Definition (house style)
“Firstborn” (prototokos, Greek: πρωτότοκος) is a Christ-title carrying two distinct but related meanings: (1) “the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15) — Christ as the head and ground of the entire created order; and (2) “the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18) — Christ as the first to overcome death, thereby holding the primacy in the new creation. Together these titles mark his primacy in both the first and the new creation.
The firstborn title is distinct from “firstfruits” (aparche) — which concerns the first believers to be glorified from the church — by its emphasis on Christ’s own primacy as source and head, not on his position within the resurrection group.
Usage per author
Noordzij
Noordzij reads the two prototokos titles of Col. 1 as together defining Christ’s cosmic position and inaugurating function:
“But He would also ‘be the firstborn among many brothers,’ whom God ‘predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son’ (Rom. 8:29b). He was ‘the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,’ ‘the firstborn of all creation’ (Col. 1:15,18).”
[Noordzij, Moses and the Way to Sonship, §22 — translated from Dutch]
“Jesus’ life was therefore not a once-only, solo event. No, it was the beginning of the resurrection from the dead (Col. 1:18). He is the first of the firstfruits for God (1 Cor. 15:23, Jas. 1:18) and ultimately ‘the firstborn of all creation’ (Col. 1:15).”
[Noordzij, Moses and the Way to Sonship, §23 — translated from Dutch]
The resurrection inaugurates a universal resurrection reality: Christ as firstborn draws after him all predestined to be conformed to his image.
Jones
Jones connects the firstborn title to the Judah-Joseph pattern: Christ carries the primacy of Judah (sceptre) and the birthright of Joseph, each finding fulfilment in one of his two comings:
“What is generally not understood is that Christ must come the second time as Joseph to secure His birthright.”
[Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 11]
The birthright in Jones is not merely an honorary title but a yet-to-be-completed redemptive mission: the second work of Christ as the Joseph-figure who feeds and restores the world.