Colossians 1:1–22

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—