¹⁷ that ^(A)the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ^(B)may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ^18 (C)having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is ^(D)the hope to which he has called you, what are ^(E)the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, ^(F)according to the working of ^(G)his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ ^(H)when he raised him from the dead and ^(I)seated him at his right hand ^(J)in the heavenly places, ^21 (K)far above ^(L)all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above ^(M)every name that is named, not only in ^(N)this age but also in the one to come. ²² And ^(O)he put all things under his feet and gave him as ^(P)head over all things to the church, ^23 (Q)which is his body, ^(R)the fullness of him ^(S)who fills ^(T)all in all.

⁹ (^(A)In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into ^(B)the lower regions, the earth?^{[a] 10} He who descended is the one who also ^(C)ascended ^(D)far above all the heavens, that he might ^(E)fill all things.) ¹¹ And ^(F)he gave the ^(G)apostles, the prophets, the ^(H)evangelists, the ^(I)shepherds^[b] and teachers,^{[c] 12 (J)}to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for ^(K)building up ^(L)the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to ^(M)the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, ^(N)to mature manhood,^[d] to the measure of the stature of ^(O)the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, ^(P)tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in ^(Q)deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, ^(R)speaking the truth in love, we are to ^(S)grow up in every way into him who is ^(T)the head, into Christ, ^16 (U)from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, ^(V)when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

The New Life

¹⁷ Now this I say and ^(W)testify in the Lord, ^(X)that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, ^(Y)in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸ They ^(Z)are darkened in their understanding, ^(AA)alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to ^(AB)their hardness of heart. ¹⁹ They ^(AC)have become callous and ^(AD)have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰ But that is not the way you ^(AE)learned Christ!— ²¹ assuming that ^(AF)you have heard about him and ^(AG)were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²² to ^(AH)put off ^(AI)your old self,^[e] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through ^(AJ)deceitful desires, ²³ and ^(AK)to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on ^(AL)the new self, ^(AM)created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

The Preeminence of Christ

^15 (A)He is the image of ^(B)the invisible God, ^(C)the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by^[a] him all things were created, ^(D)in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^(E)thrones or ^(F)dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created ^(G)through him and for him. ¹⁷ And ^(H)he is before all things, and in him all things ^(I)hold together. ¹⁸ And ^(J)he is the head of the body, the church. He is ^(K)the beginning, ^(L)the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For ^(M)in him all the ^(N)fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and ^(O)through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, ^(P)making peace ^(Q)by the blood of his cross.

The Supremacy of God's Son

1 Long ago, at many times and ^(A)in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but ^(B)in these last days ^(C)he has spoken to us by ^(D)his Son, whom he appointed ^(E)the heir of all things, ^(F)through whom also he created ^(G)the world. ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and ^(H)the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. ^(I)After making purification for sins, ^(J)he sat down ^(K)at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name ^(L)he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say,

Or again,

⁶ And again, when he brings ^(O)the firstborn into the world, he says,

⁷ Of the angels he says,

⁸ But of the Son he says,

¹⁰ And,

¹³ And to which of the angels has he ever said,

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits ^(Y)sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to ^(Z)inherit salvation?