ἀποκαταλλάξαι (apokatallaxai) in Colossians 1:20: Verb Aorist Active Infinitive

Verb: the form names an action or state, here the action of reconciling in a completed sense.

Aorist: commonly views the action as a whole event. It should not be treated as automatically punctiliar or automatically past in every context.

Active: presents the subject as doing or carrying the action.

Infinitive: names the verbal idea without finite person. It often works as purpose, result, complement, or explanation in context.

Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.

Not applicable: infinitives are not marked for singular or plural in the way finite verbs are.

Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.

It follows δι᾽ αὐτοῦ and belongs to the sentence that continues through the object phrase τὰ παντα.

The infinitive is framed by the surrounding wording as part of the verse's purpose or result wording, not as a standalone command.

It states the reconciling action that is being described for all things through him and toward him.

It is not the main finite assertion of the verse, and it does not by itself identify a separate subject or object.

High: The infinitive states the reconciling action in a central Christological and soteriological sentence.

Aorist active infinitive. states the reconciling action directed through and toward Christ. Attached to the through him and all things phrase. Governed by the larger clause about divine pleasure and peace through the cross. The infinitive identifies the action; the surrounding phrases supply scope, means, and direction.

What action is being described through Christ? All things are being spoken of in relation to reconciliation through him and toward him.

Direct: The infinitive directly supports to reconcile or to bring into reconciliation.

Aorist infinitive form should not be turned into a complete theological timeline. The scope of all things must be read from Colossians 1 and the immediate cross language. The infinitive is not a standalone main verb apart from the sentence.

Aorist infinitive proves the entire scope of reconciliation: The form names the action; the passage supplies scope and means. infinitive alone proves a doctrine: The infinitive serves the sentence rather than carrying the whole claim by itself.

The text reads ἀποκαταλλάξαι in Colossians 1:20, within the phrase καὶ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ ἀποκαταλλάξαι τὰ πάντα εἰς αὐτόν.

The lemma ἀποκαταλλάσσω means to reconcile fully, so the form carries the idea of full reconciliation without changing the lemma.

As an aorist infinitive, the form presents the reconciling act as a unified whole in the sentence, while the surrounding words supply its direction, means, and scope.

The verse says that through him God is bringing all things into reconciliation toward him, with the cross and blood of Christ named as the means in the wider clause.

The wording fits a wider New Testament pattern in which peace and reconciliation are linked to Christ's work, but the local context controls the emphasis here.

In teaching or translation, the infinitive helps readers hear the action as purposeful and complete, not as a separate event detached from the cross reference in the verse.

Do not derive a timing chart, a separate subject, or a broader doctrine beyond what the verse and lemma actually state.