1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,2To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.3We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,4Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,5For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;6Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:7As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;8Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.9For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;10That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;11Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.21And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:23If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;24Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:25Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:29Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Colossians 1
English Standard Version
Greeting
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, (1Co 1:1; 2Co 1:1; 1Th 3:2)2To the saints and faithful brothers[1] in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. (Ro 1:7; Eph 1:1; Php 1:1)
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, (Eph 1:15; Phm 1:4)4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, (1Th 1:3)5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, (Ac 23:6; Eph 1:13; Col 1:23; 2Ti 4:8; Tit 1:2; Heb 3:6; 1Pe 1:4)6which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, (Ps 98:3; Mt 24:14; Joh 15:5; Joh 15:16; Ac 11:23; Ro 16:26; Eph 4:21; Php 1:11; Col 1:23)7just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant.[2] He is a faithful minister of Christ on your[3] behalf (Col 4:7; Col 4:12; Phm 1:23)8and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. (Ro 15:30)9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (1Co 12:8; Eph 1:8; Eph 1:17; Col 1:4; Col 4:5; 2Th 1:11)10so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Ps 1:1; Ps 1:3; 2Co 5:9; Eph 4:1; Eph 5:10; Col 1:6; 1Th 4:1)11being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; (Mt 5:12; Eph 3:16; Eph 4:2)12giving thanks[4] to the Father, who has qualified you[5] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Ac 26:18; Eph 5:20; Col 3:15)13He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, (Lu 22:53; Eph 1:6; Eph 6:12; 1Th 1:10; 2Pe 1:11)14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Eph 1:7)
The Preeminence of Christ
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Ps 89:27; Ro 8:29; 2Co 4:4; 1Ti 1:17)16For by[6] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Eze 10:1; Ro 11:36; 1Co 8:6; Eph 1:10; Eph 1:21)17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Joh 1:1; Joh 8:58; Heb 1:3)18And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Ac 26:23; 1Co 15:20; Eph 1:22; Re 1:5; Re 3:14)19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, (Joh 1:16; Col 2:9)20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (2Co 5:18; Eph 1:10; Eph 2:13; Eph 2:14)21And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, (Eph 2:1; Eph 2:12; Tit 1:16)22he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, (Ro 7:4; 1Co 1:8; Eph 1:4; Eph 5:27; Jud 1:24)23if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation[7] under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. (Mr 16:15; Joh 15:4; Ac 2:5; 2Co 3:6; Eph 3:17; Col 1:5; Col 2:7)
Paul’s Ministry to the Church
24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, (2Co 1:5; 2Co 7:4; Eph 4:12; 2Ti 1:8; 2Ti 2:10)25of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, (Eph 3:2; Col 1:23)26the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. (Ro 16:25; Eph 3:9)27To 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. (Eph 1:18; Eph 3:16; Col 1:26; Col 2:2; 1Ti 1:1)28Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Mt 5:48; Col 1:22)29For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (1Co 15:10; Eph 1:19; Col 2:1; Col 4:12; 1Ti 4:10)