Colossians 1:17

English Standard Version

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Parallel Translations

Complete Jewish Bible
He existed before all things, and he holds everything together.

Darby Translation
And *he* is before all, and all things subsist together by him.

Hebrew Names Version
He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.

International Standard Version
He himself existed before all things, and byin">[fn] him all things hold together.John 1:1,3; 17:5; 1 Corinthians 8:6;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
and he is before all, and every thing by him subsisteth.

Murdock Translation
and he was prior to all, and by him every thing exists.

American Standard Version
and he is before all things, and in him all things consist.

Bible in Basic English
He is before all things, and in him all things have being.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And hee is before all things, and in him all things consist.

George Lamsa Translation
And he is before all things, and by him all things are sustained.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he is before all thynges, and in hym all thynges consist.

English Revised Version
and he is before all things, and in him all things consist.

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

New Revised Standard
He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

King James Version
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

World English Bible
He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist, And he is the head of his body the church;

Amplified Bible
And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]

King James Version (1611)
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and he is before all thinges, and in him all thinges haue their beynge.

Mace New Testament (1729)
and by him all things consist.

New International Version (1984)
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

New Century Version
He was there before anything was made, and all things continue because of him.

New English Translation
He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.

New American Standard Bible
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

New International Version
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

New King James Version
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Lexham English Bible
and he himself is before all things, and in him all things are held together,

Literal Translation
And He is before all things, and all things have subsisted in Him.

Update Bible Version
and he is before all things, and in him all things consist.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, he, is before all, and, they all, in him, hold together;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he is before all: and by him all things consist.

Revised Standard Version
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and he is before all thinges and in him all thynges have their beynge.

New Living Translation
He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

New Life Bible
Christ was before all things. All things are held together by Him.

Contemporary English Version
God's Son was before all else, and by him everything is held together.

Good News Translation
Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place.

Christian Standard Bible®
He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.

Easy-to-Read Version
The Son was there before anything was made. And all things continue because of him.

Weymouth's New Testament
And HE IS before all things and in and through Him the universe is a harmonious whole.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and he is bifor alle, and alle thingis ben in hym.

Young's Literal Translation
and himself is before all, and the all things in him have consisted.

Simplified Cowboy Version
We were made with his hand and still he holds all things together.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Contextual Overview

¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, 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. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. ²¹ And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

he 15; Proverbs 8:22,23; Isaiah 43:11-13; 44:6; Micah 5:2; John 1:1-3; 8:58; 17:5; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:8,11,17; 2:8

and by

1 Samuel 2:8; Psalms 75:3; John 5:17,18; Acts 17:28; Hebrews 1:3

Reciprocal: Genesis 1:1 - God;  1 Chronicles 16:30 - stable;  2 Chronicles 2:12 - that made heaven;  Nehemiah 9:6 - preservest;  Psalm 33:9 - and it stood;  Psalm 55:19 - even;  Psalm 78:69 - earth;  Isaiah 40:26 - who hath;  Isaiah 44:24 - by myself;  Isaiah 66:2 - For all those;  Jeremiah 51:15 - hath made;  John 1:3 - General;  John 1:15 - he was;  2 Corinthians 5:18 - all;  2 Corinthians 8:9 - though;  Ephesians 3:9 - created;  Hebrews 1:2 - appointed;  Hebrews 2:10 - for;  2 Peter 3:5 - standing;  Revelation 4:11 - for thou

Cross-References

Genesis 9:13
I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

Job 38:12
"Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place,

Psalms 8:1

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

O Lord , our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

Psalms 8:3
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

Acts 13:47
For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, "‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he is before all things,.... Not only in dignity, being preferable to angels and men in his nature, names, offices, and works, and worthy of more honour than all creatures; but he is before them in existence, as he must needs be, since they are all made by him; he was not only before John the Baptist, his forerunner, before Abraham who saw his day and was glad, before the first man was made, but before the angels were in being, or the heavens and the earth, or any creature were formed; and therefore must be God, who is from everlasting to everlasting:

and by him all things consist; he upholds all things by the word of his power; the heavens have their stability and continuance from him; the pillars of the earth are bore up by him, otherwise that and the inhabitants of it would be dissolved; the angels in heaven are confirmed in their estate by him, and have their standing and security in him; the elector God are in his hands, and are his peculiar care and charge, and therefore shall never perish; yea, all mankind live and move, and have their being in him; the whole frame of nature would burst asunder and break in pieces, was it not held together by him; every created being has its support from him, and its consistence in him; and all the affairs of Providence relating to all creatures are governed, directed, and managed by him, in conjunction with the Father and the blessed Spirit.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And he is before all things - As he must be, if he created all things. Those who regard this as referring to a moral creation, interpret it as meaning that he has the pre-eminence over all things; not as referring to his pre-existence. But the fair and proper meaning of the word “before” ( πρὸ pro) is, that he was before all things in the order of existence; compare Matthew 8:29; John 11:55; John 13:1; Acts 5:36; Acts 21:38; 2 Corinthians 12:2. It is equivalent to saying that he was eternal - for he that had an existence before any thing was created, must be eternal. Thus, it is equivalent to the phrase, “In the beginning;” Genesis 1:1; compare the notes at John 1:1.

