Those of you who claim a relationship with the Lord. Why don't you ask the Lord Himself in prayer if He is Gods firstborn? I gave you scripture.
Firstborn of all creation.
When God brings the firstborn into the world He commands all His angels to bow to Him.
.....the assembly (church) of the firstborn.
Jesus calls the Father the one true God and also stated He was Gods Son. Jesus stated the Father was His God and our God. God states Jesus is His Son. Believe in Him. I also call Jesus the Son. I also quote Jesus is that Father is in Him and He in the Father. One in that manner.
Randy
Context, Randy, context. Is Jesus the firstborn of creation? Of course. There is no need to pray about it because the Bible clearly states that is the case. The problem comes in when the term "firstborn" is taken out of context and when one fails to understand the biblical use.
Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Col 1:16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (ESV)
Does "firstborn" mean that the Son was the first created thing or somehow came into being at some point in time? No. If it did, it would not only do violence to the text here in Col. 1, but it would stand in direct contradiction to numerous other passages, including John 1:1-3. I have already explained how verses 16 an 17 preclude the Son from ever having been created; they show that he has always existed. So clearly "firstborn" does not mean here that the Son came into being.
How do we then understand "firstborn" as it relates to the Son? We look to its other uses in Scripture.
Exo 4:22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, (ESV)
Psa 89:20 I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him,
...
Psa 89:27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. (ESV)
Jer 31:9 With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. (ESV)
We see then that "firstborn" has meanings which are not literal. We know from reading the Bible that the firstborn had certain rights and privileges but we also see in the verses above that it seemed those whom God loved he called his firstborn, even though they were not in any literal sense his firstborn.
In relation to the Son then, we can understand that Col. 1:15 is speaking of Jesus's place of pre-eminence, his sovereignty, and his lordship, over all creation.
And so we come to Heb. 1:6, where, as is always the case, context is key. We cannot simply divorce a verse from what else is being said around it:
Heb 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 but in these last days he has spoken to us
by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Heb 1:3
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Heb 1:4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Heb 1:5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"? Or again, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son"?
Heb 1:6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."
Heb 1:7 Of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire."
Heb 1:8
But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
Heb 1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."
Heb 1:10
And, "You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;
Heb 1:11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment,
Heb 1:12 like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end."
There is a lot that could be said about this passage but to keep things simple, we see that in the context of the Father calling the Son his firstborn, we also see that the Son is "the heir of all things" the one "through whom also [God] created the world". Very interestingly we not only have the Father calling the Son God, in verse 8, we have verses 10-12 in which a passage that is quoting the OT, referring to YHWH, is being applied to the Son, effectively calling him YHWH/God:
Psa 102:18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:
Psa 102:19 that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
Psa 102:20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die,
Psa 102:21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD, and in Jerusalem his praise,
Psa 102:22 when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.
Psa 102:23 He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.
Psa 102:24 "O my God," I say, "take me not away in the midst of my days— you whose years endure throughout all generations!"
Psa 102:25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
Psa 102:26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
Psa 102:27 but you are the same, and your years have no end. (ESV)
So one simply cannot quote a single verse about the Son being the firstborn as though it means he was the first created thing, as the contexts clearly refute that idea.
