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For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.
Colossians 1:16 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
  • BSB For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.
  • NKJV For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
  • NASB for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
  • NLT for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

All things in heaven and earth, including every spiritual power, were created through Christ and for Him. He is the agent and goal of all creation.

Overview

Paul insists that 'all things were created' through Christ and 'for him,' explicitly including unseen 'thrones,' 'dominions,' and 'powers.' By naming these angelic ranks, he answers any teaching that exalted angels, for Christ made them and they exist for His glory. Creation finds both its origin and its purpose in the Son.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 26

  • Rom 11:36For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
  • John 1:3All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made.
  • 1 Cor 8:6yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
  • Heb 2:10For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many children to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
  • 1 Chr 29:11Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as head above all.
  • Heb 1:2has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.
  • Eph 1:10to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;
  • Prov 16:4Yahweh has made everything for its own end — yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.
  • Isa 44:24Yahweh, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb says: “I am Yahweh, who makes all things; who alone stretches out the heavens; who spreads out the earth by myself;
  • Heb 1:10–12And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the works of your hands.
  • Col 1:15who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
  • Eph 1:20–21which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
  • Col 2:10and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power;
  • Isa 43:21the people which I formed for myself, that they might declare my praise.
  • Ps 102:25–27Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands.
  • Heb 3:3–4For he has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, because he who built the house has more honor than the house.
  • Eph 3:9–10and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ;
  • Deut 4:39Know therefore today, and take it to heart, that Yahweh himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no one else.
  • 1 Pet 3:22who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.
  • Phil 2:10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
  • Col 2:15having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
  • Col 1:20and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.
  • Rev 5:13–14I heard every created thing which is in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever! Amen!”
  • Eph 6:12For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
  • Isa 40:9–12You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up. Don’t be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold, your God!”
  • Rom 8:38For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Colossians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Colossians 1:16YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ColossiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The image of the invisible God, firstborn over creation, in whom all things hold together and all the fullness of God dwells bodily — supreme over every power.

How Colossians 1:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.