And by him all things subsist - Or are sustained; see the notes at Hebrews 1:3. The meaning is, that they are kept in the present state; their existence, order, and arrangement are continued by his power. If unsupported by him, they would fall into disorder, or sink back to nothing. If this be the proper interpretation, then it is the ascription to Christ of infinite power - for nothing less could be sufficient to uphold the universe; and of infinite wisdom - for this is needed to preserve the harmonious action of the suns and systems of which it is composed. None could do this but one who is divine; and hence we see the reason why he is represented as the image of the invisible God. He is the great and glorious and everactive agent by whom the perfections of God are made known.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

For by him were all things created, etc - These two verses contain parts of the same subject. I shall endeavor to distinguish the statements of the apostle, and reason from them in such a way as the premises shall appear to justify, without appealing to any other scripture in proof of the doctrine which I suppose these verses to vindicate.

Four things are here asserted:

1. That Jesus Christ is the Creator of the universe; of all things visible and invisible; of all things that had a beginning, whether they exist in time or in eternity.

That whatsoever was created was created For himself; that he was the sole end of his own work.

That he was prior to all creation, to all beings, whether in the visible or invisible world.

That he is the preserver and governor of all things; for by him all things consist.

Now, allowing St. Paul to have understood the terms which he used, he must have considered Jesus Christ as being truly and properly God.

I. Creation is the proper work of an infinite, unlimited, and unoriginated Being; possessed of all perfections in their highest degrees; capable of knowing, willing, and working infinitely, unlimitedly, and without control: and as creation signifies the production of being where all was absolute nonentity, so it necessarily implies that the Creator acted of and from himself; for as, previously to this creation, there was no being, consequently he could not be actuated by any motive, reason, or impulse, without himself; which would argue there was some being to produce the motive or impulse, or to give the reason. Creation, therefore, is the work of him who is unoriginated, infinite, unlimited, and eternal. But Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things, therefore Jesus Christ must be, according to the plain construction of the apostle's words, truly and properly God.

II. As, previously to creation, there was no being but God, consequently the great First Cause must, in the exertion of his creative energy, have respect to himself alone; for he could no more have respect to that which had no existence, than he could be moved by nonexistence, to produce existence or creation. The Creator, therefore, must make every thing For himself.

Should it be objected that Christ created officially or by delegation, I answer: This is impossible; for, as creation requires absolute and unlimited power, or omnipotence, there can be but one Creator; because it is impossible that there can be two or more Omnipotents, Infinites, or Eternals. It is therefore evident that creation cannot be effected officially, or by delegation, for this would imply a Being conferring the office, and delegating such power; and that the Being to whom it was delegated was a dependent Being; consequently not unoriginated and eternal; but this the nature of creation proves to be absurd.

The thing being impossible in itself, because no limited being could produce a work that necessarily requires omnipotence.

It is impossible, because, if omnipotence be delegated, he to whom it is delegated had it not before, and he who delegates it ceases to have it, and consequently ceases to be God; and the other to whom it was delegated becomes God, because such attributes as those with which he is supposed to be invested are essential to the nature of God. On this supposition God ceases to exist, though infinite and eternal, and another not naturally infinite and eternal becomes such; and thus an infinite and eternal Being ceases to exist, and another infinite and eternal Being is produced in time, and has a beginning, which is absurd. Therefore, as Christ is the Creator, he did not create by delegation, or in any official way.

Again, if he had created by delegation or officially, it would have been for that Being who gave him that office, and delegated to him the requisite power; but the text says that all things were made By him and For him, which is a demonstration that the apostle understood Jesus Christ to be truly and essentially God.

III. As all creation necessarily exists in time, and had a commencement, and there was an infinite duration in which it did not exist, whatever was before or prior to that must be no part of creation; and the Being who existed prior to creation, and before all things - all existence of every kind, must be the unoriginated and eternal God: but St. Paul says, Jesus Christ was before all things; ergo, the apostle conceived Jesus Christ to be truly and essentially God.

IV. As every effect depends upon its cause, and cannot exist without it; so creation, which is an effect of the power and skill of the Creator, can only exist and be preserved by a continuance of that energy that first gave it being. Hence, God, as the Preserver, is as necessary to the continuance of all things, as God the Creator was to their original production. But this preserving or continuing power is here ascribed to Christ, for the apostle says, And by him do all things consist; for as all being was derived from him as its cause, so all being must subsist by him, as the effect subsists by and through its cause. This is another proof that the apostle considered Jesus Christ to be truly and properly God, as he attributes to him the preservation of all created things, which property of preservation belongs to God alone; ergo, Jesus Christ is, according to the plain obvious meaning of every expression in this text, truly, properly, independently, and essentially God.

Such are the reasonings to which the simple letter of these two verses necessarily leads me. I own it is possible that I may have misapprehended this awful subject, for humanum est errare et nescire; but I am not conscious of the slightest intentional flaw in the argument. Taking, therefore, the apostle as an uninspired man, giving his own view of the Author of the Christian religion, it appears, beyond all controversy, that himself believed Christ Jesus to be God; but considering him as writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, then we have, from the plain grammatical meaning of the words which he has used, the fullest demonstration (for the Spirit of God cannot lie) that he who died for our sins and rose again for our justification, and in whose blood we have redemption, was God over all. And as God alone can give salvation to men, and God only can remit sin; hence with the strictest propriety we are commanded to believe on the Lord Jesus, with the assurance that we shall be saved. Glory be to God for this unspeakable gift! See my discourse on this subject.