Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through 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.
Thanksgiving for the Colossian Believers
3 We give thanks always to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we[a] pray for you, 4 since we[b] heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, which you have heard about beforehand in the word of truth, the gospel, 6 that has come to you, just as also in all the world it is bearing fruit and increasing, just as also among you from the day you heard about and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it[c] from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,[d] 8 who also made clear to us your love in the Spirit.
Prayer for Maturity Based on Christ’s Preeminence
9 Because of this also we, from the day we heard about it,[e] did not cease praying for you, and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual insight, 10 so that you may live in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects[f], bearing fruit in every good deed and increasing in the knowledge of God, 11 enabled with all power, according to his glorious might, for all steadfastness and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you for a share of the inheritance of the saints in light, 13 who has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us[g] to the kingdom of the Son he loves[h], 14 in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins, 15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all[i] creation, 16 because all things in the heavens and on the earth were created by him, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers, all things were created through him and for him, 17 and he himself is before all things, and in him all things are held together, 18 and he himself is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in everything, 19 because he was well pleased for all the fullness to dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by[j] making peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
21 And although you were formerly alienated[k][l] and enemies in attitude, because of your evil deeds, 22 but now you have been reconciled[m] by his physical body[n] through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and steadfast and not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Paul’s Suffering and Stewardship
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings on behalf of you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ, on behalf of his body which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister, according to God’s stewardship which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from the ages and from the generations, but has now been revealed to his saints, 27 to whom God wanted to make known what is the glorious wealth of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, 28 whom we proclaim, by[o] admonishing every person[p] and teaching every person[q] with all wisdom, in order that we may present every person[r] mature in Christ, 29 for which purpose also I labor, striving according to his working which is at work powerfully in me.
Footnotes
- Colossians 1:3 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“pray”) which is understood as temporal
- Colossians 1:4 Here “since” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard about”) which is understood as causal
- Colossians 1:7 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Colossians 1:7 Some manuscripts have “on your behalf”
- Colossians 1:9 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Colossians 1:10 Literally “to all pleasing”
- Colossians 1:13 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Colossians 1:13 Literally “of his love”
- Colossians 1:15 Translated as a genitive of subordination (Wallace, GGBB, 104)
- Colossians 1:20 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“making peace”) which is understood as means
- Colossians 1:21 Literally “and you formerly being alienated”
- Colossians 1:21 Here the participle (“being”) is understood as concessive
- Colossians 1:22 Some manuscripts have “he has reconciled you”
- Colossians 1:22 Literally “the body of his flesh”
- Colossians 1:28 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“admonishing”) which is understood as means
- Colossians 1:28 Literally “man,” used here in a generic sense to refer to persons of either gender
- Colossians 1:28 Literally “man,” used here in a generic sense to refer to persons of either gender
- Colossians 1:28 Literally “man,” used here in a generic sense to refer to persons of either gender