Colossians 1:15-20
New Living Translation
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,[a]
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.[b]
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.
Colossians 1:15-20
International Standard Version
The Centrality of Jesus
15 The Son[a] is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by him all things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible,
whether they are kings,[b] lords, rulers, or powers.
All things have been created through him and for him.
17 He himself existed before anything else did,
and he holds all things together.
18 He is also the head of the body,
which is the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that he himself might have first place in everything.
19 For God[c] was pleased to have
all of his divine essence[d] inhabit him.
20 Through the Son,[e] God[f] also reconciled all things to himself,
whether things on earth or things in heaven,
thereby making peace
through the blood of his cross.
Footnotes
- Colossians 1:15 Lit. He
- Colossians 1:16 Lit. thrones
- Colossians 1:19 Lit. he
- Colossians 1:19 Lit. all of the fullness
- Colossians 1:20 Lit. Through him
- Colossians 1:20 Lit. he
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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