Colossians 1–2

Chapter 1

Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments

^1aPaul, ^ban apostle of Jesus Christ ^1cby the will of God, and ^dTimothy ²our brother,

²To the ^1asaints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: ^bGrace to you and peace from God our Father.

^3aWe give thanks to God, ^bthe Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

^4asince we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the ^blove which you have ¹for ^call the ²saints;

⁵because of the ^ahope ^blaid up for you in ¹heaven, of which you previously ^cheard in the word of truth, ²the gospel

⁶which has come to you, just as ^1ain all the world also it is constantly bearing ^bfruit and ²increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you ^cheard of it and ³understood the grace of God in truth;

⁷just as you learned it from ^aEpaphras, our ^bbeloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,

⁸and he also informed us of your ^alove in the Spirit.

⁹For this reason also, ^asince the day we heard of it, ^bwe have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the ^1cknowledge of His will in all spiritual ^dwisdom and understanding,

¹⁰so that you will ^awalk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^1bto please Him in all respects, ^cbearing fruit in every good work and ²increasing in the ³knowledge of God;

^11astrengthened with all power, according to ¹His glorious might, ²for the attaining of all steadfastness and ³patience; ^bjoyously

¹²giving thanks to ^athe Father, who has qualified us ¹to share in ^bthe inheritance of the ²saints in ^cLight.

The Incomparable Christ

¹³¹For He rescued us from the ^2adomain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of ^3bHis beloved Son,

^14ain whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵¹He is the ^aimage of the ^binvisible God, the ^cfirstborn of all creation.

¹⁶For ^1aby Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^bthrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—^call things have been created through Him and for Him.

¹⁷He ^1ais before all things, and in Him all things ²hold together.

¹⁸He is also ^ahead of ^bthe body, the church; and He is ^cthe beginning, ^dthe firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

¹⁹For ¹it was ^athe Father’s good pleasure for all ^bthe ²fullness to dwell in Him,

²⁰and through Him to ^areconcile all things to Himself, having made ^bpeace through ^cthe blood of His cross; through Him, I say, ^dwhether things on earth or things in ¹heaven.

²¹And although you were ^aformerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,

²²yet He has now ^areconciled you in His fleshly ^bbody through death, in order to ^cpresent you before Him ^dholy and blameless and beyond reproach—

²³if indeed you continue in ¹the faith firmly ^aestablished and steadfast, and not moved away from the ^bhope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed ^cin all creation under heaven, ^dand of which I, Paul, ²was made a ^3eminister.

^24aNow I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh ^bI ¹do my share on behalf of ^cHis body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking ²in Christ’s afflictions.

^25aOf this church I ¹was made a minister according to the ^bstewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might ²fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,

²⁶that is, ^athe mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His ¹saints,

²⁷to whom ^aGod willed to make known what is ^bthe riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is ^cChrist in you, the ^dhope of glory.

²⁸We proclaim Him, ^aadmonishing every man and teaching every man ¹with all ^bwisdom, so that we may ^cpresent every man ^2dcomplete in Christ.

²⁹For this purpose also I ^alabor, ^bstriving ^caccording to His ¹power, which ²mightily works within me.

Chapter 2

You Are Built Up in Christ

¹For I want you to know how great a ^astruggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at ^bLaodicea, and for all those who have not ¹personally seen my face,

²that their ^ahearts may be encouraged, having been ^bknit together in love, and attaining to all ^cthe wealth ¹that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a ^dtrue knowledge of ^eGod’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,

³in whom are hidden all ^athe treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

^4aI say this so that no one will delude you with ^bpersuasive argument.

⁵For even though I am ^aabsent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing ¹to see ²your ^bgood discipline and the ^cstability of your faith in Christ.

⁶Therefore as you have received ^aChrist Jesus the Lord, so ^1bwalk in Him,

⁷having been firmly ^arooted and now being ^bbuilt up in Him and ^cestablished ¹in your faith, just as you ^dwere instructed, and overflowing ²with gratitude.

^8aSee to it that no one takes you captive through ^bphilosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the ^celementary principles of the world, ¹rather than according to Christ.

⁹For in Him all the ^afullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

¹⁰and in Him you have been ^amade ¹complete, and ^bHe is the head ²over all ^crule and authority;

¹¹and in Him ^ayou were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of ^bthe body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;

¹²having been ^aburied with Him in baptism, in which you were also ^braised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who ^craised Him from the dead.

¹³When you were ^adead ¹in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He ^bmade you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

¹⁴having canceled out ^athe certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and ^bHe has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

¹⁵When He had ^1adisarmed the ^brulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having ^ctriumphed over them through ²Him.

¹⁶Therefore no one is to ^1aact as your judge in regard to ^bfood or drink or in respect to a ^cfestival or a ^dnew moon or a ^eSabbath ²day—

¹⁷things which are ^aa mere shadow of what is to come; but the ¹substance ²belongs to Christ.

¹⁸Let no one keep ^1adefrauding you of your prize by ^bdelighting in ²self-abasement and the worship of the angels, ³taking his stand on visions he has seen, ^4cinflated without cause by his ^dfleshly mind,

¹⁹and not holding fast to ^athe head, from whom ^bthe entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ¹ligaments, grows with a growth ²which is from God.

^20aIf you have died with Christ ¹to the ^belementary principles of the world, ^cwhy, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to ^ddecrees, such as,

²¹“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

²²(which all refer ^ato things destined to perish ¹with use)—in accordance with the ^bcommandments and teachings of men?

²³These are matters which have, to be sure, the ¹appearance of wisdom in ^2aself-made religion and self-abasement and ^bsevere treatment of the body, but are of no value against ^cfleshly indulgence.