ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Colossians 1.15-16
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Passage

Colossians 1.15-16

Book: Colossians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

13. who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love; 14. in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins:

15. who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16. for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him;

  1. and he is before all things, and in him all things consist. 18. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:13-18, ASV)
WEB

13. who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love; 14. in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins;

15. who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16. For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.

  1. He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. 18. He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:13-18, WEB)
KJV

13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: his: Gr. the Son of his love 14. In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

15. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

  1. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. in: or, among all (Colossians 1:13-18, KJV)
YLT

13. who did rescue us out of the authority of the darkness, and did translate [us] into the reign of the Son of His love, 14. in whom we have the redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of the sins,

15. who is the image of the invisible God, first-born of all creation, 16. because in him were the all things created, those in the heavens, and those upon the earth, those visible, and those invisible, whether thrones, whether lordships, whether principalities, whether authorities; all things through him, and for him, have been created,

  1. and himself is before all, and the all things in him have consisted. 18. And himself is the head of the body, the assembly, who is a beginning, a first-born out of the dead, that he might become in all [things], himself, first, (Colossians 1:13-18, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul, with "Timothy our brother" named in the greeting (1:1), writing as a prisoner (4:3, 18). Many critical scholars hold that a follower of Paul wrote the letter in his name; others defend Paul's authorship, pointing to its close personal ties with Philemon. Many scholars also think 1:15-20 draws on an early Christian hymn.
  • Audience: the church at Colossae in the Lycus valley of Phrygia, founded by Epaphras (1:7) and largely Gentile (1:27). A teaching that gave honor to heavenly powers, including "worshipping of the angels" (2:18), was pressing on them.
  • Location: an imprisonment, traditionally Rome, with Ephesus and Caesarea as the main alternatives.
  • Time period: about AD 60-62 if Paul wrote from Rome, or the mid-50s if from Ephesus. Scholars who read the letter as written after Paul's death place it later in the first century.
  • Literary context: the opening of the hymn-like passage on Christ (1:15-20). Paul has just named "the Son of his love, in whom we have our redemption" (1:13-14). These two verses say who that Son is in relation to God and to all creation; verse 17 completes the first half.

Theological reading

The image of the invisible God. God cannot be seen, yet in the Son he is shown. "Image" here means more than a likeness or copy; it is the visible expression of the invisible God. Paul calls Christ "the image of God" in 2 Corinthians 4:4 as well, and John says that the only begotten Son has declared the God no one has seen (John 1:18).

Firstborn of all creation. "Firstborn" does not mean that Christ was the first thing created. Verse 16 explains with "for": he is firstborn because "in him were all things created." The Old Testament uses the word for rank as well as birth order. God says of the Davidic king, "I also will make him my first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth" (Psalm 89:27). Christ holds the rank of heir and ruler over all creation.

All things, through him and unto him. Verse 16 uses three phrases: all things were created "in him," "through him," and "unto him." He is the sphere, the agent and the goal of creation. The one through whom "all things" came to be stands on the creator's side of the line, not among the things made. The New World Translation adds "other" ("all other things") to fit the reading of Christ as a creature, but the Greek simply says "all things."

Thrones and powers. The list "thrones or dominions or principalities or powers" names the unseen authorities. Whatever honor the Colossian teaching gave to such beings (2:18), they are Christ's creatures, made through him and for him. He does not compete with them; he made them.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.

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