Colossians

Chapter 1

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

2To the holy and faithfulOr believing brothers in Christ at Colosse:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.Some manuscripts Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints–5the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel6that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on ourSome manuscripts your behalf,8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified youSome manuscripts us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,14in whom we have redemption,A few late manuscripts redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

21Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because ofOr minds, as shown by your evil behavior.22But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation–23if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Paul's Labor for the Church

24Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.25I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness–26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.29To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.