Colossians 1:15

"First-born" (Gr. prototokos) may denote either priority in time or supremacy in rank (cf. Colossians 1:18; Exodus 4:22; Psalms 89:27; Romans 8:29; Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 1:15). It may also denote both of these qualities. Both seem to be in view here. Christ was before all creation in time, and He is over all creation in authority. In view of the context (Colossians 1:16-20), the major emphasis seems to be on His sovereignty, however. [Note: O’Brien, Colossians . . ., p. 44.] What "first-born" does not mean is that Christ was the first created being, which ancient Arians believed and modern Jehovah’s Witnesses teach. This is clear because Colossians 1:16-18 state that Christ existed before all things and is the Creator Himself. Other passages also affirm His responsibility for creation (cf. John 1:3; John 3:16; Romans 8:29; Hebrews 1:6; Hebrews 11:28; Hebrews 12:23). In John 3:16 the word "only begotten" (Gr. monogenes) means alone of His kind, not "first-created" (protoktiskos).

"Though it is grammatically possible to translate this as ’Firstborn in Creation,’ the context makes this impossible for five reasons: (1) The whole point of the passage (and the book) is to show Christ’s superiority over all things. (2) Other statements about Christ in this passage (such as Creator of all [Colossians 1:16], upholder of Creation [Colossians 1:17], etc.) clearly indicate His priority and superiority over Creation. (3) The ’Firstborn’ cannot be part of Creation if He created ’all things.’ One cannot create himself. (Jehovah’s Witnesses wrongly add the word ’other’ six times in this passage in their New World Translation. Thus they suggest that Christ created all other things after He was created! But the word ’other’ is not in the Gr.) (4) The ’Firstborn’ received worship of all angels (Hebrews 1:6), but creatures should not be worshiped (Exodus 20:4-5). (5) The Greek word for ’Firstborn’ is prototokos. If Christ were the ’first-created,’ the Greek word would have been protoktisis." [Note: Geisler, pp. 672-73.]