Colossians 1:18-2:6

New American Standard Bible

¹⁸He is also the ^(A)head of ^(B)the body, the church; and He is ^(C)the beginning, ^(D)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹For ^[a]it was ^(E)the Father’s good pleasure for all ^(F)the ^[b]fullness to dwell in Him, ²⁰and through Him to ^(G)reconcile all things to Himself, ^(H)whether things on earth or things in ^[c]heaven, having made ^(I)peace through ^(J)the blood of His cross.

²¹And although you were ^(K)previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds, ²²yet He has now ^(L)reconciled you in His ^(M)body of flesh through death, in order to ^(N)present you before Him ^(O)holy and blameless and beyond reproach— ²³if indeed you continue in ^[d]the faith firmly ^(P)established and steadfast, and not shifting from the ^(Q)hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed ^(R)in all creation under heaven, ^(S)and of which I, Paul, ^[e]was made a ^[f]^(T)minister.

²⁴^(U)Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh ^(V)I am supplementing what is lacking ^[g]in Christ’s afflictions in behalf of ^(W)His body, which is the church. ²⁵^(X)I ^[h]was made a minister of this church according to the ^(Y)commission from God granted to me for your benefit, so that I might ^[i]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, ²⁶that is, ^(Z)the mystery which had been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His ^[j]saints, ²⁷to whom ^(AA)God willed to make known what ^(AB)the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is ^(AC)Christ in you, the ^(AD)hope of glory. ²⁸We proclaim Him, ^(AE)admonishing every person and teaching every person ^[k]with all ^(AF)wisdom, so that we may ^(AG)present every person ^[l]^(AH)complete in Christ. ²⁹For this purpose I also ^(AI)labor, ^(AJ)striving ^(AK)according to His ^[m]power which ^[n]works mightily within me.

You Are Built Up in Christ

2 For I want you to know how great a ^(AL)struggle I have in your behalf and for those who are at ^(AM)Laodicea, and for all those who have not ^[o]personally seen my face, ²that their ^(AN)hearts may be encouraged, having been ^(AO)knit together in love, and that they would attain to all ^(AP)the wealth ^[p]that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a ^(AQ)true knowledge of ^(AR)God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, ³in whom are hidden all ^(AS)the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴^(AT)I say this so that no one will deceive you with ^(AU)persuasive arguments. ⁵For even though I am ^(AV)absent in body, I am nevertheless with you in spirit, rejoicing ^[q]to see ^[r]your ^(AW)orderly manner and the ^(AX)stability of your faith in Christ.