Bassam Zawadi presents a series of verses which he believes proves that Jesus Christ is a creature of God. He says:
We all know that one key attribute of God is that He is eternal. If someone asks you, "Could God create another God?" the answer will be a definite no. Because God is eternal and is not a creation. So how can an eternal person be created? It does not make any sense. Now when we read the Bible we see that Jesus was created. If Jesus was a creation then he cannot be the Creator and therefore cannot be God.
We will see if the Holy Bible teaches that Jesus was created as Zawadi assumes. And since Zawadi loves to quote Bible commentaries when it suits his purpose we will produce some of the comments of these Bible expositors in our analysis of the texts set forth to refute Christ’s eternal Personhood.
Romans 9:29
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Colossians 1:15
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
RESPONSE:
Zawadi has erroneously assumed that the term firstborn always refers to the first one created or born. Even though this word can have this meaning, it is also used in reference to one who is supreme or preeminent over someone or something. Note, for instance, how the following passage uses this word in relation to King David:
"Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: ‘I have granted help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, … He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ And I will make him the firstborn, the HIGHEST of the kings of the earth." Psalm 89:19-20, 26-27
David was neither the first Israelite king since Saul was ruler before him, nor the firstborn of his family, but rather the youngest of eight sons (cf. 1 Samuel 16). As the text itself shows, David was firstborn in terms of being supreme over all the other rulers of the earth.
These next references assign to Joseph, Jacob’s eleventh son, the rank and status of firstborn:
"Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.’" Genesis 48:21-22
Joseph received a mountain slope as a result of being assigned the position of firstborn in place of Reuben, Jacob’s actual firstborn son:
"The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son; though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph)," 1 Chronicles 5:1-2
With the example of Joseph we see that the firstborn is assigned something extra due to his being the heir:
"If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his." Deuteronomy 21:15-17
The foregoing shows that firstborn doesn’t always refer to one who was born first, but can be used to denote one who is both heir and supreme over the rest.
This is precisely how Paul used the word firstborn, that the Lord Jesus is Firstborn in the sense of being Supreme over creation and its Heir by virtue of having created all things for himself:
"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For IN him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created THROUGH HIM and FOR HIM. AND HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS, and IN HIM all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, THAT IN EVERYTHING HE MIGHT BE PREEMINENT." Colossians 1:13-18
Paul says that Christ existed before all created things, which means that he is eternal, that all creation was made by and for him, and that he is actively holding everything together. Paul even says that the reason for Christ being the One to make all created things is so that he could hold the supremacy over all creation!
To reiterate, Jesus is Firstborn because he is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of all creation, the very Heir and Ruler. This is also the reason why all true believers are made to conform to Christ’s image so as to signify his supremacy over them in God’s family.
And now the commentators:
The Adam Clarke Commentary
The first-born of every creature
I suppose this phrase to mean the same as that, Philippians 2:9: God hath given him a name which is above every name; he is as man at the head of all the creation of God; nor can he with any propriety be considered as a creature, having himself created all things, and existed before any thing was made. If it be said that God created him first, and that he, by a delegated power from God, created all things, this is most flatly contradicted by the apostle's reasoning in the 16th and 17th verses. Colossians 1:16,17 As the Jews term Jehovah becoro shel olam, the first-born of all the world, or of all the creation, to signify his having created or produced all things; (see Wolfius in loc.) so Christ is here termed, and the words which follow in the 16th and 17th Colossians 1:16,17 verses are the proof of this. The phraseology is Jewish; and as they apply it to the supreme Being merely to denote his eternal pre-existence, and to point him out as the cause of all things; it is most evident that St. Paul uses it in the same way, and illustrates his meaning in the following words, which would be absolutely absurd if we could suppose that by the former he intended to convey any idea of the inferiority of Jesus Christ. (Source; underline emphasis ours)
