Colossians 1:15-20

Contemporary English Version

¹⁵^(A) Christ is exactly like God,
    who cannot be seen.
He is the first-born Son,
    superior to all creation.
¹⁶Everything was created by him,
everything in heaven
    and on earth,
everything seen and unseen,
including all forces
    and powers,
and all rulers
    and authorities.
All things were created
    by God's Son,
and everything was made
    for him.

¹⁷God's Son was before all else,
and by him everything
    is held together.
¹⁸^(B) He is the head of his body,
    which is the church.
He is the very beginning,
the first to be raised
    from death,
so that he would be
    above all others.

¹⁹God himself was pleased
    to live fully in his Son.
²⁰^(C) And God was pleased
    for him to make peace
by sacrificing his blood
    on the cross,
so that all beings in heaven
    and on earth
would be brought back to God.