Firstborn over all creation

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” Colossians 1:15
This verse creates a problem for many people. What does it mean that Jesus is “the firstborn over all creation”? The Jehovah’s Witnesses have taken this to mean that when God created the world, Jesus was the first thing He created, and then Jesus helped Him create the rest of it. But this teaching is in no way supported by the rest of Scripture. Jesus is God; He is not a created being.
When we read the word ‘firstborn’, we naturally think of it referring to the eldest child in a family - or if we’re to get technical, the eldest son. Certainly in most cases in the Bible, this was the case. Being the firstborn gave that person many privileges over his brothers: he would go on to be the leader of that generation after his father passed away, and he would receive a double portion as his inheritance. But not everyone in the Scriptures who receives the rights of the firstborn, was actually born first. Isaac was preferred over Ishmael, Jacob was preferred over Esau. Reuben was the eldest of Jacob’s sons, but his role as leader of the family passed to Judah and his double portion passed to Joseph (1 Chr. 5:1-2). Of Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh was the eldest, yet Ephraim is called the firstborn (Jer. 31:9). David was the youngest of all his brothers, yet God calls him the firstborn (Ps. 89:27).
Thus in referring to Jesus as the firstborn over all creation, we see that this is referring to His position, not His origin. Jesus is also called “the firstborn from the dead” (Rev. 1:5), but He was not the first person to be raised from the dead. But of those who are raised, He has the pre-eminent position. He receives the inheritance of the firstborn: the earth. He receives the position of ruler over the domain of creation.