Colossians 1

Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, and Timothy our brother:

2 To the saints in Christ at Colossae, [who are] faithful brothers.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Thanksgiving

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints 5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this [hope] in the message of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God's grace in the truth. 7 You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf,

8 and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.

Prayer for Spiritual Growth

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven't stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing [to Him], bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.

14 We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him.

The Centrality of Christ

15 He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.

16 For everything was created by Him,
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities-
all things have been created through Him and for Him.

17 He is before all things,
and by Him all things hold together.

18 He is also the head of the body, the church;
He is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
so that He might come to have
first place in everything.

19 For God was pleased [to have]
all His fullness dwell in Him,

20 and through Him to reconcile
everything to Himself
by making peace
through the blood of His cross-
whether things on earth or things in heaven.
21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. 22 But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him-

23 if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. [This gospel] has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.

Paul's Ministry

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for His body, that is, the church. 25 I have become its servant, according to God's administration that was given to me for you, to make God's message fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints. 27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

29 I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully in me.

Colossians 1

Greetings

1 From Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, who is also a follower.

2 To God's people who live in Colossae and are faithful followers of Christ.
I pray that God our Father will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

A prayer of thanks

5 because what you hope for is kept safe for you in heaven. You first heard about this hope when you believed the true message, which is the good news.
6 The good news is spreading all over the world with great success. It has spread in that same way among you, ever since the first day you learnt the truth about God's wonderful kindness 7 from our good friend Epaphras. He works together with us for Christ and is a faithful worker for you.tt

8 He is also the one who told us about the love that God's Spirit has given you.

The person and work of Christ

11 His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.
12 I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting yout have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light. 13 God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son,

14 who forgives our sins and sets us free.t

15 Christ is exactly like God,
who cannot be seen.
He is the firstborn Son,
superior to all creation.

16 Everything was created by him,
everything in heaven
and on earth,
everything seen and unseen,
including all forces
and powers,
and all rulers
and authorities.
All things were created
by God's Son,
and everything was made
for him.

17 God's Son was before all else,
and by him everything
is held together.

18 He is the head of his body,t
which is the church.
He is the very beginning,
the first to be raised
from death,
so that he would be
above all others.

19 God himself was pleased
to live fully in his Son.

20 And God was pleasedt
for him to make peace
by sacrificing his blood
on the cross,
so that all beings in heaven
and on earth
would be brought back to God.
21 You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. 22 But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent.

23 But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I myself have become a servant of this message.

Paul's service to the church

27 God did this because he wanted you Gentiles to understand his wonderful and glorious mystery. And the mystery is that Christ lives in you, and he is your hope of sharing in God's glory.
28 We announce the message about Christ, and we use all our wisdom to warn and teach everyone, so that all Christ's followers will grow and become mature. 29 That's why I work so hard and use the mighty power he gives me.