Is Jesus Christ a Created Being?

Question: Some groups that call themselves Christian teach that Jesus Christ is a created being. Was He created, or is He eternal?

Answer: The idea that Jesus was created by God the Father stands on a failure to understand the language of Colossians 1:15 and Revelation 3:14, as well as a failure to understand the plan of God as it applies to mankind.

The Bible, however, shows that both the Father and the Son are eternally self-existent. Even though there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4;1 Corinthians 8:4), Scripture shows that this one God is one divine Family made up of more than one Being (Genesis 1:26; Ephesians 2:19; 3:15).

According to the Bible, Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Testament, the “Word” (logos) through whom the Father created all things (John 1:1–3; 1 Corinthians 10:4; Ephesians 3:9; Hebrews 1:2). After He “emptied himself” of His divine power (Philippians 2:7, English Standard Version) in order to die and pay the penalty for our sins (Romans 6:23), Jesus became the “only begotten Son” of the Father (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18) and the Savior of mankind (1 John 4:14). He died for our sins and was resurrected so that we might be saved from eternal death (Acts 4:10–12).

The Beginner of God’s Creation

Some point to the King James Version and New King James Version translation of Revelation 3:14 as evidence that Jesus Christ is a created being, since it describes Him as the “beginning of the creation of God.” The problem is in translating the Greek word arché, rendered “beginning” by the KJV and NKJV. How do other translations render this word? The New Revised Standard Version reads that Christ is “the origin of God’s creation,” and the New International Version reads that He is “the ruler of God’s creation.” Arché would be better rendered to show Christ as the “Beginner” or “Originator” of creation. As these translations make plain, Revelation 3:14 does not imply that Jesus was the first created being; rather, He is the One who created and stands as the very cause of that creation.

Some wrongly take Colossians 1:15 to mean that Christ, as the “firstborn over all creation,” was Himself part of that creation. The Greek word translated here as “firstborn”—prōtotokos (from prōtos, meaning “first,” and tiktō, meaning “to beget”)—does not indicate that Jesus was created. Rather, it reminds us that, through His resurrection, He had the “preeminence” as “firstborn from the dead” (v. 18; Revelation 1:5). Additionally, Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words rightly observes of Colossians 1:15 that “His [Christ’s] eternal relationship with the Father is in view, and the clause means both that He was the ‘Firstborn’ before all creation and that He Himself produced creation (the genitive case being objective, as v. 16 makes clear)” (p. 241). “By Him [Christ] all things were created” (v. 16)—He did not create Himself!

Neither Beginning nor End

Another vital key to understanding the Apostle Paul’s teaching is found in Hebrews 7. In the days of Abraham, Melchizedek was the king of what would later be called Jerusalem and Priest of the Most High God (Genesis 14:18). Paul writes that Melchizedek existed from eternity, and “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually” (Hebrews 7:3). Melchizedek was “like the Son of God,” and remains God’s High Priest forever. Jesus Christ is now our High Priest (Hebrews 5:10), and He and Melchizedek are one and the same eternal Being. For more on this topic, you can read our January–February 2009 article “Who Was the God of the Old Testament?,” available at TomorrowsWorld.org.

Those who consider Jesus Christ a created being do not understand God’s plan of salvation. Jesus Christ, the “Word” who eternally “was God” and was “with God” before the creation (John 1:1–2), will return as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:13–16) to establish lasting peace on the earth (Isaiah 2:2–4).