Albert Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament
The firstborn of every creature. Among all the creatures of God, or over all his creation, occupying the rank and pre-eminence of the firstborn. The first-born, or the eldest son, among the Hebrews as elsewhere, had peculiar privileges. He was entitled to a double portion of the inheritance. It has been, also, and especially in Oriental countries, a common thing for the eldest son to succeed to the estate and the title of his father. In early times, the firstborn son was the officiating priest in the family, in the absence or on the death of the father. There can be no doubt that the apostle here has reference to the usual distinctions and honours conferred on the firstborn, and means to say, that, among all the creatures of God, Christ occupied a pre-eminence similar to that. He does not say, that in all respects, he resembled the firstborn in a family; nor does he say that he himself was a creature, for the point of his comparison does not turn on these things, and what he proceeds to affirm respecting him is inconsistent with the idea of his being a created Being himself. He that "created all things that are in heaven and that are in earth" was not himself created. That the apostle did not mean to represent him as a creature is also manifest from the reason which he assigns why he is called the firstborn. "He is the image of God, and the firstborn of every creature, for \hoti\ by him were all things created." That is, he sustains the elevated rank of the firstborn, or a high eminence over the creation, because by him "all things were created in heaven and in earth." The language here used, also, does not fairly imply that he was a creature, or that he was, in nature and rank, one of those in relation to whom it is said he was the firstborn. It is true that the word firstborn-- \~prwtotokov\~ --properly means the firstborn child of a father or mother, Matthew 1:25; Luke 2:7; or the firstborn of animals. But two things are also to be remarked in regard to the use of the word:
(1.) It does not necessarily imply that any one is born afterwards in the family, for it would be used of the firstborn, though an only child; and
(2) it is used to denote one who is chief, or who is highly distinguished and pre-eminent. Thus it is employed in Romans 8:29, "That he might be the firstborn among many brethren." So, in Colossians 1:18, it is said that he was "the firstborn from the dead;" not that he was literally the first that was raised from the dead, which was not the fact, but that he might be pre-eminent among those that are raised. Comp. Exodus 4:22. The meaning then is, that Christ sustains the most exalted rank in the universe; he is pre-eminent above all others; he is at the head of all things. The expression does not mean that he was "begotten before all creatures," as it is often explained, but refers to the simple fact that he sustains the highest rank over the creation. He is the Son of God. He is the heir of all things. All other creatures are also the "offspring of God;" but he is exalted as the Son of God above all. (Source; bold and underline emphasis ours)
John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
the firstborn of every creature;
prot) ¢(tokos), we read (protot) ¢(kos); which is no more than changing the place of the accent, and may be very easily ventured upon, as is done by an ancient writer, who observes, that the word is used in this sense by Homer, and is the same as (protogonos), "first Parent", and (protoktistes), "first Creator"; and the rather this may be done, seeing the accents were all added since the apostle's days, and especially seeing it makes his reasoning, in the following verses, appear with much more beauty, strength, and force: he is the first Parent of every creature, "for by him were all things created"… (Colossians 1:16), or it may be understood of Christ, as the King, Lord, and Governor of all creatures; being God's firstborn, he is heir of all things, the right of government belongs to him; he is higher than the kings of the earth, or the angels in heaven, the highest rank of creatures, being the Creator and upholder of all, as the following words show; so the Jews make the word "firstborn" to be synonymous with the word "king", and explain it by (rvw lwdg), "a great one", and "a prince"; see (Psalm 89:27) (Hebrews 1:2,6). (Source; underline emphasis ours)
not the first of the creation, or the first creature God made; for all things in (Colossians 1:16) are said to be created by him, and therefore he himself can never be a creature; nor is he the first in the new creation, for the apostle in the context is speaking of the old creation, and not the new: but the sense either is, that he was begotten of the Father in a manner inconceivable and inexpressible by men, before any creatures were in being; or that he is the "first Parent", or bringer forth of every creature into being, as the word will bear to be rendered, if instead of (
A.T. Robertson’s Word Pictures of the New Testament
The first born (prototokos).
