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11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,[a] 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom[b] and forgave our sins.

Christ Is Supreme

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
    He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,[c]
16 for through him God created everything
    in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
    and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
    Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
    and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
    which is his body.
He is the beginning,
    supreme over all who rise from the dead.[d]
    So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
    was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
    everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
    by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:11 Or all the patience and endurance you need with joy.
  2. 1:14 Some manuscripts add with his blood.
  3. 1:15 Or He is the firstborn of all creation.
  4. 1:18 Or the firstborn from the dead.

11 being strengthened with all power(A) according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,(B) 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father,(C) who has qualified you[a] to share in the inheritance(D) of his holy people in the kingdom of light.(E) 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness(F) and brought us into the kingdom(G) of the Son he loves,(H) 14 in whom we have redemption,(I) the forgiveness of sins.(J)

The Supremacy of the Son of God

15 The Son is the image(K) of the invisible God,(L) the firstborn(M) over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created:(N) things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;(O) all things have been created through him and for him.(P) 17 He is before all things,(Q) and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head(R) of the body, the church;(S) he is the beginning and the firstborn(T) from among the dead,(U) so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased(V) to have all his fullness(W) dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile(X) to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,(Y) by making peace(Z) through his blood,(AA) shed on the cross.

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Footnotes

  1. Colossians 1:12 Some manuscripts us