Ted’s Response:

I'm glad that my website has been informative to you. I know that Jehovah's Witnesses use Colossians 1:15, indicating that Jesus is the firstborn over all creation, as "evidence" that He was created. They also claim that Jesus and the archangel Michael are the same person.

Note that Jesus is the firstborn over all creation, not the firstborn of all creation. Another way to say it is that Jesus has a unique pre-eminence or supremacy over all of creation, which He must have because He created everything (Colossians 1:15,16; Hebrews 1:2,10). Only God created all things. So Jesus is God; He is not the angel Michael.

Jesus existed prior to being the "firstborn" in many categories. He was born in the flesh to Mary as the firstborn and only begotten Son of God the Father (John 1:14). He was the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18) of those who never would die again. He was the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:28,29), meaning He was the first of those who would be called according to the purpose of God. Likewise, He was before all things (Colossians 1:17) and existed before anything was created, including angels; so He was the firstborn over all creation (1:15).

Besides being the "firstborn over all creation," Jesus is the "image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). This implies that before anything in the universe was created, Jesus emerged as the visible manifestation or likeness of the invisible God. That is, He was concealed within the unseen God, and then He was revealed visibly as the one by and through whom everything would be created. The fullness of the Deity of God always has dwelled in Jesus (1:19, 2:9), who is the physical representation of God. He never has not been God.

Jesus created all things, visible and invisible, in the entire universe (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2,10). Jesus always has existed, and He always has been God, although He was not known as Jesus or Yeshua (meaning "Salvation") until He was born into the world as a human.

The Jehovah's Witness Bible (The New World Translation) is the only version that translates the final portion of John 1:1 as "the Word was a god." All others versions translate this as "the Word was God" or "God was the Word." By insisting that Jesus was "a god," they are stripping away Jesus' deity because they reject the idea of the Trinity of God. Yet, the fact that Jesus created all things and that all things are held together by Him (Colossians 1:16,17) signifies that He was/is the Creator, Sustainer, who is God.

Speaking of Jesus, God the Father said, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father" or "today I have begotten you" (Psalm 2:7; Hebrews 1:5). Then, speaking to Jesus the Son, the Father said, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom" (Hebrews 1:8). The Father did not call Jesus the Son a god; He called Him God. Jesus was the first and only begotten Son of God, the Father. He has authority over all of creation; and, as the visible manifestation of God, He will rule as Lord and King over the whole earth when He returns (Zechariah 14:9).

As far as being an angel, Hebrews 1:4-6,13 contradicts the notion that Jesus is a mere angel. He is as much superior to the angels as His Name is superior to theirs (1:4). When the Father brought His firstborn, Jesus, into the world, He commanded all the angels, including the archangel Michael, to worship Him (1:6). In Scripture, no angel ever is seen to sit on a throne; however, the throne of Jesus will last forever and ever because He is God (Luke 1:32,33; Hebrews 1:8).

I found these pages that provide more information to relay to Jehovah's Witnesses:

• Should John 1:1 be translated, "The Word was God" or "The Word was a god"?
• Was Jesus God, manifest in human form?