Predicate adjective again and anarthrous. This passage is parallel to the Logos passage in John 1:1-18 and to Hebrews 1:1-4 as well as Philippians 2:5-11 in which these three writers (John, author of Hebrews, Paul) give the high conception of the Person of Christ (both Son of God and Son of Man) found also in the Synoptic Gospels and even in Q (the Father, the Son). This word (LXX and N.T.) can no longer be considered purely "Biblical" (Thayer), since it is found in inscriptions (Deissmann, Light, etc., p. 91) and in the papyri (Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary, etc.). See it already in Luke 2:7 and Aleph for Matthew 1:25; Romans 8:29. The use of this word does not show what Arius argued that Paul regarded Christ as a creature like "all creation" (pases ktiseos, by metonomy the act regarded as result). It is rather the comparative (superlative) force of proton that is used (first-born of all creation) as in Colossians 1:18; Romans 8:29; Hebrews 1:6; 12:23; Revelation 1:5. Paul is here refuting the Gnostics who pictured Christ as one of the aeons by placing him before "all creation" (angels and men). Like eikon we find prototokos in the Alexandrian vocabulary of the Logos teaching (Philo) as well as in the LXX. Paul takes both words to help express the deity of Jesus Christ in his relation to the Father as eikon (Image) and to the universe as prototokos (First-born).
(Source)
Kenneth Wuest's The New Testament: An Expanded Version
who is a derived reproduction and manifestation of absolute deity, the invisible deity, who [the Son] has priority to and sovereignty over all creation, because in Him were created all things in the heavens and upon the earth, the visible things and the invisible ones, whether they are thrones or lordships or principalities or authorities. All things through Him as intermediate agent and with a view to Him stand created. And He himself antedates all things, and all things in Him cohere. And He himself is the Head of His Body, the Church. He is the originator [i.e., the creator], the firstborn out from among the dead, in order that He might become in all things himself the One who is pre-eminent, because in Him [God] was well pleased that all the fullness be permanently at home. Colossians 1:15-19
Zawadi continues:
Revelation 3:14
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
How can Jesus be the first born and the beginning of creation if he was the Creator?
Also the New Testament, Acts 13:33 to be precise quotes a verse from the Old Testament...
RESPONSE:
Again, Zawadi has assumed that beginning here means that God created Christ first and than created everything else afterwards. Yet the Greek word for beginning, arche, can easily mean that Christ is the One who began creation, that he is the Originator of creation, that God used him to bring all created things into existence. In fact, John uses arche in this very sense:
"And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (he arche kai ho telos). To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. Revelation 21:6-7
No one would erroneously assume that God is the Beginning in the sense of being the first One brought into existence, but that he is the originating Cause of all creation. What makes this interesting is that John applies these very same Divine titles to Christ:
"‘Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (he arche kai ho telos).’ … He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" Revelation 22:12-13, 20
The One who identifies himself as the Beginning and the End is he who is coming soon, the Lord Jesus. Thus, if Jesus is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega in the same way that God is then he is no more a creature than God is since both are said to be the Beginning or arche. This should explain what arche means in reference to Christ, that he is the originating Cause, along with the Father, who brought all creation into being, which is exactly what John wrote elsewhere:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made… He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:1-3, 10, 14
As if this weren’t enough to refute the assertion that John in Revelation 3:14 was insinuating that Jesus is a created being, notice the vision John saw of heaven:
"And I heard EVERY CREATURE in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’ And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped." Revelation 5:13-14
Both God and Christ the Lamb are seen being worshiped by every creature, which clearly distinguishes the two of them from all creation. To put it another way, Christ cannot be a creature if every created thing is worshiping him as they worship God!
Moreover, Jesus is also called arche in regards to his ruling creation as King of kings and Lord of lords:
"They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful." Revelation 17:14, cf. 19:16
The NT often uses arche in this sense, to refer to a ruler or authority:
"So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority (te arche) and jurisdiction of the governor." Luke 20:20
John even uses a similar word in reference to Christ’s rulership over all authorities and kingdoms:
"and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler (ho archon) of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood" Revelation 1:5
From the foregoing we can conclude that John’s meaning in Revelation 3:14 is that Christ is the Cause and Ruler of all creation, which is precisely the same exact truths that Paul presented by inspiration in Colossians 1:15-18.
