Colossians 1:15–19
Paul calls him the image of the invisible God, through whom all things were created
Study it word by word15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,
16because in him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
17And he is before all things, and all things hold together in him.
18And he is the head of the body, the assembly. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may come to be first in all things,
19because God was pleased for all the fullness to dwell in him,
In its context
13He rescued us from the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love,
14in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
…
20and through him to reconcile all things to himself, making peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens.
21And you, who were once alienated and enemies in mind in evil works,
Its words in the original
- ἐστινestin· be
Be, exist.
- εἰκὼνeikōn· image
Image, likeness.
- θεοῦtheou· God, god
God. In the plural or in another sense, "gods".
- ἀοράτουaoratou· invisible
Invisible: what cannot be seen.
- πρωτότοκοςprōtotokos· firstborn
Firstborn.
- κτίσεωςktiseōs· creation
Creation; what has been created.
- ἐκτίσθηektisthē· create
Create.
- οὐρανοῖςouranois· heaven, sky
Heaven: the sky and, above all, the place of God. "The heavens" is sometimes a respectful way of saying "God".
- γῆςgēs· earth, land
Earth: the ground, a country, or the whole world.
- ὁρατὰhorata· visible
Visible, able to be seen.
- εἴτεeite· whether, or
"Whether ... or", "if".
- θρόνοιthronoi· throne
Throne: the seat of a king or a judge; hence royal power.
- κυριότητεςkyriotētes· lordship, dominion
Lordship, dominion; also a rank of spiritual powers.
- ἀρχαὶarchai· beginning
Beginning, start; also authority, rule.
- ἐξουσίαιexousiai· authority
Authority, the power to act or command.
- συνέστηκενsynestēken· commend, show
Commend, recommend; show, prove; also stand with, or hold together.
- κεφαλὴkephalē· head
Head.
- σώματοςsōmatos· body
Body.
- ἐκκλησίαςekklēsias· assembly
Assembly: the people God calls together and gathers. It is the word usually translated “church.”
- νεκρῶνnekrōn· dead
Dead.
- γένηταιgenētai· become, happen
Become, happen, come about; be born.
- πρωτεύωνprōteuōn· be first
Have first place, be first in everything.
- εὐδόκησενeudokēsen· be pleased
Be pleased with, delight in someone; also gladly decide.
- πλήρωμαplērōma· fullness
Fullness; what fills.
- κατοικῆσαιkatoikēsai· dwell, live
Dwell, live in a place, inhabit.