Colossians 1
1
Colossians 1
Salutation
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.#1.2 Other ancient authorities add and the Lord Jesus Christ
Paul Thanks God for the Colossians
3 #
Eph 1.16
In our prayers for you we always thank God, the#1.3 Other ancient authorities read thank the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4#Gal 5.6; Eph 1.15for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5#1 Thess 5.8; 1 Pet 1.4because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel 6#Mt 24.14; Jn 15.16that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. 7#Col 4.7; Philem 23This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our#1.7 Other ancient authorities read your behalf, 8and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
9 #
Rom 12.2; Eph 1.15–17 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s#1.9 Gk his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10#Rom 1.13; Eph 4.1; 1 Thess 4.1so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. 11#Acts 5.41; Eph 3.16; 4.2May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, so that you may have all endurance and patience, joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father,#1.12 Other ancient authorities read God the Father or the God and Father who has enabled#1.12 Other ancient authorities read called you#1.12 Other ancient authorities read us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13#Eph 6.12; 2 Pet 1.11He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption,#1.14 Other ancient authorities add through his blood the forgiveness of sins.
The Supremacy of Christ
15 #
2 Cor 4.4; Rev 3.14 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, 16for in#1.16 Or by him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and in#1.17 Or by him all things hold together. 18#Eph 1.22, 23; Rev 1.5He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God#1.19 Gk lacks of God was pleased to dwell, 20#2 Cor 5.18; Eph 2.13, 14and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
21And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22#Rom 7.4; Eph 2.15; 5.27he has now reconciled#1.22 Other ancient authorities read you have now been reconciled in his fleshly body#1.22 Gk in the body of his flesh through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, 23#Rom 10.18; Eph 3.17provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature#1.23 Or in all creation under heaven. I, Paul, became a minister of this gospel.
Paul’s Interest in the Colossians
24I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25#Eph 3.2I became its minister according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26#Rom 16.25, 26the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27#Rom 9.23; 2 Cor 2.14; 1 Tim 1.1To them God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28#1 Cor 2.6, 7; Col 3.16It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.#1.28 Other ancient authorities add Jesus 29#1 Cor 15.10; Eph 1.19; Col 2.1For this I toil and strive with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.
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Colossians 1: NRSVUE
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New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, copyright © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
