Colossians 1:1-12

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will,^(A) and Timothy^(B) our^[a] brother:

² To the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.^[b]

Thanksgiving

³ We always thank 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 the love you have for all the saints ⁵ because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth,^(C) the gospel ⁶ that has come to you. It is bearing fruit^(D) and growing all over the world,^(E) just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God’s grace^(F) in the truth.^{[c](G) 7} You learned this from Epaphras,^(H) our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah^(I) on your^[d] behalf, ⁸ and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.^(J)

Prayer for Spiritual Growth

⁹ For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking^(K) that you may be filled with the knowledge^(L) of His will^(M) in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,^{[e] 10} so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work^(N) and growing in the knowledge of God.^{(O) 11} May you be strengthened^(P) with all power,^(Q) according to His glorious^(R) might, for all endurance and patience, with joy ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you^[f] to share in the saints’^[g] inheritance in the light.^(S)