The passage
      v15. The nature and being of God are perfectly revealed in Christ. He is the image of God, v15a; he is preeminent over all creation, Lord over it, heir of it all; he is a cosmic Christ, v15b.
      v16. "In", "through" and "for" him "all" things were created. God in Christ created all dimensions; he created the total expanse of heaven and earth. God in Christ also created all beings; he created mankind along with the angelic powers of good and evil. "All things were created":
        i] "in" him. The NIV has "by", but "in" is a better translation. That is, Christ is the sphere within which the creation takes place, such that God does not create independently of Christ. Christ is the ruler of creation and the ultimate goal toward which the whole of creation moves.
        ii] "by" him, or better, "through" him. That is, Christ is the agent through whom the creation comes into being.
        iii] "for" him. That is, Christ is the goal toward which it is shaped.
      v17. Paul restates the idea of Christ's permanence, his precedence over all things, and then adds a new thought. Christ has cosmic significance in that he maintains all things, sustaining and unifying all things.
      v18. Christ "is the head of his body, the church." Christ is the "head" of the church in the sense of supplying its life and exercising control and direction. The "body" is Christ's body, in the sense of his people (believers) being in an intimate association with him, under his control and serving him. This then is "the church": a local gathering of believers with Christ, who in that gathering image the heavenly gathering already assembled in the presence of the ascended Christ. Christ is himself the beginning and the first member of this new creation.
      v19-20. Christ is the agent of reconciliation. "For God is pleased to have all his fullness to dwell in him", ie. God is happy for his divine essence to reside in Christ. The "fullness" here is "the totality of divine essence and power resident in Christ. He is the one, all-sufficient intermediary between God and the world of humanity, and all the attributes of God are disclosed in him," F.F. Bruce. As well as having created "all things" and presently sustaining them, and as well as ruling the church, "his body", Christ is also the agent of reconciliation. This work of reconciliation is cosmic in application, cf. Eph.1:10. It is not just the reconciliation of a broken humanity, a making peace between God and mankind, but also a reconciliation of "things in heaven." The great theologian Origen suggested that these "things" may be fallen angels. Certainly, it does seem that Christ's work of reconciliation, as well as reconciling a humanity subjected to futility, also extends to the reconciliation of hostile spiritual powers in heavenly places.

Set your eyes on Jesus
      The power of this present shadow-land rests with its immediacy. Our moment is filled with sensual experiences which subsume the delicacy of spiritual mysteries. The strength of our feelings, our confidence in self, the pressure of our pier group and the directing force of circumstance, all shape our lives, all channel us. The power of the moment is often the master.
      The events of our time fill us with insecurity. Yet, we must not look at the shadows as if they are substantial. We should focus on the substance, focus on Christ. When I look at Christ, what do we see?
        First, we see the Lord who is both the agent of creation and the sustainer of the heavens and the earth. Everything about me seems to be mindless, everything beyond my control. The mindless rush of life's events channel me, confine me. Yet, when I view life this way I am not seeing it the way it really is. Jesus actually made it and sustains it. Even the powers of darkness, ranting and raging, have no being in themselves, no substance in themselves.
        Second, we see the Lord of the church. To the naked eye, the church is but a little flock, powerless and infantile, ignored by the headlong rush of secular society. Yet, when I view it this way I am not seeing it the way it is. This little gathering of God's people is the very substance of the person of Christ. He has, in a sense, infused this people. Jesus is Lord, so in everything, even in the church, he has supremacy.
        Third, we see the Lord who is the reconciler of humanity. In my person I sense a distance from God; I feel unworthy. Yet, when I view my life this way, I am not seeing it the way it is. Christ has reconciled me to God. I am now at peace with God.
      When we look full in the face of Jesus, the strength of the shadows about us fade in the glory of his radiance.

