Discovery BoxColossians 1:16-18 
Context1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, 1 whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.
1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together 2 in him.
1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn 3 from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. 4
1 tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.
2 tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.
3 tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.
4 tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”
