Colossians 1

Greeting

1Paul, #See 2 Cor. 1:1an apostle of Christ Jesus #See 1 Cor. 1:1by the will of God, and Timothy #See 1 Thess. 3:2our brother,

2To the #Eph. 1:1; See Phil. 1:1saints and faithful brothers#1:2 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters in Christ at Colossae:

# Rom. 1:7 Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 # Eph. 1:15, 16; Philem. 4 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4since we heard of #See 1 Thess. 1:3your faith in Christ Jesus and of #See 1 Thess. 1:3the love that you have for all the saints, 5because of #ver. 23; See Acts 23:6; Titus 1:2; Heb. 3:6the hope #2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 1:4laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in #See Eph. 1:13the word of the truth, the gospel, 6which has come to you, as indeed #[ver. 23; Ps. 98:3]; See Matt. 24:14in the whole world it is #John 15:5, 16; [Phil. 1:11] bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you #[Rom. 16:26; Eph. 4:21] heard it and understood #See Acts 11:23the grace of God in truth, 7just as you learned it from #ch. 4:12; Philem. 23Epaphras our beloved #ch. 4:7fellow servant.#1:7 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word sundoulos, see Preface He is #ch. 4:7a faithful minister of Christ on your#1:7 Some manuscripts our behalf 8and has made known to us your #[Rom. 15:30]love in the Spirit.

9And so, #ver. 4from the day we heard, #2 Thess. 1:11we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that #[Eph. 1:17] you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all #ch. 4:5; Eph. 1:8; [1 Cor. 12:8]spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so as #[Ps. 1:1, 3]; See Eph. 4:1to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, #[2 Cor. 5:9; Eph. 5:10; 1 Thess. 4:1] fully pleasing to him: #ver. 6bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11#See Eph. 3:16being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for #Eph. 4:2all endurance and patience #See Matt. 5:12with joy; 12#ch. 3:15; Eph. 5:20giving thanks#1:12 Or patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you#1:12 Some manuscripts us to share in #See Acts 26:18the inheritance of the saints in light. 13He #1 Thess. 1:10has delivered us from #Luke 22:53; Eph. 6:12the domain of darkness and transferred us to #2 Pet. 1:11the kingdom of #[Eph. 1:6]his beloved Son, 14#See Eph. 1:7in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ

15 # See 2 Cor. 4:4 He is the image of #See 1 Tim. 1:17the invisible God, #[Ps. 89:27]; See Rom. 8:29the firstborn of all creation. 16For by#1:16 That is, by means of; or in him all things were created, #Eph. 1:10in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether #[Ezek. 10:1] thrones or #Eph. 1:21dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created #Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 8:6through him and for him. 17And #[John 8:58]; See John 1:1he is before all things, and in him all things #[Heb. 1:3]hold together. 18And #See Eph. 1:22, 23he is the head of the body, the church. He is #Rev. 3:14the beginning, #Acts 26:23; 1 Cor. 15:20; Rev. 1:5the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19For #ch. 2:9in him all the #See John 1:16fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and #See 2 Cor. 5:18; Eph. 1:10through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, #See Eph. 2:14making peace #[Eph. 2:13]by the blood of his cross.

21 # See Eph. 2:1, 2, 12 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, #[Titus 1:16]doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled #[Rom. 7:4] in his body of flesh by his death, #Jude 24; See Eph. 1:4; 5:27in order to present you holy and blameless and #1 Cor. 1:8above reproach before him, 23#See John 15:4if indeed you continue in the faith, #ch. 2:7; Eph. 3:17stable and steadfast, not shifting from #ver. 5, 6the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed #Mark 16:15; [Acts 2:5] in all creation#1:23 Or to every creature under heaven, #See 2 Cor. 3:6and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Paul’s Ministry to the Church

24Now #See 2 Cor. 7:4I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh #[2 Tim. 1:8; 2:10] I am filling up #See 2 Cor. 1:5what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions #[Eph. 4:12]for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25#ver. 23of which I became a minister according to #See Eph. 3:2the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26#Eph. 3:9; See Rom. 16:25, 26the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27#[ch. 2:2] To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are #Eph. 1:18; 3:16the riches of the glory of #[See ver. 26 above] this mystery, which is Christ in you, #1 Tim. 1:1the hope of glory. 28Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that #See ver. 22, 23we may present everyone #See Matt. 5:48mature in Christ. 29For this #1 Cor. 15:10; 1 Tim. 4:10I toil, #ch. 4:12; [ch. 2:1] struggling #See Eph. 1:19with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

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Colossians 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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