v16
      oJti "for" - because
      en autw/ "by him" - in him. The natural reading is locative; Christ is the sphere within which creation is realized. God does not create independently of Christ. The NIV reading is that Christ is the agent of creation; it was created "by" him. True, but is that the sense here? Some commentators read an instrumental sense; all things were created "through" him, Louse.
      ektisqh (ktizw) aor. pas. "were created" - May be taken as a divine passive identifying God as the creator.
      ta panta "all things" - everything has come into existence, including heavenly unseen things, by the creative handicraft of God in Christ.
      di + gen. "by [him]" - through, by means of. Clearly an instrumental sense is intended here. Christ is God's instrument by which he has created, he is the divine instrument. Again, the NIV misses the point. "Through", NRSV.
      eiV + acc. "for him" - to, toward. The whole creative process had, as its intended goal, God's eternal purposes realized in Christ.

v17
      pro + gen. "before" - before. pro with the genitive = before. The sense my be temporal, that is, Christ existed (in time terms) before the creation of all things, which of course is true, but it may also be read as precedence, Christ is supreme over the world.
      ta panta en autw sunesthken "in him all things hold together" - all things in him have been held together. Christ functions as the sustainer of the universe. "Everything else holds together in him", Barclay.

v18
      hJ kefalh (h) "the head" - Here and in Ephesians, Paul has advanced the body illustration used in Romans and Corinthians where the interrelationship of the members of the body is paramount. Here, the member "head" illustrates headship, control over, authority over, ....... the members of the Christian fellowship.
      tou swmatoV (a toV) "the body" - Illustrative of the corporate nature of the Christian fellowship "in" (in an intimate association with) Christ. This sense, developed by Paul from the corporate nature of the people of Israel, was powerfully reinforced to him in Christ's word's, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
      thV ekklhsiaV (a) "the church" - Our understanding of this word is influenced by common usage, so presumptions abound. The word simply means: assembly, gathering. The church is the assembly formed by the meeting together with Christ of believers, both here on earth and in eternity.
      arch (h) "the beginning" - beginning. The definite article is read since "beginning" here is an absolute. The meaning may be temporal in the sense that Christ is the first of those risen from the dead. If this is so, the following clause is in apposition, restating "beginning", or even explaining its intended meaning. It is also possible that "beginning" should be read as "first in priority of all believers", or even "founder".
      prwtotokoV adj. "firstborn" - Christ is the first to rise from the dead and be clothed in the new resurrection body. He is the first of the new creation. Yet as above, it is possible that priority is intended. Christ is the "founder" of God's resurrected community.
      iJna + subj. "so that" - that. Purpose clause. The divine intention is "in order that ......."
      genhtai (ginomai) aor. subj. "he might have" - might be. God's intention is that Christ "be" preeminent.
      prwteuwn (prwteuw) pres. part. "the supremacy" - holding the first place. The participle is adjectival, "in order that, in everything, he might become the one holding the first place"; "preeminent".

v19
      oJti "for" - because. Setting out the reason why Christ has been given preeminence.
      en autw/ "in him" - Possibly "God", understood, "himself was pleased", but better, the fullness dwells "in Christ."
      eudokhsen (eudokew) aor. "[God] was pleased" - The NIV has provided "God" as the subject of the verb, "was pleased." The NRSV has taken "the fullness" as the subject. "For in him all the fullness [of God] was pleased to dwell." With this reading it is assumed that "fullness" means the full presence of God / God in all his fullness / the fullness of God. "For by God's own decision ....", Barclay.
      to plhrwma (a atoV) "the fullness" - full number, full measure, fullness, completeness, totality*. The word is used in the Old Testament in the sense of "full measure" and God is described as the one who fills everything. So, the totality of God's character resides with Christ, indwells him in "full measure." "In all his completeness", Barclay.
      katoikhsai (katoikew) aor. inf. "dwell" - to take up residence and dwell permanently. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "was pleased" = "chose / willed / determined to dwell.The divine presence resides with Christ permanently.