Expert: Dean Gade - 3/10/2006

Question
hey
i was wondering if i could get this passage translated to modern english and what it means many thanks

Passage Colossians 1:17-22:
17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
   21Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior. 22But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—


thanks josh  

Answer
This (the NIV) is a very modern translation which still maintains the meaning of the origninal language.  

There are other translations which are intended to make it easier to read and get an idea of what is being taught. The most recent one is "The Message" by Eugene H. Peterson, printed by NAVPRESS.  This is very much a paraphrase and puts more emphasis on ease of reading than strict adherence to the orginal Greek Text in the New Testament. (It does this in the O.T. also with the Hebrew but Greek is the language that I work with).

Another Bible which helps to understand but is a bit more complicated is the "Amplified Bible".  This gives many  of the various possible meanings of each main word in the text and make it easier to study.

Col. 1:17-22 tells much of the perfect divinity of Jesus, the Christ. I will give rather short interpretations but if you you like more detail, please write.

V. 17
The message follows the assurance of the Fathers love in giving us His Son to redeem us.  To be able (have the right and power) to do this, the savior had to be perfect and have no sin of His own to die for.
In a way that has not been explained, the Son of God was with the Father before anything was created. He is greater than all things created and Himself maintains its existance.

V. 18
He is both the absolute leader of the gathered and being gathered saints (all people who are  made holy by the blood of Christ). He is also pictured as the physical head of the body of believers throughout time and throughout the world.
He has always been and is the first one to die and be raised again in the final resurrection intended for all the saints. This was the plan of God so that nothing created(men, angels, demons, powers etc) might be sought over and above Him.

V. 19
Jesus was born of a women but given as the Son of God with all the attributes and characteristics of God. (See Isa.9:6).

V. 20
This was a unique and incomprhensible act of God to reflect His love and call all sinners to  Himself for redemption. For people to be with God eternally, their sins have to be dealt with in justice ("the wages of sin is death").  Jesus took the sins of the whole world on Himself and not having sins of His own could and did die with their sins on Him (see I Pet.3:23-25).  By ridding us of sin in God's eyes, we are no longer under His wrath but have perfect righteousness kept for us in heaven.

V. 21
This is not speaking only of civil righteousness which people can maintain most of the time with hard work, but of spiritual rightousness, perfection without which we cannnot dwell with God in His peace.

V.22
This is sort of a summary of the above.  The blood of Christ has washed away our sins through His sacrifice. We have been given the very "righteousness of God" through Christ and the image of God is being restored to us as we walk in His Holy Spirit.

This is not a very easy passage because it depends on so many other basic teachings about the plan of God for our salvation.  I hope this has helped.