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New Testament Reading - The image of the invisible God

¹¹We are praying, too, that you will be filled with his mighty, glorious strength so that you can keep going no matter what happens — always full of the joy of the Lord, ¹²and always thankful to the Father who has made us fit to share all the wonderful things that belong to those who live in the Kingdom of light. ¹³For he has rescued us out of the darkness and gloom of Satan’s kingdom and brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, ¹⁴who bought our freedom with his blood and forgave us all our sins.

¹⁵Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all,^a and, in fact, ¹⁶Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory. ¹⁷He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together. ¹⁸He is the Head of the body made up of his people — that is, his Church — which he began; and he is the Leader of all those who arise from the dead,^b so that he is first in everything; ¹⁹for God wanted all of himself to be in his Son.

²⁰It was through what his Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to him — all things in heaven and on earth — for Christ’s death on the cross has made peace with God for all by his blood.

1. Literally, “He is the firstborn of all creation.”
2. Literally, “he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.”