together. And 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. For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, and 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. First of all, God’s beloved Son (verse 13), who is both King and Redeemer (verses 13–14), is seen as pre-existent and possessing