Here, again, are the commentators:
Adam Clarke
The beginning of the creation of God
That is, the head and governor of all creatures: the king of the creation. See on Colossians 1:15. By his titles, here, he prepares them for the humiliating and awful truths which he was about to declare, and the authority on which the declaration was founded. (Source)
Albert Barnes
Even though he rejected the view that arche in this context means Christ originated creation, Barnes did believe that the word didn’t imply that Jesus was created. He believed that the word referred to Christ ruling over creation:
The beginning of the creation of God. This expression is a very important one in regard to the rank and dignity of the Saviour, and, like all similar expressions respecting him, its meaning has been much controverted. See Barnes "Colossians 1:15". The phrase here used is susceptible, properly, of only one of the following significations, viz.: either
(a) that he was the beginning of the creation in the sense that he caused the universe to begin to exist--that is, that he was the author of all things; or
(b) that he was the first created being; or
(c) that he holds the primacy over all, and is at the head of the universe. It is not necessary to examine any other proposed interpretations, for the only other senses supposed to be conveyed by the words, that he is the beginning of the creation in the sense that he rose from the dead as the first-fruits of them that sleep, or that he is the head of the spiritual creation of God, are so foreign to the natural meaning of the words as to need no special refutation. As to the three significations suggested above, it may be observed, that the first one--that he is the author of the creation, and in that sense the beginning, though expressing a scriptural doctrine, (John 1:3; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16)--is not in accordance with the proper meaning of the word here used--\~arch\~. The word properly refers to the commencement of a thing, not its authorship, and denotes properly primacy in time, and primacy in rank, but not primacy in the sense of causing anything to exist. The two ideas which run through the word as it is used in the New Testament are those just suggested. For the former--primacy in regard to time--that is properly the commencement of a thing, see the following passages where the word occurs: Matthew 19:4,8; 24:8,21; Mark 1:1; 10:6; 13:8,19; Luke 1:2; John 1:1-2 John 2:11; 6:64; 8:25,44; 15:27; 16:4; Acts 11:15; 1 John 1:1; 2:7,13-14,24 1 John 3:8,11; 2 John 5-6. For the latter signification, primacy of rank, or authority, see the following places: Luke 12:11; 20:20; Romans 8:38; 1 Corinthians 15:24; Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 1:16,18; 2:10,15; Titus 3:1. The word is not, therefore, found in the sense of authorship, as denoting that one is the beginning of anything in the sense that he caused it to have an existence. As to the second of the significations suggested, that it means that he was the first created being, it may be observed
(a) that this is not a necessary signification of the phrase, since no one can show that this is the only proper meaning which could be given to the words, and therefore the phrase cannot be adduced to prove that he is himself a created being. If it were demonstrated from other sources that Christ was, in fact, a created being, and the first that God had made, it cannot be denied that this language would appropriately express that fact. But it cannot be made out from the mere use of the language here; and as the language is susceptible of other interpretations, it cannot be employed to prove that Christ is a created being.
