¹⁶ For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him.

¹⁷ And He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together).^(A)

¹⁸ He also is the Head of [His] body, the church; seeing He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead, so that He alone in everything and in every respect might occupy the chief place [stand first and be preeminent].

¹⁹ For it has pleased [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should dwell in Him ^[a]permanently.

²¹ So let no one exult proudly concerning men [boasting of having this or that man as a leader], for all things are yours,

²² Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas (Peter), or the universe or life or death, or the immediate and ^[a]threatening present or the [subsequent and uncertain] future—all are yours,