GREETING

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will,a and Timothyb our brother:

2 To the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.A

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 word of truth,c the gospel 6 that has come to you. It is bearing fruitd and growing all over the world,e just as it has among you since the day you heard it and came to truly appreciatef God’s grace.B,g 7 You learned this from Epaphras,h our dearly loved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christi on yourC behalf, 8 and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.j