(b) Such an interpretation would be at variance with all those passages which speak of him as uncreated and eternal; which ascribe Divine attributes to him; which speak of him as himself the Creator of all things. Compare John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2,6,8,10-12. The third signification, therefore, remains, that he is "the beginning of the creation of God," in the sense that he is the head or prince of the creation; that is, that he presides over it so far as the purposes of redemption are to be accomplished, and so far as is necessary for those purposes. This is
(1) in accordance with the meaning of the word, Luke 12:11; 20:20, et al, ut supra; and
(2) in accordance with the uniform statements respecting the Redeemer, that "all power is given unto him in heaven and in earth," (Matthew 28:18) that God has "given him power over all flesh," (John 17:2) that all things are "put under his feet," (Hebrews 2:8; 1 Corinthians 15:27) that he is exalted over all things, Ephesians 1:20-22. Having this rank, it was proper that he should speak with authority to the church at Laodicea. (Source; bold and underline emphasis ours)
John Gill
The beginning of the creation of God;
not the first creature that God made, but the first cause of the creation; the first Parent, producer, and efficient cause of every creature; the author of the old creation, who made all things out of nothing in the beginning of time; and of the new creation, the everlasting Father of, everyone that is made a new creature; the Father of the world to come, or of the new age and Gospel dispensation; the Maker of the new heaven and new earth; and so a very fit person to be the Judge of the whole world, to summon all nations before him, and pass the final sentence on them. The phrase is Jewish, and it is a title the Jews give to Metatron, by whom they sometimes mean the Messiah; so those words in (Genesis 24:2), and Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, they paraphrase thus;``"and Abraham said unto his servant", this is Metatron, (or the Mediator,) the servant of God, "the eldest of his house"; for he is (Mwqm lv wytwyrb tlxt) , "the beginning of the creation of God", who rules over all that he has; for to him the holy blessed God has given the government of all his hosts.''
Christ is the (
arch), "the Prince", or Governor of all creatures.F2 Zohar in Gen. fol. 77. 1.
(Source; underline emphasis ours)
A.T. Robertson
The beginning of the creation of God (he arche tes ktiseos tou theou).
Not the first of creatures as the Arians held and Unitarians do now, but the originating source of creation through whom God works (Colossians 1:15,18, a passage probably known to the Laodiceans, John 1:3; Hebrews 1:2, as is made clear by 1:18; 2:8; 3:21; 5:13). (Source; underline emphasis ours)
Kenneth Wuest's The New Testament: An Expanded Version
And to the messenger of the assembly in Laodicea write at once: These things says the Amen, the witness who is trustworthy and dependable, the originating source of the creation of God.
We now turn to Zawadi’s final example:
Psalms 2:7
I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. (See also Acts 13:33)
The New Testament author says that this verse is referring to Jesus. But look at the verse. The Lord said, "THIS DAY, have I begotten thee" So Jesus became the begotten Son of God on a certain day. Therefore, he is not the eternal Son of God, which then leaves us to the undeniable conclusion that Jesus is not God.
RESPONSE:
Let us read the immediate context to see what day Paul had in mind:
"And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’ And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ Therefore he says also in another psalm, ‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’ For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption." Acts 13:32-37
The day Paul had in view was the day in which Christ was raised from the dead. When we examine the context of the Psalm we will see why Paul applied this text to Jesus’ resurrection:
"‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’ I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’" Psalm 2:6-7
According to the Psalm, the day that the king took the throne is the moment in which he became God’s son, that it was at this point that God adopted him into his family thereby making him a royal child so to speak.
The foregoing helps us understand the point Paul was making, namely that after Christ was resurrected he ascended into heaven to sit on God’s throne in order to begin actively ruling as David’s representative. It was at that moment that Christ became God’s Son in a royal sense, in the same way that David and Israel’s kings became God’s children. Yet this must not be confused with Christ’s unique Divine Sonship, his eternal relationship with the Father. For more on these points we recommend the following article: http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/sonship.htm
Here we will post Barnes’ notes since they best capture the intended meaning of the text and explain why the other interpretations fail to grapple with Paul’s application of the Psalm:
