Colossians 1–2

Greeting

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

²To the saints ^band faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse:

^cGrace to you and peace from God our Father ¹and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Their Faith in Christ

^3dWe give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ^4esince we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of ^fyour love for all the saints; ⁵because of the hope ^gwhich is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, ⁶which has come to you, ^has it has also in all the world, and ⁱis bringing forth ²fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew ^jthe grace of God in truth; ⁷as you also learned from ^kEpaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is ^la faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, ⁸who also declared to us your ^mlove in the Spirit.

Preeminence of Christ

⁹ⁿFor this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask ^othat you may be filled with ^pthe knowledge of His will ^qin all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ^10rthat you may walk worthy of the Lord, ^sfully pleasing Him, ^tbeing fruitful in every good work and increasing in the ^uknowledge of God; ^11vstrengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, ^wfor all patience and longsuffering ^xwith joy; ^12ygiving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of ^zthe inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³He has delivered us from ^athe power of darkness ^band ³conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ^14cin whom we have redemption ⁴through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵He is ^dthe image of the invisible God, ^ethe firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For ^fby Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or ^gdominions or ⁵principalities or ⁶powers. All things were created ^hthrough Him and for Him. ¹⁷ⁱAnd He is before all things, and in Him ^jall things consist. ¹⁸And ^kHe is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, ^lthe firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Reconciled in Christ

¹⁹For it pleased the Father that ^min Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰and ⁿby Him to reconcile ^oall things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, ^phaving made peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹And you, ^qwho once were alienated and enemies in your mind ^rby wicked works, yet now He has ^sreconciled ^22tin the body of His flesh through death, ^uto present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—²³if indeed you continue ^vin the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are ^wnot moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, ^xwhich was preached to every creature under heaven, ^yof which I, Paul, became a minister.

Sacrificial Service for Christ

^24zI now rejoice in my sufferings ^afor you, and fill up in my flesh ^bwhat is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for ^cthe sake of His body, which is the church, ²⁵of which I became a minister according to ^dthe ⁷stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, ^26ethe ⁸mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, ^fbut now has been revealed to His saints. ^27gTo them God willed to make known what are ^hthe riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: ⁹which is ⁱChrist in you, ^jthe hope of glory. ²⁸Him we preach, ^kwarning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, ^lthat we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. ²⁹To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me ^mmightily.

Not Philosophy But Christ

2For I want you to know what a great ^aconflict ¹I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, ²that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, ²both of the Father and of Christ, ^3bin whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

⁴Now this I say ^clest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. ⁵For ^dthough I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing ³to see ^eyour good order and the ^fsteadfastness of your faith in Christ.

^6gAs you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, ^7hrooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding ⁴in it with thanksgiving.

⁸Beware lest anyone ⁵cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to ⁱthe tradition of men, according to the ^jbasic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹For ^kin Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead ⁶bodily; ¹⁰and you are complete in Him, who is the ^lhead of all ⁷principality and power.

Not Legalism But Christ

¹¹In Him you were also ^mcircumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by ⁿputting off the body ⁸of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ^12oburied with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through ^pfaith in the working of God, ^qwho raised Him from the dead. ¹³And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, ^14rhaving wiped out the ⁹handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ^15sHaving disarmed ^tprincipalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

¹⁶So let no one ^ujudge you in food or in drink, or regarding a ¹festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ^17vwhich are a shadow of things to come, but the ²substance is of Christ. ¹⁸Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has ³not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹and not holding fast to ^wthe Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, ^xgrows with the increase that is from God.

²⁰⁴Therefore, if you ^ydied with Christ from the basic principles of the world, ^zwhy, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—^21a“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” ²²which all concern things which perish with the using—^baccording to the commandments and doctrines of men? ^23cThese things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and ⁵neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.