1 From Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae, grace to you, and peace from God our father and Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving for the Colossians
3 We give thanks to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying for you always,
4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love towards all the saints,
5 because of the hope which is reserved for you in the heavenly places, which you have heard of before, in the word of truth of the gospel,
6 which has come to you, as also in all the world, and is bearing fruit and increasing, as it has been doing among you too, from the day when you heard and acknowledged the grace of God in truth,
7 as you have also learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ for your sakes,
8 who also told us of your love in spirit.
Prayer for the Colossians
9 On account of this, we too, from the day we heard it, do not cease praying for you and asking that you be filled with acknowledgment of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
10 that you should walk worthy of the Lord, so as to be pleasing in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in acknowledgment of God,
11 being empowered with all power according to his glorious might, with a view to all patience and longsuffering, with joy,
12 giving thanks to the father, who has made us fit for the share of the inheritance of the saints in light,
13 who has delivered us from the authority of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the remission of sins,
Christ Is Preeminent in Creation
15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,
16 because everything was created by him – the things in the heavens and the things on earth, the visible things and the invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or realms or authorities – everything was created through him and for him.
17 Indeed he is before all things, and everything holds together by him,
18 and he is the head of the body – the church; and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, in order that he himself might become pre-eminent in all matters,
Christ Is Preeminent in Redemption
19 for it was well-pleasing for all the fulness to dwell in him,
20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether they are things on earth or things in the heavens.
21 You too, who were once alienated and hostile in your mind in evil works, he has now reconciled
22 in his body of flesh through death, to present you holy and unblemished and unimpeachable in his presence,
23 if, that is, you remain in the faith, founded and stable, and are not moved from the hope of the gospel which you have heard, which was proclaimed in the whole of the creation under heaven, of which I Paul have been made a minister.
Christ Is Preeminent in the Church
24 I now rejoice in sufferings for your sakes, and I contribute my share to what is lacking among the tribulations of Christ, in my flesh, for the sake of his body, which is the church,
25 of which I have been made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which was given to me for you, to fill the word of God –
26 the mystery which was hidden away from the ages and from the generations, but now has been made manifest to his saints,
27 to whom God wished to make known what the richness is of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ among you, the hope of glory,
28 whom we proclaim, admonishing every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, in order that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus,
29 for which I also labour, striving according to his invigoration which invigorates me with power.