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Colossians 1

Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Thanksgiving for the Colossian Believers

3 We give thanks always to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you,4 since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints,5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, which you have heard about beforehand in the word of truth, the gospel,6 that has come to you, just as also in all the world it is bearing fruit and increasing, just as also among you from the day you heard about and understood the grace of God in truth,7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,t

8 who also made clear to us your love in the Spirit.

Prayer for Maturity Based on Christ’s Preeminence

9 Because of this also we, from the day we heard about it, did not cease praying for you, and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual insight,10 so that you may live in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respectst, bearing fruit in every good deed and increasing in the knowledge of God,11 enabled with all power, according to his glorious might, for all steadfastness and patience with joy,12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you for a share of the inheritance of the saints in light,13 who has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he lovest,14 in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins,15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,16 because all things in the heavens and on the earth were created by him, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers, all things were created through him and for him,17 and he himself is before all things, and in him all things are held together,18 and he himself is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in everything,19 because he was well pleased for all the fullness to dwell in him,

20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by making peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
21 And although you were formerly alienatedt and enemies in attitude, because of your evil deeds,22 but now you have been reconciledt by his physical bodyt through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and steadfast and not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Paul’s Suffering and Stewardship

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings on behalf of you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ, on behalf of his body which is the church,25 of which I became a minister, according to God’s stewardship which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God,26 the mystery which has been hidden from the ages and from the generations, but has now been revealed to his saints,27 to whom God wanted to make known what is the glorious wealth of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,28 whom we proclaim, by admonishing every persont and teaching every persont with all wisdom, in order that we may present every persont mature in Christ,

29 for which purpose also I labor, striving according to his working which is at work powerfully in me.

Colossians 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ that are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.3 We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have toward all the saints,5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,6 which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth;7 even as ye learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,8 who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,10 to walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;11 strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy;12 giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;14 in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins:15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;16 for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him;17 and he is before all things, and in him all things consist.18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.19 For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him should all the fulness dwell;20 and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.21 And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,22 yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him:23 if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister.24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church;25 whereof I was made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which was given me to you-ward, to fulfil the word of God,26 even the mystery which hath been hid for ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to his saints,27 to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:28 whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ;29 whereunto I labor also, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.