Colossians 1
1
1This letter comes from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the will of God, and from our brother Timothy. 2To the believers and trusting Christians at Colossae: May you have grace and peace from God our Father. 3We are always thankful to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for you, and pray for you. 4We've heard about your trust in Christ Jesus and your love for all the believers 5because of the hope prepared for you in heaven. You already heard about this in the good news, the message of truth 6that came to you just as it has gone throughout the whole world, spreading widely and bringing results. It's done the same for you too, ever since you heard it and realized the true nature of God's grace. 7Our dear friend and fellow-worker Epaphras, who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on our behalf, taught you about this. 8He's also made clear to us your love in the Spirit.
9Because of this we haven't stopped praying for you from the time we heard about you, asking God to give you understanding of what he wants you to do and to give you every kind of spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10That way you'll live lives that rightly represent the Lord and please him, producing all kinds of good results and gaining greater knowledge of God. 11May you be made powerfully strong by his wonderful strength, having great patience and endurance. 12May you happily praise the Father, who has made it possible for us to share in the inheritance of God's people who live in the light. 13He rescued us from the tyranny of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14through whom we have been set free and our sins forgiven.
15The Son is the visible image of the invisible God. He was before#1:15. Literally, “first-born,” denoting position rather than timing of birth. all creation, 16for everything was created through him—in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, empires, rulers, leaders and authorities—everything was created through him and for him. 17He existed before everything, and he holds everything together. 18He is also the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, having the highest position#1:18 Literally, “first-born,” as in verse 15, showing that even though Jesus was not the first person ever to be resurrected, he held the highest position of any. of those raised from the dead, so that he is supreme in everything. 19God was pleased to have his full nature live in him, 20and through him brought back everything in the universe to himself, since he made peace through the blood of his cross, through him reconciling all those on the earth and in heaven.#1:20. The “he/him” can be confusing here. Supplying the actual nouns may help, though it makes for a clumsy translation: “God was pleased to have God's full nature live in Christ, and through Christ brought back everything in the universe to himself (God), since Christ made peace through the blood of Christ's cross, through Christ reconciling all those on the earth and in heaven.” 21You once were alienated from God, enemies in the way you thought and the way you acted, 22but now he has reconciled you through his dying human body, bringing you into his presence where you stand holy, pure, and faultless. 23But your trust in him must continue rock-solid and immovable. Don't be shaken from the hope of the good news that you heard, the good news that's been shared throughout the world—that's the work that I Paul have been doing.
24I'm happy to have trouble for your sake, for by means of what happens to me physically I'm part of Christ's sufferings that he continues to experience for the sake of his body, the church. 25I serve the church following the direction God gave me about you, to present fully the word of God to you. 26This is the mystery that was hidden down through the ages and for many generations, but it's now been revealed to God's people. 27God wanted to make known to them the glorious wealth of this mystery to the nations:#1:27. Or “Gentiles.” Christ living in you is the glorious hope! 28We're telling everyone about him, instructing and teaching them in the best way we know how so that we can bring everyone before God fully mature in Christ. 29That's what I'm working for too, making every effort as I rely on his strength which is powerfully at work in me.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Colossians 1
1
Greetings from Paul
1This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
2We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters#1:2 Greek faithful brothers. in Christ.
May God our Father give you grace and peace.
Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer
3We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.
6This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.
7You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf.#1:7 Or he is ministering on your behalf; some manuscripts read he is ministering on our behalf. 8He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
9So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
11We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,#1:11 Or all the patience and endurance you need with joy. 12always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14who purchased our freedom#1:14 Some manuscripts add with his blood. and forgave our sins.
Christ Is Supreme
15Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,#1:15 Or He is the firstborn of all creation.
16for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.#1:18 Or the firstborn from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
19For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
21This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
23But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.
Paul’s Work for the Church
24I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. 25God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. 26This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
28So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect#1:28 Or mature. in their relationship to Christ. 29That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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