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Bible Question: In
a recent Bible study, there was a question that confused me. It was,
"What was the first creation?" The answer was "Jesus
Christ in human form." The scripture that was given was Colossians
1:13-20. Please explain this to me.
Bible Answer: We
shall start with Colossians 1:15.
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15
And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of
all creation. |
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16
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and
on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him
and for Him.
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17
And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
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18
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning,
the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come
to have first place in everything.
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First-Born. Verse 15 is the key
that unlocks our understanding to this section. The phrase "first-born"
does not mean that Jesus was born first. This little phrase has caused
many problems for Christians. In short, the phrase means that Jesus
was more important than all of the creation. Verse 18 will help us
understand verse 15 since it also uses the same phrase saying, "first-born
from the dead." Now Jesus is not the first one who ever returned
from the dead. There were at
least three other people who returned from the dead before Jesus.
So the phrase "first-born" cannot mean that Jesus is the
first one who returned from the dead. He is, however, the most important
one who returned from the dead. This gives us insight into the meaning
of first-born. The phrase first-born means "priority one"
or "most important." In a previous
question and answer, the meaning of this phrase has been explained
in detail. I would encourage you to read it.
Human Form. Jesus Christ was
the God-man. He was both God and
man. As God He created everything (see verse 17) and holds everything
together. Both history and the sacred scriptures tell us that He was
a man (1 Timothy 2:5), and it is for this reason that He is the most
important or priority one over both the creation and the dead. He
existed before the creation (John 1:3). He was and is God from eternity
past and only became a man at His birth (John 1:1-3,14). He did not
become a man until 2,000 years ago when He was born as a baby to Mary
(Luke 2:7). When He became a man, He continued existing as God. He
was the God-man (Romans 1:3-4).
Conclusion:
Jesus is the priority one of everything! |
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