Colossians 1:15-20, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Colossians 1:15-20
The Son Is Supreme in Creation and Reconciliation
The Son holds creation and makes peace; the powers are creatures, not a political code.
Christ is the image of the invisible God, firstborn over all creation — first in rank, not a created rival. By him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities. All things were created through him and for him; he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Those titles name created powers under the Son. They are not a decoder for modern parties, nations, or news cycles. He is head of the body, the church, the beginning, firstborn from the dead, so that he might be preeminent in everything. God was pleased to have all fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, making peace by the blood of his cross.
How this should shape us
When work, family, or the news feels like rival thrones, say that Christ already holds the world together, and refuse to treat any campaign or government as the key to those powers.
Teach it back
Explain Colossians 1:15-20 in your own words. Include its place in Colossians, one exact textual observation, one important uncertainty or alternative, one older-English clarification, and one conclusion the unit does not permit.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Interpreters debate whether the unit is pre-existing hymn, adapted tradition, poem, or elevated prose; which Wisdom, Adam, royal, and cosmological backgrounds dominate; whether 'firstborn' emphasizes priority, heirship, temporal precedence, or several together; and how cosmic reconciliation relates to final judgment. The grammar is very strong that all created reality is through and for the Son and that his supremacy culminates in cross-shaped peace.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The exact pinned KJV wording, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup for Colossians 1:15-20.
eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Colossians 1:15-20; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the shared library policy.
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording, connective structure, lexical forms, and variation markers.
Official Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Col.txt, Colossians 1:15-20.
Supports: A morphology and lexical-range cross-check for original-language notes; contextual meaning remains controlled by the unit.
STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, Colossians 1:15-20.
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax, and textual variants checked at the cited verses.
NET Bible official Colossians chapter 1, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Colossians 1:15-20.
Supports: A current pro-Pauline commentary check on literary flow, theology, pastoral purpose, and major interpretations.
Alistair I. Wilson, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, “Colossians,” TGC Creative Presentation (1:15-20).
Supports: A modern historical-critical and Jewish-context check on authorship, setting, calendar, ethics, slavery, and textual questions.
Peter Zaas, “Colossians,” in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011 first edition), print pp. 365-366.
Supports: A modern post-Pauline reading of Christology, reconciliation, ministry, and the explicit boundary against a deficient cross.
Richard Carlson, ‘Commentary on Colossians 1:15-28,’ Working Preacher, July 21, 2013, complete commentary paragraphs on 1:15-20, 1:21-23, and 1:24-29.
Supports: Only the abstract's proposal of a pre-existing prose hymn using Jewish and Greco-Roman praise conventions and a creation-to-redemption movement.
Matthew Eli Gordley, A Prose Hymn of Christ (Notre Dame dissertation, 2006), institutional repository author abstract only.
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The exact pinned KJV wording, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup for Colossians 1:15-20.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Colossians 1:15-20; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the shared library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording, connective structure, lexical forms, and variation markers.
Exact location: Official Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Col.txt, Colossians 1:15-20.
Open the Colossians Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: A morphology and lexical-range cross-check for original-language notes; contextual meaning remains controlled by the unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, Colossians 1:15-20.
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - Colossians with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax, and textual variants checked at the cited verses.
Exact location: NET Bible official Colossians chapter 1, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Colossians 1:15-20.
Open NET Colossians 1 notesmodern open commentary
Colossians
Alistair I. Wilson
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: A current pro-Pauline commentary check on literary flow, theology, pastoral purpose, and major interpretations.
Exact location: Alistair I. Wilson, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, “Colossians,” TGC Creative Presentation (1:15-20).
Open source ↗modern annotated new testament
Colossians introduction and annotations in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Peter Zaas; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Oxford University Press, 2011
Supports: A modern historical-critical and Jewish-context check on authorship, setting, calendar, ethics, slavery, and textual questions.
Exact location: Peter Zaas, “Colossians,” in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011 first edition), print pp. 365-366.
Open source ↗modern scholarly pastoral commentary
Commentary on Colossians 1:15-28
Richard Carlson
Working Preacher, Luther Seminary, 2013
Supports: A modern post-Pauline reading of Christology, reconciliation, ministry, and the explicit boundary against a deficient cross.
Exact location: Richard Carlson, ‘Commentary on Colossians 1:15-28,’ Working Preacher, July 21, 2013, complete commentary paragraphs on 1:15-20, 1:21-23, and 1:24-29.
Open source ↗doctoral dissertation abstract
A Prose Hymn of Christ: The Language, Form, and Content of Colossians 1:15-20
Matthew Eli Gordley
University of Notre Dame, 2006
Supports: Only the abstract's proposal of a pre-existing prose hymn using Jewish and Greco-Roman praise conventions and a creation-to-redemption movement.
Exact location: Matthew Eli Gordley, A Prose Hymn of Christ (Notre Dame dissertation, 2006), institutional repository author abstract only.
Open source ↗