Open the Form Guide
See the exact Colossians 1:16 form guide with morphology, clause role, and guardrails.
OpenForm Insight
How αὐτοῦ Works in Colossians 1:16
A focused form insight on Genitive Singular Masculine in Colossians 1:16.
Colossians 1:16 - BSB
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.
The Question
How does αὐτοῦ function in Colossians 1:16?
Short Answer
αὐτοῦ is a Genitive Singular Masculine in Colossians 1:16. The grammar sharpens the relational force of the verse by tying the statement about all things to the same personal referent in both phrases, without overreading the case form.
What the Form Is Doing
αὐτοῦ appears in Colossians 1:16 as a Genitive Singular Masculine. It marks the referent of the through-him relation, helping the sentence distinguish creation through him from the later toward-him phrase.
In Colossians 1:16, the genitive singular masculine pronoun follows dia and points back to the personal referent already central in the verse. The form supports the through-him relation without carrying the whole Christological claim by itself.
Why It Matters for Interpretation
The grammar sharpens the relational force of the verse by tying the statement about all things to the same personal referent in both phrases, without overreading the case form.
The pronoun marks the referent in the through-him phrase within a central Christological creation statement.
Translation Effect
The genitive pronoun governed by dia directly supports a rendering such as 'through him.'
The form guide should support the public Bible reading, not replace it with a private rendering.
What It Does Not Prove
Do not derive from the genitive form alone any claim about ontology, hierarchy, or abstract metaphysics beyond what the immediate sentence already states.
Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
Genitive case suggests relation here, but it does not by itself settle every interpretive question.
Evidence from the Form Guide
The witness reads αὐτοῦ in Colossians 1:16 with the morphology tag "Genitive Singular Masculine"; this guide is limited to that exact occurrence in the Textus Receptus witness.
For teaching or translation, this form clarifies the through him wording without merging it into the separate toward him phrase.
What It Does Not Prove
- Do not derive from the genitive form alone any claim about ontology, hierarchy, or abstract metaphysics beyond what the immediate sentence already states.
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Genitive case suggests relation here, but it does not by itself settle every interpretive question.
- Grammatical gender is a formal feature and must not be turned into a theological gender claim.