14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everythingin the heavenly realms and on earth.He made the things we can seeand the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,which is his body.He is the beginning,supreme over all who rise from the dead.So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullnesswas pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciledeverything to himself.He made peace with everything in heaven and on earthby means of Christ’s blood on the cross.