Discovery BoxColossians 1:18 
Context1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn 1 from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. 2
Colossians 1:23
Context1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, 3 without shifting 4 from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.
1 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.
2 tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”
3 tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”
4 tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.
