Chapter 1

Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments

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

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

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

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

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

6 which 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;

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

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

9 For 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,

10 so 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;

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

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

The Incomparable Christ

13 1For He rescued us from the 2adomain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of 3bHis beloved Son,

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

15 1He is the aimage of the binvisible God, the cfirstborn of all creation.

16 For 1aby Him all things were created, aboth 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.

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

18 He 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.

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

20 and 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.

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

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

23 if 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.

24 aNow 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.

25 aOf 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,

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

27 to 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.

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

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