying that he has the position of firstborn.  Jesus is the perfect lamb to allow death to pass over.  Jesus is picked as the firstborn.  When John the Baptist sees  Jesus he said “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” in John 1:29(NASB)

I read on gotquestions.org that Jesus being the firstborn is not that He was born first, but that is a position of priority.  Being called the firstborn did not always mean that you were born first.  It means that the firstborn possesses inheritance and rank.  

Through the years I have realized that the question of “Who is Jesus?” is one of the most important questions.  As Christians we need to be able to defend the fact that Jesus is God.  I decided that Jesus is God needs its own page.  Really it needs its own book but you can go here to see the basics of a defense of Jesus being God.