Colossians 1:15 (DRB)

Passage

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Nearby Context

Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love,

Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins:

Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Colossians 1:16 For in him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by him and in him.

Colossians 1:17 And he is before all: and by him all things consist.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "image", "invisible", "firstborn", and "creature". 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 through his..." into verse 16's "For in him were all things created...", 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.