According to the Apostle John, Jesus is the Word whom God employed to create and give life to all creation, being the Source of light who grants enlightenment to every man:  

“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 created by him, and apart from him not a single thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men… The true light, which lightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created by him, but the world did not know him… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we gazed on his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… No one has ever seen God. The only Son, himself God, the one who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” John 1:1-4, 9-10, 14, 18 Mounce Reverse Interlinear New Testament (MOUNCE)

The language used here to describe Christ is astonishing since the Hebrew emphatically teaches that Jehovah alone created the heavens and earth and everything within them, and that he is the source of life whose light illuminates mankind:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and ALL THE HOST of them.” Genesis 2:1  

“And Ezra said: ‘Thou art the Lord, thou alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and thou preservest all of them; and the host of heaven worships thee.’” Nehemiah 9:6

“who ALONE stretched out the heavens, and trampled the waves of the sea;” Job 9:8

“For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light do we see light.” Psalm 36:9

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: ‘I am the Lord, who made all things, who stretched out the heavens ALONE, who spread out the earth—Who was with me?—’” Isaiah 44:24

“‘I made the earth, and created man upon it; it was MY HANDS that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.’… For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!): ‘I am the Lord, and there is no other.’” Isaiah 45:12, 18

“For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another. Hearken to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am He, I am the first, and I am the last.” Isaiah 48:11-16

Interestingly, Christ claims to be the preexistent Son of God whom the Father glorifies in the same way that the Son glorifies him. Jesus further states that he existed alongside the Father in the very same glory from before the creation of the world, which explains why he was able to personally see Abraham’s reaction to having seen the coming of Christ. I.e., since the prehuman Jesus personally existed before the creation he was there to behold the moment when Abraham came into being:  

“‘Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it and he will be the judge.’… Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God. But you have not known him; I know him. If I said, I do not know him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ The Jews then said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.” John 8:50, 54-59

“When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified; if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.’” John 13:31-32

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee…  and now, Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made… Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world.’” John 17:1, 5, 24

Astonishingly, Christ even describes himself as the First and the Last who has power over life and death, and allowed the Apostle John to behold every creature in the entire creation glorifying the risen Son in the exact same manner that God the Father is glorified!

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Revelation 1:17-18

“And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints; and they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth.’ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor AND GLORY and blessing!’ And I heard EVERY CREATURE in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, AND ALL THEREIN, saying, ‘To him who sits upon the throne AND TO THE LAMB be blessing and honor AND GLORY and might for ever and ever!’ And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.” Revelation 5:8-14

The fact that Jesus is distinguished from every created thing in all of the creation proves that Christ is no mere creature. Rather, like the Father the Son is uncreated by his very nature, making him co-equal to the Father and therefore worthy of receiving the exact same worship that the Father is given.

This helps us appreciate why Hebrews has God the Father taking the following Psalm, which glorifies Jehovah as the unchangeable Creator and Sustainer of all creation,

“Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to thee!… But thou, O Lord, art enthroned for ever; thy name endures to all generations… Of old thou didst lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They will perish, but thou dost endure; they will all wear out like a garment. Thou changest them like raiment, and they pass away; but thou art the same, and thy years have no end.” Psalm 102:1, 12, 25-27

And using it to praise and magnify Jesus as his Firstborn Son, being the eternally reigning God whom all of God’s angels must worship:

“In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high… For to what angel did God ever say, ‘Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee’? Or again, ‘I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son’? And again, when he brings the first-born into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’… But of the Son he says, ‘Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom… And, ‘THOU, Lord [the Son], didst found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of THY hands; they will perish, but THOU remainest; they will all grow old like a garment, like a mantle THOU wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But THOU art the same, and THY years will never end.’” Hebrews 1:1-3, 5-6, 8a, 10-12

Or why Colossians identifies Jesus as the eternal Son of God by, through, and for whom every created thing exists:

“He has delivered us from the dominion 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 first-born of all creation; for IN HIM all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created THROUGH HIM and FOR HIM. He IS before all things, and IN HIM all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent.” Colossians 1:13-18

I.e., Jesus is not a mere creature but is God Almighty who became flesh, being the eternal Son who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit in essence, power, glory, honor, and worship.

Unless stated otherwise, scriptural references are taken from the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Holy Bible.

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