Skip to content

Was Jesus the First Thing God Created?

A Plain-English Summary

The Bible calls Jesus the "firstborn of all creation" (Colossians 1:15) and "the beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14). At first glance, these phrases sound like Jesus was the very first being God made.

But when you dig into how the Bible actually uses these words -- in both Testaments -- they turn out to be titles of rank and authority, not statements about when Jesus came into existence. The same authors who use these phrases also say Jesus created everything that exists, which would be impossible if he were himself a created being.

"Firstborn" Does Not Mean "Born First"

This is the single most important thing to understand. In the Old Testament, "firstborn" (Hebrew: bekor) is repeatedly used as a title for the person who holds the highest position -- even when they were literally not born first.

  • David was the youngest son of Jesse, yet God says: "I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth" (Psalm 89:27). It was a rank, not a birth certificate.
  • Israel is called God's "firstborn" (Exodus 4:22), even though Israel was not the first nation to exist.
  • Ephraim is called "firstborn" in Jeremiah 31:9, but Genesis 41:51-52 tells us plainly that Ephraim was the second-born son. His older brother was Manasseh.

The pattern is consistent: "firstborn" means "the one with the highest standing," not "the one who showed up first." When Paul calls Jesus the "firstborn of all creation," he is drawing on this well-established tradition.

Paul Explains His Own Meaning

Paul does not leave us guessing. Right after calling Jesus the "firstborn of all creation," he writes "for" (Greek: hoti, meaning "because") and explains why Jesus holds that title:

"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him." (Colossians 1:16)

Jesus is "firstborn" because he created everything. That only makes sense if "firstborn" means supreme authority over creation. You do not explain someone's membership in a group by saying they built the entire group.

Paul then drives the point home: Christ holds this position "that in all things he might have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:18). That word "preeminence" (Greek: proteuo) is Paul's own definition of what "firstborn" means here.

The Creation Paradox

Here is the logical problem with reading "firstborn" as "first created being." Multiple New Testament authors state that Jesus created all things:

  • "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:3)
  • "One Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things." (1 Corinthians 8:6)
  • "By whom also he made the worlds." (Hebrews 1:2)

If Jesus created all things and Jesus is himself a created thing, then Jesus created himself. That is a logical impossibility. You cannot bring yourself into existence.

The scope of "all things" in these passages is not vague. Paul spells it out: "in heaven, and in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers" (Colossians 1:16). John doubles down: "without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3). There is no escape clause, no asterisk reading "except himself."

Since four different biblical authors independently affirm Christ's role as universal creator, the evidence points firmly in one direction.

What About Revelation 3:14?

Revelation 3:14 calls Jesus "the beginning of the creation of God." The word "beginning" (Greek: arche) can mean a starting point in time, but it can also mean "source" or "origin."

The strongest clue comes from how the same book uses the same word. In Revelation 22:13, Jesus says: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." That phrase -- "the beginning and the end" -- is a title of God Almighty (Revelation 1:8, 21:6). If "beginning" meant "first creature" in 3:14, then "the beginning and the end" in 22:13 would mean "the first creature and the last creature" -- which is absurd paired with "Alpha and Omega."

The same Jesus who is called "the beginning of the creation of God" also claims to be "the first and the last" -- a title that belongs to God alone in Isaiah 44:6.

The companion titles in Revelation 3:14 reinforce this. Jesus is called "the Amen" and "the faithful and true witness" -- titles of finality and ultimate authority. You would not pair those with "the first creature God made." They fit naturally with "the originating source of all creation."

The Hebrews 1 Test Case

Hebrews chapter 1 provides a compressed test of both readings. Within just a few verses, the author:

  1. Calls Jesus "firstbegotten" (prototokos, verse 6)
  2. Addresses Jesus as "God" (theos, verse 8)
  3. Credits Jesus with creating heaven and earth (verses 10-12, quoting Psalm 102, a psalm about God)

If "firstborn" meant "first creature," then Hebrews 1 would be calling a creature "God" and crediting a creature with the work that Psalm 102 attributes to the LORD -- a self-contradiction within ten verses. The far simpler reading: "firstborn" is a title of supreme rank held by the one who is also God and Creator.

Honest Acknowledgment of the Other Side

The arguments for reading these phrases as "first created being" are not baseless. The grammar of "firstborn of all creation" can technically be read as "firstborn who belongs to creation." The word arche followed by "of the creation" does statistically lean toward "beginning of" rather than "ruler of" in other New Testament uses. The standard Greek lexicon (BDAG) even notes that "first created" is "linguistically probable" for Revelation 3:14.

These are real observations that deserve honest engagement, not dismissal. But in each case, the broader context resolves the ambiguity. The grammar permits the "first creature" reading, but the logic of the surrounding verses -- the causal "because" clause, the creation paradox, the divine titles -- makes it incoherent.

John's Gospel Draws a Line

John's Gospel adds one more layer. In John 1:1-3, John uses two different verbs to draw a sharp line between Jesus and created things. For Jesus, he uses a word meaning continuous existence -- the Word "was" (Greek: en). For created things, he switches to a word meaning "came into being" (Greek: egeneto). The Word was; creation became.

John uses that second verb for Jesus only once -- at the incarnation: "the Word was made flesh" (John 1:14). That describes a transition from heaven to earth, not from nonexistence to existence.

The Bottom Line

"Firstborn of all creation" and "beginning of the creation of God" are titles of supreme authority and originating power, not birth announcements. The Bible's own explanatory clauses, its consistent attribution of universal creation to Christ, and the Old Testament pattern of "firstborn" as a rank title all converge on the same conclusion: these phrases place Jesus over creation as its source and sovereign, not within creation as its first product.

Simplified from the full study: trin-01-firstborn-created-being