Christ: the Greek begins with the relative “who” which refers to Christ, of course; it may be preferable to say “the Son” (as Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) since that is the form of the nearest reference (verse 13).
Visible likeness translates the Greek word for “image.” Christ is elsewhere spoken of as the “image” of God (2 Cor 4.4). Man is also said to be the image of God (compare Septuagint Gen 1.27 “and God made man; according to God’s image he made him, male and female he made them”; 1 Cor 11.7; compare James 3.9). The thought is that, in Christ, man can see what God is like, his very nature and being. In this context, the emphasis is not on the exactness of the likeness, but on its visibleness. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “in the Son the invisible God became visible for us”; Phillips “the visible representation of the invisible God”; Translator’s New Testament “he in his own person shows us what the invisible God is like.”
There are distinct dangers in translating “image” in a more or less literal manner, for it is likely to be interpreted as either an idol or an icon. Accordingly, a translation such as “likeness” or “to be just like” is far better.
The attributives visible and invisible must often be rendered as relative clauses qualifying the objects involved, for example, “Christ who can be seen” and “God who cannot be seen,” though in speaking of Christ it may be necessary to use a past tense form to refer to his visibility during his life on earth, for example, “Christ could be seen.” The first sentence of verse 15 may then be translated as “Christ is like God, but he could be seen, while God cannot be seen.” If an active rather than a passive form is required, one may translate “Christ is like God, except that people could see Christ but no one can see God.”
The first-born Son, superior to all created things represents a three-word phrase in Greek, “first-born of all creation.” Translated literally (as Revised Standard Version), it implies that Christ is included in the created universe, which is inconsistent with the context of the whole passage. The prefix prōtos “first” may be taken in a temporal sense: “he was born before all creation” or in a hierarchical sense, “the begotten One is superior to all creation.” As Lightfoot and Moule suggest, possibly both are intended. (It should be made clear that “born” or “begotten” refers not to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, but to the relation of Jesus to God, as the eternal Son and heir of the heavenly Father. The use of the word “born” or “begotten” emphasizes the unique relationship between God and Jesus which is best expressed in terms of father and son; unlike all other human beings Jesus’ relation to God is not expressed in terms of creature and creator.) Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch stresses the first element “He is the Father’s first-born Son; he already existed before all creation.” Lightfoot paraphrases: “He is the Firstborn, and as the Firstborn, the absolute Heir and sovereign Lord, of all creation.” Translator’s New Testament “He takes precedence over all the created universe”; New English Bible “his is the primacy over all created things.” First-born in this context does not imply there were others who were likewise “born” afterward; it is a term which stresses the position of Jesus as the heir of his heavenly Father.
The use of the second element tokos (“beget” or “bear”) excludes Christ from the process of creation; he was not created first, but was born first. A possible translation is: “God’s first Son (or heir) who existed before all creation and is superior to it.” There are some problems involved in rendering literally the first-born Son, since any term such as “birth” or “to be born” would suggest Christ’s birth on earth at Bethlehem. A literal translation might also give the impression of some kind of miraculous birth by which God the Father actually gave birth to his Son named Christ. Another complication involved in the use of a word such as “born” might suggest some kind of sexual relations between God the Father and “mother earth.” Therefore, it seems far better to use some such expression as “God’s first Son” and to explain the concept of being “first” in the terms of having “existed before anything else was created.” The superiority of Christ to all creation can sometimes be expressed as “he is more important than all that was created” or “he ranks higher than all created things.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .