Colossians 1:15 (DBY)

Passage

who is image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation;

Nearby Context

Colossians 1:13 who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and translated [us] into the kingdom of the Son of his love:

Colossians 1:14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins;

Colossians 1:15 who is image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation;

Colossians 1:16 because by him were created all things, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or authorities: all things have been created by him and for him.

Colossians 1:17 And *he* is before all, and all things subsist together by him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "image", "invisible", "firstborn", and "creation". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "image" and "invisible", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "in whom we have redemption the forgiveness..." into verse 16's "because by him were created all things...", so "image" and "invisible" belong inside that flow. In Colossians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "image" and "invisible" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.