Jesus is "the firstborn of all creation" (Col 1:15). An average person would probably parse the word into "first" and "born." In the past it referred primarily to the first offspring of a man or animal. The word itself was used mostly in Biblical writing and occurs 130 times in the Old Testament. Births in a family in succession would be seen in the context of time. Some interested in the Bible have taken this to mean that Jesus was God's first creation. The Gnostics took it a step further teaching that created beings were emanations of God and Jesus was in the next-to-highest aeon under God. Arius promulgated this long ago in Egypt, and even today, certain sectarian groups adhere to this idea. But that is not what Paul means by this scripture. Jewish society had a concept of the birthrite where the first son had an honored position in the family. He had certain rights and privileges. Psalm 89:27 says, "I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth." With the birthrite he was the heir and also had the responsibility of managing the family's affairs. Jesus was "appointed heir of all things" (Heb 1:2). "He has inherited a more excellent name than they" (:4). "God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name" (Php 2:9). The term developed beyond the use as primogeniture (physical birth) into the concept of priority and sovereignty. It became a metaphor, as with, he is "the firstborn over all creation" (Col 1:15) which distinguishes him from creation itself and gives him a preeminent position as opposed to a subsidiary role. He is the first begotten Son closely united with God, antecedent to the whole, collective creation. There is an inferential reference to rank in dignity temporally, but Christ conditions the creation and is independent of it. The main point is the Son's permanent relationship with the Father which denotes deity and lays the groundwork for creation itself. "In these last days [God] has spoken to us in His Son . . . through whom also He made the world" (Heb 1:2).