Colossians 1
1
Greeting
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will,#1Co 1:1; 2Co 1:1; Eph 1:1; 2Tm 1:1 and Timothy#Ac 16:1; 1Tm 1:2 our brother:
2To the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.#1:2 Other mss add and the Lord Jesus Christ
Thanksgiving
3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints 5because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the word of truth,#Ps 119:142; Jn 14:6; 2Co 11:10; Eph 1:13; 2Tm 2:15; 3Jn 3 the gospel 6that has come to you. It is bearing fruit#Mk 4:8 and growing all over the world,#Mt 13:38; 24:14; Rm 3:6; 2Pt 2:20 just as it has among you since the day you heard it and came to truly appreciate#2Th 2:10 God’s grace.#1:6 Or and truly recognized God’s grace#2Pt 3:18 7You learned this from Epaphras,#Col 4:12; Phm 23 our dearly loved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ#Mt 1:17; Eph 5:2 on your#1:7 Other mss read our behalf, 8and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.#Ps 51:11; Jn 1:33; Ac 2:4; Rm 8:9; Ti 3:5; Rv 1:10; 3:22
Prayer for Spiritual Growth
9For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking#Jn 14:13; Jms 1:5 that you may be filled with the knowledge#Pr 2:6; Col 3:10 of his will#Eph 1:9 in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,#1:9 Or all spiritual wisdom and understanding 10so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work#2Co 9:8; Gl 3:10 and growing in the knowledge of God,#Pr 2:6; Jn 17:3; 2Pt 1:2; 1Jn 4:8 11being strengthened#Php 4:13 with all power,#Ac 4:33; 2Co 13:4 according to his glorious#Lk 9:32; Jn 17:24; 2Co 3:18; 2Pt 3:18 might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you#1:12 Other mss read us to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.#Ps 36:9; Jn 12:46 13He has rescued#Mt 27:43 us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom#Mt 3:2; Mk 1:15; Ac 20:25 of the Son#Jn 5:19; Heb 1:2 he loves.#Mt 3:17; Jn 3:16; 15:10; 17:26; 1Jn 4:16 14In him we have redemption,#1:14 Other mss add through his blood the forgiveness of sins.
The Centrality of Christ
15He is the image of the invisible God,#Php 2:6
the firstborn over all creation.#Jn 1:3; Rv 3:14
16For everything was created by him,#Gn 1:1; Mk 13:19
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities —
all things have been created through him and for him.#Jn 1:3; Rm 11:36; 1Co 8:6; Eph 1:10,21
17He is before all things,#Jn 1:1–2; 8:58; Heb 1:2–3
and by him all things#Ps 104:24 hold together.
18He is also the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning,#Gn 1:1; Mk 1:1; Jn 1:1; Ac 26:4
the firstborn from the dead,#Ac 26:23; 1Co 15:20,23; Rv 1:5
so that he might come to have
first place in everything.
19For God was pleased to have
all his fullness#Ps 72:19; Is 6:3; Jr 23:24; Ezk 43:5; 44:4; Jn 1:14,16; Eph 3:19; Php 2:6; Col 2:9 dwell in him,#Dt 12:5
20and through him to reconcile
everything to himself,
whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace#Ac 7:26; Eph 2:14
through his blood,#Heb 9:12 shed on the cross.#1:20 Other mss add through him#Lk 9:23; 23:26
21Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. 22But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death,#Php 2:8 to present you holy, faultless,#Jd 24 and blameless before him#2Co 4:14 — 23if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith#Gl 2:16; Jd 3 and are not shifted away from the hope#1Th 1:3 of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation#Rv 3:14 under heaven,#Rm 10:18; Eph 6:9 and I, Paul,#Ac 13:9 have become a servant of it.
Paul’s Ministry
24Now I rejoice in my sufferings#2Co 1:4; Php 1:29; 3:10 for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for his body,#Eph 4:4 that is, the church. 25I have become its servant, according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ#Col 2:2 in you, the hope#1Th 1:3 of glory. 28We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29I labor for this, striving#Jd 3 with his strength that works powerfully in me.#1Co 15:10
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Colossians 1
1
Greeting
1From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother.
2To the holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Thanksgiving and prayer for the Colossians
3We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. 4We’ve done this since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all God’s people. 5You have this faith and love because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You previously heard about this hope through the true message, the good news, 6which has come to you. This message has been bearing fruit and growing among you since the day you heard and truly understood God’s grace, in the same way that it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world. 7You learned it from Epaphras, who is the fellow slave we love and Christ’s faithful minister for your sake. 8He informed us of your love in the Spirit.
9Because of this, since the day we heard about you, we haven’t stopped praying for you and asking for you to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, with all wisdom and spiritual understanding. 10We’re praying this so that you can live lives that are worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him in every way: by producing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God; 11by being strengthened through his glorious might so that you endure everything and have patience; 12and by giving thanks with joy to the Father. He made it so you could take part in the inheritance, in light granted to God’s holy people. 13He rescued us from the control of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 14He set us free through the Son and forgave our sins.
Hymn about Christ’s work
15The Son is the image of the invisible God,
the one who is first over all creation,#1.15 Or firstborn of all creation
16Because all things were created by him:
both in the heavens and on the earth,
the things that are visible and the things that are invisible.
Whether they are thrones or powers,
or rulers or authorities,
all things were created through him and for him.
17He existed before all things,
and all things are held together in him.
18He is the head of the body, the church,
who is the beginning,
the one who is firstborn from among the dead#1.18 Or first over the dead
so that he might occupy the first place in everything.
19Because all the fullness of God was pleased to live in him,
20and he reconciled all things to himself through him—
whether things on earth or in the heavens.
He brought peace through the blood of his cross.
21Once you were alienated from God and you were enemies with him in your minds, which was shown by your evil actions. 22But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death, to present you before God as a people who are holy, faultless, and without blame. 23But you need to remain well established and rooted in faith and not shift away from the hope given in the good news that you heard. This message has been preached throughout all creation under heaven. And I, Paul, became a servant of this good news.
Paul’s service for the church
24Now I’m happy to be suffering for you. I’m completing what is missing from Christ’s sufferings with my own body. I’m doing this for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25I became a servant of the church by God’s commission, which was given to me for you, in order to complete God’s word. 26I’m completing it with a secret plan#1.26 Or mystery that has been hidden for ages and generations but which has now been revealed to his holy people. 27God wanted to make the glorious riches of this secret plan#1.27 Or mystery known among the Gentiles, which is Christ living in you, the hope of glory. 28This is what we preach as we warn and teach every person with all wisdom so that we might present each one mature in Christ. 29I work hard and struggle for this goal with his energy, which works in me powerfully.
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