This day have I begotten thee. It is evident that Paul uses the expression here as implying that the Lord Jesus is called the Son of God because he raised him up from the dead; and that he means to imply that it was for this reason that he is so called in the psalm. This interpretation of an inspired apostle fixes the meaning of this passage in the psalm; and proves that it is not there used with reference to the doctrine of eternal generation, or to his incarnation, but that he is here called his Son because he was raised from the dead. And this interpretation accords with the scope of the psalm. In Psalms 2:1-3, the psalmist records the combination of the rulers of the earth against the Messiah, and their efforts to cast off his reign. This was done, and the Messiah was rejected. All this pertains, not to his previous existence, but to the Messiah on the earth. In Psalms 2:4,5, the psalmist shows that their efforts should not be successful; that God would laugh at their designs; that is, that their plans should not succeed. In Psalms 2:6,7, he knows that the Messiah would be established as a King; that this was the fixed decree, that he had begotten him for this. All this is represented as subsequent to the raging of the heathen, and to the counsel of the kings against him, and must, therefore, refer not to his eternal generation, or his incarnation, but to something succeeding his death; that is, to his resurrection, and establishment as King at the right hand of God. This interpretation by the apostle Paul proves, therefore, that this passage is not to be used to establish the doctrine of the eternal generation of Christ. Christ is called the Son of God from various reasons. In Luke 1:35, because he was begotten by the Holy Ghost. In this place, on account of his resurrection. In Romans 1:4, it is also said, that he was declared to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead. See Barnes "Romans 1:4". The resurrection from the dead is represented as in some sense the beginning of life, and it is with reference to this that the terms Son, and begotten from the dead, are used, as the birth of a child is the beginning of life. Thus Christ is said, Colossians 1:18, to be "the first, born from the dead" and thus in Revelation 1:5, he is called "the first-begotten of the dead," and with reference to this renewal or beginning of life he is called a Son. In whatever other senses he is caned a Son in the New Testament, yet it is here proved,
(1.) that he is called a Son from his resurrection; and,
(2.) that this is the sense in which the expression in the psalm is to be used.
This day. The day, in the mind of the psalmist and of Paul, of his resurrection. Many efforts have been made, and much learned criticism has been expended, to prove that this refers to eternity, or to his pre-existence. But the signification of the word, which never refers to eternity, and the connexion, and the obvious intention of the speaker, is against this. Paul understood this manifestly of the resurrection, This settles the inquiry, and this is the indispensable interpretation in the psalm itself.
Have I begotten thee. This evidently cannot be understood in a literal sense. It literally refers to the relation of an earthly father to his children; but in no such sense can it be applied to the relation of God the Father to the Son. It must therefore be figurative. The word sometimes figuratively means to produce, to cause to exist in any way. 2 Timothy 2:23: "Unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender [beget] strifes." It refers also to the labours of the apostles in securing the conversion of stoners to the gospel. 1 Corinthians 4:15: "In Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." Philemon 1:10: "Whom [Onesimus] I have begotten in my bonds." It is applied to Christians, John 1:13, "Which were born [begotten] not of blood, etc., but of God." John 3:3: "Except a man be born [begotten] again," etc. In all these places it is used in a figurative sense to denote the commencement of spiritual life by the power of God attending the truth; raising up sinners from the death of sin; or so producing spiritual life as that they should sustain to God the relation of sons. Thus he raised up Christ from the dead; imparted life to his body; by his own power restored him; and hence is said figuratively to have begotten him from the dead, and hence sustains towards the risen Saviour the relation of Father. Comp. Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5; Hebrews 1:5. (Source)
To conclude, there is not a single text of Holy Scripture which teaches that Christ is a creature of God. Rather, the consistent testimony of the inspired Scriptures is that Christ is the eternal Son of God whom the Father used to bring all creation into existence. Zawadi has failed to refute this plain teaching of God’s true Word, the Holy Bible.
We confess and testify that Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son whom he loves, the Maker, Sustainer and Savior of all creation. Christ is the eternal Creator, not a creature, who will come again visibly, physically to be seen and worshiped by all true believers. Amen. Come Lord Jesus, come!
Recommended Reading
http://forananswer.org/Colossians/Col1_15.htm
http://forananswer.org/Top_JW/Keay.Col1_15.htm
http://forananswer.org/Top_JW/Goldsmith.Col1_15.htm
http://forananswer.org/Top_JW/Reyes_Partitive.htm
http://www.bsw.org/?l=72121&a=Art09.html
http://forananswer.org/Mars_Jw/RG-WW.Col1_15.htm
http://forananswer.org/Rev/Rv3_14.htm
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