Some resources for you:
Your argument attempts to assert that because a significant percentage of
ordinary Christians seem to believe that Jesus is the "first and greatest
being created by God," this indicates that the Jehovah's Witness
interpretation of Jesus being created is a more natural reading of Scripture.
However, this conclusion is deeply flawed for several reasons.One key misunderstanding in this argument is the interpretation of
"firstborn" as found in Colossians 1:15: "He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." The term
"firstborn" (Greek: prototokos) does not imply that Jesus is
the first created being. Rather, in biblical usage,
"firstborn" refers to preeminence and priority in rank, not
chronology. For example, in the Old Testament, David is called the "firstborn"
even though he was the youngest of Jesse’s sons (Psalm 89:27).
"Firstborn" indicates a position of supremacy, honor, and authority.
This is consistent with Jesus being described as having all the fullness of
deity dwelling in Him (Colossians 2:9).
Therefore, the phrase "firstborn of all creation" is not teaching
that Jesus is a created being. Instead, it emphasizes His supremacy over
creation. He is preeminent, not because He is created, but because He is the
eternal Son of God through whom all things were made (John 1:3).
Several biblical passages explicitly teach that Jesus is eternal and not a
created being. John 1:1 declares, "In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Word (Logos) who
becomes incarnate in Jesus Christ (John 1:14) is eternal. He was already in
existence "in the beginning," which means He was not created but has
always existed.
In John 8:58, Jesus says, "Before Abraham was, I am." Jesus’
use of the phrase "I am" here echoes the divine name revealed
to Moses in Exodus 3:14, where God declares, "I AM WHO I AM."
This self-identification aligns Jesus with the eternal, uncreated God of
Israel.
Hebrews 1:3 states that Jesus is "the radiance of God’s glory and
the exact imprint of His nature." This passage emphasizes that Jesus
shares the same divine nature as the Father, not as a created being, but as the
eternal Son who sustains all things by His powerful word. This is incompatible
with the idea that Jesus is a created being. A created being cannot sustain all
of creation.
In Philippians 2:6, Paul writes of Jesus, "who, being in very
nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own
advantage." Here, Paul acknowledges that Jesus, in His pre-incarnate
existence, was already in the form of God (Greek: morphe theou). If
Jesus were merely a created being, Paul could not speak of Him as having "equality
with God." The passage goes on to describe Jesus’ voluntary emptying
of Himself by taking on human nature, not by relinquishing divine nature, but
by assuming humanity.
The statistics you cite from surveys such as those conducted by Ligonier
Ministries and LifeWay Research reflect a theological confusion that exists
among many Christians today. Many "ordinary Christians" may indeed
have an unclear understanding of key theological doctrines due to insufficient
teaching and catechesis, but this does not imply that these beliefs are
biblically correct. The fact that some Christians mistakenly believe that Jesus
was created does not serve as a valid argument for that belief. Rather, it
reflects the need for better biblical education.
It’s important to recognize that the belief in Christ’s eternal divinity
and uncreated nature is not a recent invention of dogmatic theologians, but has
been a core belief of Christianity from the earliest centuries. The early
Church councils, such as Nicaea in 325 AD, were convened to refute the heresy
of Arianism, which claimed that Jesus was a created being. The Nicene Creed, a
foundational statement of Christian orthodoxy, explicitly affirms that Jesus is
"begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father." This
was not a new invention, but a formal clarification of what the Church had
believed from the beginning.
If we look at other scriptures, such as John 20:28, where Thomas calls the
resurrected Jesus, "My Lord and my God," we see that Jesus
accepts worship and the title of God. In Hebrews 1:6, the angels are commanded
to worship the Son, something that would be blasphemous if He were merely a
created being.
Moreover, in Revelation 1:8, Jesus refers to Himself as the "Alpha
and Omega," titles used exclusively for God, indicating His eternal
existence. The same titles are used for God in Revelation 21:6 and 22:13,
reinforcing Jesus’ divinity and eternal nature.
In conclusion, the idea that Jesus is a created being, as espoused by
Jehovah's Witnesses and misunderstood by some Christians, is not supported by
the clear teaching of Scripture. The Bible consistently affirms the eternal
divinity of Jesus Christ and His role as Creator, not as a creation. The
confusion among some Christians today regarding this issue highlights the need
for deeper theological education, not a validation of erroneous beliefs. The
Trinity, though complex, is the doctrine that best fits the whole witness of
Scripture regarding the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Ligonier survey findings indicate that many evangelical Christians hold contradictory beliefs, affirming the Trinity while also mistakenly believing Jesus was created. This highlights a lack of theological understanding rather than an endorsement of JW Christology. It suggests the need for better catechesis rather than implying widespread agreement with non-Trinitarian views.
The argument that Jesus is a created being, based on misinterpretations of
terms like "firstborn" or surveys of confused believers, falls
short of the biblical testimony that reveals Christ as the eternal, uncreated
Word of God who shares in the divine essence of the Father and the Spirit.
