John does not only say all things were made through Him, but adds “without Him nothing was made.” Since Jesus created all things, He could not have been one of the “created things.” Paul confirms what John wrote: “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. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. “ (Colossians 1:16-17).
Dr. Norman Geisler comments: “Christ is the Creator of all things including angels and everything visible or invisible…. Since Christ could not be both the Creator of everything and at the same time a creature Himself, it is necessary to conclude that He is Himself the uncreated Creator of all creation” (Christian Apologetics, 1988, p. 338). He adds a footnote: “In view of the clear teaching that Christ is Creator and not a creature, the Arian misinterpretations of phrases like Christ is ‘firstborn’ (Colossians 1:15) or ‘beginning of creation’ (Revelation 3:14) are wrong. Christ is ‘firstborn’ in the sense of being the unique (not created) Son of God. Christ is first over creation, not first in it” (ibid.).
In Colossians 1:15 the Greek word prototokos, translated “firstborn,” is a title based on birth order. The BDAG Lexicon explains that it speaks “of Christ, as the firstborn of a new humanity which is to be glorified, as its exalted Lord is glorified.” Colossians 1:16 verifies that Paul’s purpose was to address the fact that Christ heads all creation, not that God created Him.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia comments in its article “First-begotten” that “the firstborn of all creation…denotes His status and character and not His origin; the context does not admit the idea that He is a part of the created universe.” In Colossians 1:18, Christ is described as “the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have preeminence” which further explains the meaning of firstborn in this context. He is firstborn dead, the first to arise in a spiritual resurrection.
Micah 5:2 states the messianic King to come was “from everlasting.” Jesus had appeared in His divine life before His human birth as the priest-king Melchizedek (see Hebrews 7), “having neither beginning of days nor end of life” (verse 3). (See also Bible Insights issue 310 – A Mystery Solved: The Identity of Mechizedek)
The Greek word arche (often translated “beginning,” as in Revelation 3:14) can be defined as “the first cause” (BDAG Lexicon). The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains concludes that the meaning of arche in Revelation 3:14 is that Christ is “the origin of what God has created.” Yet advocates of the old Arian heresy that God created Christ interpret Revelation 3:14 as supporting their argument.
On this point, Barnes says, “Such an interpretation would be at variance with all those passages which speak of him [Christ] as uncreated and eternal; which ascribe divine attributes to him; which speak of him as himself the Creator of all things. Compare John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2, 6, 8, 10-12.” As to the proper understanding of “beginning” in Revelation 3:14, Barnes says it means Christ “holds the primacy over all, and is at the head of the universe.” Adam Clarke’s Commentary agrees: “[The beginning of the creation of God] That is, the head and governor of all creatures; the king of the creation. The broader context of the rest of the Bible shows that Christ existed eternally, and that He, like the Father, is God.”
