The Preeminence of Christ

15 He is the ^zimage of the ^ainvisible God, ^bthe firstborn of all creation. 16 For ^cby¹ him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^dthrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is ^ebefore all things, and in him all things ^fhold together. 18 And he is the ^ghead of the body, the church. He is ^hthe beginning, ⁱthe firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be ^jpreeminent. 19 For in him all the ^kfullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him ^lto reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, ^mmaking peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, ⁿwho once were ^oalienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now ^preconciled ^qin his body of flesh by his death, ^rin order to present you ^sholy and blameless and ^tabove reproach before him, 23 ^uif indeed you continue in the faith, ^vstable and ^wsteadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation² under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a ^xminister.

9 For in him the whole ^cfullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and ^dyou have been filled in him, who is the ^ehead of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were ^fcircumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by ^gputting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been ^hburied with him in ⁱbaptism, in which you were also ^jraised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, ^kwho raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were ^ldead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 ^mby ⁿcanceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the ^orulers and authorities¹ and put them to open shame, by ^ptriumphing over them in him.²