Multiple issues arise in Colossians 1:15-19 that have caused many Bible readers to think Paul therein teaches that Jesus preexisted and created the universe. From this they conclude that only God does that, so Jesus must be God. But Paul does not mean any of that. This text, which is about Jesus, reads as follows in the New American Standard Bible:
¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first born from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him.
We must always remember when reading a Bible version, such as an English Bible, that it is a translation of the accepted text. All of the books and letters of the New Testament have come down to us beginning in the koine Greek language. That was the common tongue of the Eastern Roman Empire during the first century BCE. Translators use mostly or entirely the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament or the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament. Nestle-Aland is now in its 28th edition, and UBS is now in its 5th edition, and both are exactly the same. For Bible readers who don’t know koine Greek, when reading a Bible translation, especially to determine proper theology, they should compare translations. The four leading English Bible translations in the U.S. are the New American Standard Bible, the New International Version, the New Revised Standard Version, and the English Standard Version.
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Author: Kermit Zarley
Keywords: Jesus before all things, Christ before all things, Christ as creator, Jesus as creator, image of God, first born of creation, firstborn of creation, all things created by Christ, all things created by Jesus, Deity of Jesus, Divinity of Jesus, Jesus is God, Deity of Christ, christology, christological, Jesus created all things, Christ created all things, divinity of Christ, Christ as creator
Bible reference(s): Colossians 1:15-19
Source: “Does Colossians 1:15-19 Mean Jesus Preexisted and Created the Universe?,” patheos.com, April 16, 2017.
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