Colossians 1

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by the will of God, and Timothy ^(C)our brother,

² To the ^(D)saints and faithful brothers^[a] in Christ at Colossae:

^(E)Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

^3 (F)We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of ^(G)your faith in Christ Jesus and of ^(H)the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of ^(I)the hope ^(J)laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in ^(K)the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, as indeed ^(L)in the whole world it is ^(M)bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you ^(N)heard it and understood ^(O)the grace of God in truth, ⁷ just as you learned it from ^(P)Epaphras our beloved ^(Q)fellow servant.^[b] He is ^(R)a faithful minister of Christ on your^[c] behalf ⁸ and has made known to us your ^(S)love in the Spirit.

⁹ And so, ^(T)from the day we heard, ^(U)we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that ^(V)you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all ^(W)spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as ^(X)to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^(Y)fully pleasing to him: ^(Z)bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ^11 (AA)being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for ^(AB)all endurance and patience ^(AC)with joy; ^12 (AD)giving thanks^[d] to the Father, who has qualified you^[e] to share in ^(AE)the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He ^(AF)has delivered us from ^(AG)the domain of darkness and transferred us to ^(AH)the kingdom of ^(AI)his beloved Son, ^14 (AJ)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ

^15 (AK)He is the image of ^(AL)the invisible God, ^(AM)the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by^[f] him all things were created, ^(AN)in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^(AO)thrones or ^(AP)dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created ^(AQ)through him and for him. ¹⁷ And ^(AR)he is before all things, and in him all things ^(AS)hold together. ¹⁸ And ^(AT)he is the head of the body, the church. He is ^(AU)the beginning, ^(AV)the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For ^(AW)in him all the ^(AX)fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and ^(AY)through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, ^(AZ)making peace ^(BA)by the blood of his cross.

^21 (BB)And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, ^(BC)doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled ^(BD)in his body of flesh by his death, ^(BE)in order to present you holy and blameless and ^(BF)above reproach before him, ^23 (BG)if indeed you continue in the faith, ^(BH)stable and steadfast, not shifting from ^(BI)the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed ^(BJ)in all creation^[g] under heaven, ^(BK)and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Paul's Ministry to the Church

²⁴ Now ^(BL)I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh ^(BM)I am filling up ^(BN)what is lacking in Christ's afflictions ^(BO)for the sake of his body, that is, the church, ^25 (BP)of which I became a minister according to ^(BQ)the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, ^26 (BR)the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. ^27 (BS)To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are ^(BT)the riches of the glory of ^(BU)this mystery, which is Christ in you, ^(BV)the hope of glory. ²⁸ Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that ^(BW)we may present everyone ^(BX)mature in Christ. ²⁹ For this ^(BY)I toil, ^(BZ)struggling ^(CA)with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.