FIRSTBORN

In the O.T., this term referred to the first individual born to parents, whether of man or beast. The firstborn was accorded a place of special prominence (cf. Gen. 48:13-18; Dt. 21:15-17; 2 Chron. 21:3). The word also came to be used in a figurative sense. The "firstborn" of death signified an especially deadly disease (Job 18:13), and "firstborn" of the poor meant "poorest of the poor" (Isa. 14:30). In the N.T., when the church is designated as a congregation of "firstborn [ones]" (Heb. 12:23), the design is to stress the glorious, exalted position of the people of God. Some have grossly misunderstood the descriptive used of Christ, "the firstborn of all creation" (Col. 1:15). The "Jehovah's Witnesses" allege that this term suggests that Jesus was the first creature created by Jehovah at the beginning of time. Such a view not only contradicts passages which affirm the eternality of the Second Person of the Godhead (e.g., Mic. 5:2; Jn. 1:1; 8:58, Rev. 22:13, etc.), it also fails to recognize the meaning of "firstborn" in context. The "Firstborn" of creation (1:15) no more means that Christ was the first created being, any more than "firstborn" from the dead suggests he was the first one ever raised from the dead (1:18). In both cases, the idea of preeminence is being emphasized. Note the qualifying phrase in 18b, "that in all things he might have the preeminence."