In the Bible, firstborn is used in different ways. It can mean the firstborn son as in Luke 2:7 where we’re told Jesus was Mary’s firstborn. It means the same thing in Exodus 11:5 as Moses explains to Pharaoh the coming death of the firstborn.
The meaning of Firstborn can change, though . In Genesis 41:51, we see Manasseh is Joseph’s firstborn yet in Jeremiah 31:9, his younger brother, Ephraim is called the firstborn. In Psalm 89:19-27, God calls David His firstborn though David was Jesse’s youngest son (1 Sam. 17:14). Ephraim and David were called firstborn due to God’s placing them as preeminent above others.
To say either that firstborn always carries the same definition no matter the context is what logicians call the equivocation fallacy. This is commonly posed by the Watchtower and its followers. One of the best examples is their abuse of Colossians 1:15-19:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by 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. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 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. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
The Watchtower holds firstborn in verse 15 to mean Jesus is the first one born of all creation even though the context, particularly verse 18, shows the passage is speaking of preeminence and not birth order.
To deceive their followers further, they insert “other” before the word “things” four times in this passage to assure them Jesus is not preeminent but one of the things created. This is deceitful:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All other things have been created through him and for him. Also, he is before all other things, and by means of him all other things were made to exist, and he is the head of the body, the congregation. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might become the one who is first in all things;” (Col. 1:15-18 NWT)
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