1 Paul an Apostle of Iesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, 2 To them which are at Colosse, Saintes and faithfull brethren in Christ: Grace bee with you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Iesus Christ. 3 We giue thankes to God euen ye Father of our Lord Iesus Christ, alway praying for you: 4 Since wee heard of your faith in Christ Iesus, and of your loue toward all Saintes, 5 For the hopes sake, which is laide vp for you in heauen, whereof yee haue heard before by the word of trueth, which is the Gospel, 6 Which is come vnto you, eue as it is vnto al the world, and is fruitful, as it is also amog you, from ye day that ye heard and truely knew ye grace of God, 7 As yee also learned of Epaphras our deare fellowe seruaunt, which is for you a faithfull minister of Christ: 8 Who hath also declared vnto vs your loue in the Spirit. 9 For this cause wee also, since the day wee heard of it, cease not to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be fulfilled with knowledge of his will in all wisdome, and spirituall vnderstanding, 10 That ye might walke worthy of the Lord, and please him in all things, being fruitefull in all good workes, and increasing in the knowledge of God, 11 Strengthened with all might through his glorious power, vnto all patience, and long suffering with ioyfulnesse, 12 Giuing thankes vnto the Father, which hath made vs meete to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saintes in light, 13 Who hath deliuered vs from the power of darkenesse, and hath translated vs into the kingdome of his deare Sonne, 14 In whome we haue redemption through his blood, that is, the forgiuenesse of sinnes, 15 Who is the image of the inuisible God, the first begotten of euery creature. 16 For by him were all things created, which are in heauen, and which are in earth, thinges visible and inuisible: whether they be Thrones or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers, all things were created by him, and for him, 17 And hee is before all things, and in him all things consist. 18 And hee is the head of the body of the Church: he is the beginning, and the first begotten of the dead, that in all thinges hee might haue the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father, that in him should all fulnesse dwell, 20 And through peace made by that blood of that his crosse, to reconcile to himselfe through him, through him, I say, all thinges, both which are in earth, and which are in heauen. 21 And you which were in times past strangers and enemies, because your mindes were set in euill workes, hath he nowe also reconciled, 22 In that body of his flesh through death, to make you holy, and vnblameable and without fault in his sight, 23 If ye continue, grounded and stablished in the faith, and be not moued away from the hope of the Gospel, whereof ye haue heard, and which hath bene preached to euery creature which is vnder heauen, whereof I Paul am a minister. 24 Now reioyce I in my suffrings for you, and fulfill the rest of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his bodies sake, which is the Church, 25 Whereof I am a minister, according to the dispensation of God, which is giuen mee vnto you ward, to fulfill the word of God, 26 Which is the mysterie hid since the world began, and from all ages, but nowe is made manifest to his Saintes, 27 To whome God woulde make knowen what is the riches of his glorious mysterie among the Gentiles, which riches is Christ in you, the hope of glory, 28 Whome we preache, admonishing euery man, and teaching euery man in all wisdome, that we may present euery man perfect in Christ Iesus, 29 Whereunto I also labour and striue, according to his working which worketh in me mightily.
1 From Paul, who by God's will is an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy—
2 To God's people in Colossae, who are our faithful friends in union with Christ:
May God our Father give you grace and peace.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
3 We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all God's people. 5 When the true message, the Good News, first came to you, you heard about the hope it offers. So your faith and love are based on what you hope for, which is kept safe for you in heaven. 6 The gospel keeps bringing blessings and is spreading throughout the world, just as it has among you ever since the day you first heard about the grace of God and came to know it as it really is. 7 You learned of God's grace from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is Christ's faithful worker on our behalf. 8 He has told us of the love that the Spirit has given you.
9 For this reason we have always prayed for you, ever since we heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, with all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives. 10 Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge of God. 11-12 May you be made strong with all the strength which comes from his glorious power, so that you may be able to endure everything with patience. And with joy give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to have your share of what God has reserved for his people in the kingdom of light. 13 He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son, 14 by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.
The Person and Work of Christ
15 Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. 16 For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. 17 Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. 18 He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body's life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things. 19 For it was by God's own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature of God. 20 Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.
21 At one time you were far away from God and were his enemies because of the evil things you did and thought. 22 But now, by means of the physical death of his Son, God has made you his friends, in order to bring you, holy, pure, and faultless, into his presence. 23 You must, of course, continue faithful on a firm and sure foundation, and must not allow yourselves to be shaken from the hope you gained when you heard the gospel. It is of this gospel that I, Paul, became a servant—this gospel which has been preached to everybody in the world.
Paul's Work as a Servant of the Church
24 And now I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to complete what still remains of Christ's sufferings on behalf of his body, the church. 25 And I have been made a servant of the church by God, who gave me this task to perform for your good. It is the task of fully proclaiming his message, 26 which is the secret he hid through all past ages from all human beings but has now revealed to his people. 27 God's plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God. 28 So we preach Christ to everyone. With all possible wisdom we warn and teach them in order to bring each one into God's presence as a mature individual in union with Christ. 29 To get this done I toil and struggle, using the mighty strength which Christ supplies and which is at work in me.