Abstract
The implications of 1 Colossians 1:15-20 concerning Christ as head of the cosmos and the church are huge. It is generally accepted that the author of this hymn used an original form of the text to generate the reworked present form. Themes such as creation, Christ as head of the church, the unity of Christ and God, reconciliation at the cross and aspects of the atonement are explained. The missiological implications are that Christ as head of the cosmos has every right on all aspects of the universe; the unity of Christ and God means that the salvation is radical and total in Him; the atonement brings total salvation from Christ who died on the cross but who was also resurrected; the Christological implications are that all powers should acknowledge that they are limited by Him who died on the cross and that the salvation entails encompassing and total welfare.
