Colossians 1

Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments

1 1Paul, 2an apostle of Jesus Christ [a]3by the will of God, and 4Timothy [b]our brother,
2 To the [c]5saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: 6Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
3 7We give thanks to God, 8the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4 9since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the 10love which you have [d]for 11all the [e]saints;
5 because of the 12hope 13laid up for you in [f]heaven, of which you previously 14heard in the word of truth, [g]the gospel
6 which has come to you, just as [h]15in all the world also it is constantly bearing 16fruit and [i]increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you 17heard of it and [j]understood the grace of God in truth;
7 just as you learned it from 18Epaphras, our 19beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
8 and he also informed us of your 20love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason also, 21since the day we heard of it, 22we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the [k]23knowledge of His will in all spiritual 24wisdom and understanding,
10 so that you will 25walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, [l]26to please Him in all respects, 27bearing fruit in every good work and [m]increasing in the [n]knowledge of God;
11 28strengthened with all power, according to [o]His glorious might, [p]for the attaining of all steadfastness and [q]patience; 29joyously
12 giving thanks to 30the Father, who has qualified us [r]to share in 31the inheritance of the [s]saints in 32Light.

The Incomparable Christ

13 [t]For He rescued us from the [u]33domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of [v]34His beloved Son,
14 35in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 [w]He is the 36image of the 37invisible God, the 38firstborn of all creation.
16 For [x]39by Him all things were created, 40both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether 41thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -42all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He [y]43is before all things, and in Him all things [z]hold together.
18 He is also 44head of 45the body, the church; and He is 46the beginning, 47the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19 For [aa]it was 48the Father's good pleasure for all 49the [ab]fullness to dwell in Him,
20 and through Him to 50reconcile all things to Himself, having made 51peace through 52the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, 53whether things on earth or things in [ac]heaven.
21 And although you were 54formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,
22 yet He has now 55reconciled you in His fleshly 56body through death, in order to 57present you before Him 58holy and blameless and beyond reproach -
23 if indeed you continue in [ad]the faith firmly 59established and steadfast, and not moved away from the 60hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed 61in all creation under heaven, 62and of which I, Paul, [ae]was made a [af]63minister.
24 64Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh 65I [ag]do my share on behalf of 66His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking [ah]in Christ's afflictions.
25 67Of this church I [ai]was made a minister according to the 68stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might [aj]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,
26 that is, 69the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His [ak]saints,
27 to whom 70God willed to make known what is 71the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is 72Christ in you, the 73hope of glory.
28 We proclaim Him, 74admonishing every man and teaching every man [al]with all 75wisdom, so that we may 76present every man [am]77complete in Christ.
29 For this purpose also I 78labor, 79striving 80according to His [an]power, which [ao]mightily works within me.

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Cross References 80

Footnotes 41

Colossians 1 Commentaries

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