Based on Colossians 1:15, many say Christ was created or born. Does this mean He’s not deity?

I believe Colossians 1:15, which reads, “[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature,” is a very clear reference about the awesome nature of Christ, which is a belief under attack even in many Christian churches. The Messianic prophecy in Psalm 89:27 also reads, “I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth,” showing that Christ was not the firstborn prior to the creation narrative in Genesis, but rather He was to be made firstborn after the Psalmist penned his words. “The firstborn of every creature” is explained in Colossians 1:18 as “the firstborn from the dead.”

We can also use a modern-day example. In America, we call the president’s wife First Lady, but that doesn’t mean she was the first lady born. It merely designates her role in America. Colossians should be read in the same way.

The word firstborn in Greek does not mean first one given birth to. Instead, it means the one who has priority—the one who has first position. A more accurate translation might say, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the first of every creature, or the highest of every creature.”

Another thing we need to remember is all of the times Jesus called Himself infinite. You can’t ignore those Scriptures when understanding His nature! For instance, Christ said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). He also calls Himself the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8). Jesus is from everlasting to everlasting (Isaiah 63:16; Psalm 90:2). And one of the best Scriptures to explain that Christ is eternal is in the gospel of John: “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (1:3). If Christ made everything that’s made, He couldn’t have made Himself. He’s always existed!

Let’s look at another verse where we find a similar problem. Many take John 3:16, which says, “his only begotten son,” and say that Jesus was begotten. Yet these people forget that when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, it was the first time that God was born as a man. Christ is the only one of the Godhead who became a man, and so that’s one way you can look at this.

Also, when we translate from Greek the phrase “the first begotten” or “the only begotten” or “the firstborn,” that word can be translated as “the one who has preeminence of every creature.” It doesn’t necessarily mean He was born. Does it mean that the Father has a womb and gave birth to Jesus? Of course, this is an utterly ridiculous idea, but it helps illustrate the trouble in taking some passages of Scripture too literally.

Jesus has always been and will always be. He is divine and one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Did Jesus use His divine power to do only good on earth?

Absolutely. However, it is important to keep the following in mind. Whenever He did use His divine power to glorify the Father in heaven, He only used that power that is also available to you and me—His people. Jesus said, “The miracles I have done, greater things than this will you do because I will go on to the Father. As the Father sent me, so sent I you.” Christ raised the dead, and His apostles raised the dead. He also healed and taught people, and He instructed His disciples to do that same.

Christ also never used His supernatural power for any selfish reasons. He could have used His power to save Himself. He could have refreshed Himself from sleepiness when He lay in the boat, but He chose to remain tired. He could have used His power while He was thirsting on the cross, but He had a greater mission than Himself.

In Matthew 4:6, did Satan tempt Christ to commit suicide?

The verse reads, “And [the devil] saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:6).

The three temptations Jesus faced encompass every temptation that any of us face. We find in 1 John 2:16 that there are three basic temptations: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. Eve and Adam fell in those three areas; Christ overcame in those same three areas. We’re all tempted by those three things.

The devil tempts each of us with self-destruction, which is the temptation described in Matthew 4:6. Before I was a Christian, I toyed with suicide quite a bit. Without God, life has no purpose. Suicide, for the non-Christian, is logical thinking. If there’s no God, no purpose, no eternity, and if people are unhappy most of the time, then what’s the sense in living?

The Christian, on the other hand, realizes that suicide does not usher anyone into a better dimension, but instead permanently seals any bad circumstances. If you’re struggling, suicide doesn’t make it better. Suicide seals it forever. There’s no reversing those bad circumstances.

Generally speaking, suicide is the last resort of a person who is in a faithless and hopeless condition. When such a person kills himself, all he has to look forward to is the resurrection of the damned. His next conscious thought is not a better one, but a worse one. The biggest lie of all is that suicide is going to be an escape. The Bible says sin is a transgression of God’s law, and one of those commandments says, “Thou shalt not kill [murder]” (Exodus 20:13). That would include killing yourself.

Having said this, let me hasten to add that we must be careful not to automatically assume that all persons who have committed suicide will be lost. We may be surprised to find some in the kingdom who ended their own lives when they were not in their right minds due to unusual circumstances such as mental illness, chemical imbalance, or excruciating physical pain. We can trust God, who looks on the heart, to judge fairly in these cases.

Our lives are a sacred gift from God. The devil is using a lot of methods today to tempt people to self-destruction. Sometimes people commit suicide quickly; some do it by degrees through drugs, self-abuse, or cigarettes.

As long as you’re a Christian, you’ve got hope—of new life, a new body, and eternal life. Just read your Bible and keep claiming God’s promises. He’ll get you through it.