Colossians 1:15
Colossians 1:15 - "Firstborn" explained
Colossians 1:15
Here
is how to show Jehovah's Witnesses that the
"firstborn" in Colossians 1:15 means "preeminent" or "supreme," not 'born
first' as
they claim.
Jehovah's Witness - But Colossians 1:15 in my Bible says Jesus is the the "firstborn of all creation."
Christian - The word "firstborn" in the Bible is an
adjective and has two meanings. The original
meaning is "born first." But during the antiquity, the firstborn son had all of the
privileges and was the most important - ie. "preeminent" or "supreme,"
so over
time, "firstborn" came to also mean "preeminent" or "supreme." To see this,
could you please read Psalm 89:20 and 27 in
your translation?
Jehovah's Witness - "I have found David
my servant; With my holy oil I
have anointed him, ... And I will place him as firstborn, the highest of the kings of
the earth."
Christian - 1 Samuel 16:11 says David was the "youngest" - not
the firstborn - son of Jesse. Therefore, Psalm 89
cannot be saying that David will be placed as "firstborn" in the sense of being born
first, right?
Jehovah's Witness - Right.
Christian - So it must be saying David will be placed as
firstborn in the other sense, that of being "preeminent" or "supreme." Indeed,
the very next phrase even adds, "the highest of
the kings of the earth." Do you see this?
Jehovah's Witness - Yes.
Christian - As you saw, the Bible indicates in which sense the word
"firstborn" is being used. Just as 1 Samuel 16:11's indication that David
is
the youngest son precludes the "firstborn" in Psalm 89:27 from
meaning born first,
Colossians 1:16's declaration that Jesus created "all things" precludes the "firstborn" in
Colossians 1:15 from meaning born first since Jesus cannot create something and THEN come
into existence. Therefore, do you see how the "firstborn" in Colossians 1:15 is also being used
in the sense of being "preeminent" or "supreme"?
Jehovah's Witness - Yes.
(If the Jehovah's Witness asks for another example of "firstborn" meaning "preeminent" or "supreme" in the New Testament, explain to him that while Mary bore more children (Mark 6:3) after Jesus (Matthew 1:25), the context of the "firstborn among many brethren" in Romans 8:29 makes it clear that the phrase is referring not to Jesus being the eldest among Mary's children but to His preeminence among Christians.)
Christian - Now, could you
please google "Colossians 1:15 biblehub.com interlinear," click on the first
search result, and read
for us the meaning of the second last word?
Jehovah's Witness - "over
all" (from
this page):
Christian - Yes, the translated Greek word "pasēs"
is an adjective, as you can see from the "Adj"
designation just below the word, and can be translated as "over
all" just as easily as "of all." (If he asks for
more evidence, pull up
this page and show him that "over" all creation is
the translation in 15 English Bibles: CSB, CEB, CJB,
ERV, EHV, HCSB, ISV, LEB, MOUNCE, NET, NIRV, NIV, NIVUK, NKJV, NLT.)
So do you see that Colossians 1:15
could be saying that Jesus is preeminent
or supreme not even "of" but "over" all creation?
Jehovah's Witness - Yes.
"Ruler," not "beginning" - Revelation 3:14
All "the" Galileans - Luke 13:2
God isn't a "thing" - 1 Corinthians 15:27