thinking bible.

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what were the 'thrones, dominions, principalities, powers' that paul's audience understood?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Colossians 1:16

For by him were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.

Paul wrote this letter to believers in Colossae, a city in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), likely in the early 60s CE while imprisoned. He's emphasizing the supremacy of Christ over all creation and any other spiritual forces, challenging certain philosophical or religious ideas that might have been circulating in the community.

What in your world today feels like an invisible force shaping reality, and how does this passage influence how you view it?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Ephesians 6:12

    This verse describes the spiritual battle believers face, referencing 'principalities, against powers, against the world’s rulers of this darkness'.

  • Romans 8:38-39

    Paul assures readers that 'neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers' can separate them from God’s love.

  • 1 Peter 3:22

    This passage speaks of Jesus ascending to heaven, with 'angels and authorities and powers' being made subject to him.

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