1:16a

For: In this clause Paul explains the reason why Christ has supreme authority over all that has been created. It is because he is the creator of all things.

in Him all things were created: Here Paul says that all things were created in him. Later in 1:16e, Paul said that all things were created through him. Both imply that God created all things by means of Christ. However, the Bible never explains exactly how this happened. The important thing is that Christ was present when God created the world and played an active role in that event. You could translate it like this:

God created all things by means of Christ.

Another possible way to express this is:

God caused him ⌊Christ⌋ to create all things.

in Him: In the Greek text, Paul placed the phrase in Him at the beginning of the clause to emphasize it. You should emphasize this phrase in your translation, too.

were created: This is often a difficult word to translate. It means, “to cause something to begin to exist.” It means more than “to make something from existing materials.” If the verb your language uses for “to make” can include both meanings of “to create” listed above, then you can use it here.

1:16b

things in heaven and on earth: In 1:16a Paul said that God created “all things” by means of Christ. The expression here, things in heaven and on earth, is another way to say “all things.”

1:16c

visible and invisible: This refers to the things people can see and those they cannot see. There are two ways to understand how this part of the verse connects to 1:16b:

(1) When Paul said visible and invisible, he again meant all things. Everything that God created belongs to the group of things we can see or to the group of things we cannot see.

(2) When Paul said visible and invisible, he was restating 1:16b in the opposite order (this is called a chiastic structure). Therefore, invisible things is equivalent to “things in heaven,” and visible things is equivalent to “things on earth.”

Both these options are possible and have strong support among the commentaries. The Display follows the first option (1). If you wish to follow the second option (2), you could say:

He created the things in heaven that we cannot see, and the things on earth that we can see.

Whichever option you choose, the important thing is to clarify that God, by means of Christ, created everything.

1:16d

thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities: Most Biblical scholars believe this is a specific list of the “invisible” things Paul mentioned in 1:16c, but no one is certain about the identity of each of these groups. Paul was not teaching here about the different types of leaders among the angels and spirits. He simply wanted to emphasize that all of them, even the most powerful and important ones, were created by means of Christ.

1:16e

All things: Here in 1:16e, Paul put the words All things at the beginning of this clause to emphasize them. Try to emphasize these words in a natural way in your translation.

through Him: Although the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates through in this phrase is different from the word “in” in 1:16a, the meaning is the same.

for Him: This means that Christ is the goal of all creation. In other words, God created all things “for his benefit.” You could also translate this, “to honor him” or “to serve him.”

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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