Colossians 1:15
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Study Note
Study Note
This verse opens one of the New Testament's earliest and most sophisticated christological hymns, identifying Christ as 'the image of the invisible God' — the Greek 'eikōn' connoting not mere resemblance but perfect representation and ontological identity. The title 'firstborn of every creature' (prōtotokos) has been debated since the Arian controversy: the term denotes primacy and sovereign status within creation, not temporal origin, as verse 17 ('before all things') makes explicit. Patristic writers from Origen to Athanasius wrestled intensely with this verse, and the Council of Nicaea's formulation that the Son is 'begotten, not made' was largely a response to Arian readings of 'firstborn.' The verse establishes Colossians' central argument: Christ's supremacy over all created powers answers the Colossian 'philosophy' that placed intermediate beings between God and humanity.
Other Translations
who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;
who is the image of the invisible God, first-born of all creation,
Who is the image of the unseen God coming into existence before all living things;
Cross References
And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of …
With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the …
Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the …
Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a …
As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance …
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the …
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, …