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Colossians 1
New American Standard Bible

Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments

1 (A)Paul, (B)an apostle of Christ Jesus [a](C)by the will of God, and (D)Timothy [b]our brother,

2 To the [c](E)saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who are at Colossae: (F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3 (G)We [d]give thanks to God, (H)the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 (I)since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the (J)love which you have [e]for (K)all the [f]saints; 5 because of the (L)hope (M)reserved for you in [g]heaven, of which you previously (N)heard in the word of truth, [h]the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as [i](O)in all the world also it is bearing (P)fruit and [j]increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you (Q)heard it and [k]understood the grace of God in truth; 7 just as you learned it from (R)Epaphras, our (S)beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also informed us of your (T)love in the Spirit.

9 For this reason we also, (U)since the day we heard about it, (V)have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the [l](W)knowledge of His will in all spiritual (X)wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will (Y)walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, [m](Z)to please Him in all respects, (AA)bearing fruit in every good work and [n]increasing in the [o]knowledge of God; 11 (AB)strengthened with all power, according to [p]His glorious might, [q]for the attaining of all perseverance and [r]patience; (AC)joyously 12 giving thanks to (AD)the Father, who has qualified us [s]to share in (AE)the inheritance of the [t]saints in (AF)light.

The Incomparable Christ

13 [u]For He rescued us from the [v](AG)domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of [w](AH)His beloved Son, 14 (AI)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 [x]He is the (AJ)image of the (AK)invisible God, the (AL)firstborn of all creation: 16 for [y](AM)by Him all things were created, (AN)both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether (AO)thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—(AP)all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He [z](AQ)is before all things, and in Him all things [aa]hold together. 18 He is also the (AR)head of (AS)the body, the church; and He is (AT)the beginning, (AU)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For [ab]it was (AV)the Father’s good pleasure for all (AW)the [ac]fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to (AX)reconcile all things to Himself, (AY)whether things on earth or things in [ad]heaven, having made (AZ)peace through (BA)the blood of His cross.

21 And although you were (BB)previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now (BC)reconciled you in His (BD)body of flesh through death, in order to (BE)present you before Him (BF)holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23 if indeed you continue in [ae]the faith firmly (BG)established and steadfast, and not shifting from the (BH)hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed (BI)in all creation under heaven, (BJ)and of which I, Paul, [af]was made a [ag](BK)minister.

24 (BL)Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh (BM)I am supplementing what is lacking [ah]in Christ’s afflictions in behalf of (BN)His body, which is the church. 25 (BO)I [ai]was made a minister of this church according to the (BP)commission from God granted to me for your benefit, so that I might [aj]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, (BQ)the mystery which had been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His [ak]saints, 27 to whom (BR)God willed to make known what (BS)the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is (BT)Christ in you, the (BU)hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, (BV)admonishing every person and teaching every person [al]with all (BW)wisdom, so that we may (BX)present every person [am](BY)complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose I also (BZ)labor, (CA)striving (CB)according to His [an]power which [ao]works mightily within me.

Footnotes

  1. Colossians 1:1 Lit through
  2. Colossians 1:1 Lit the
  3. Colossians 1:2 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
  4. Colossians 1:3 Or always give...praying for you
  5. Colossians 1:4 Or toward
  6. Colossians 1:4 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
  7. Colossians 1:5 Lit the heavens
  8. Colossians 1:5 Or of the gospel
  9. Colossians 1:6 Or it is in all the world also, bearing
  10. Colossians 1:6 Or spreading abroad
  11. Colossians 1:6 Or came to fully know
  12. Colossians 1:9 Or real knowledge
  13. Colossians 1:10 Lit unto all pleasing
  14. Colossians 1:10 Or growing by the knowledge
  15. Colossians 1:10 Or real knowledge
  16. Colossians 1:11 Lit the might of His glory
  17. Colossians 1:11 Lit unto all
  18. Colossians 1:11 Or patience with joy
  19. Colossians 1:12 Lit unto the portion of
  20. Colossians 1:12 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
  21. Colossians 1:13 Lit Who rescued
  22. Colossians 1:13 Lit authority
  23. Colossians 1:13 Lit the Son of His love
  24. Colossians 1:15 Lit Who is
  25. Colossians 1:16 Or in
  26. Colossians 1:17 Or has existed prior to
  27. Colossians 1:17 Or endure
  28. Colossians 1:19 Or all the fullness was pleased to dwell
  29. Colossians 1:19 I.e., fullness of deity
  30. Colossians 1:20 Lit the heavens
  31. Colossians 1:23 Or in faith
  32. Colossians 1:23 Lit became
  33. Colossians 1:23 Or servant
  34. Colossians 1:24 Lit of
  35. Colossians 1:25 Lit became
  36. Colossians 1:25 Lit make full the word of God
  37. Colossians 1:26 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
  38. Colossians 1:28 Lit in
  39. Colossians 1:28 Or perfect
  40. Colossians 1:29 Lit working
  41. Colossians 1:29 Lit in power
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Colossians 1
Living Bible

1 From: Paul, chosen by God to be Jesus Christ’s messenger, and from Brother Timothy.

2 To: The faithful Christian brothers—God’s people—in the city of Colosse.

May God our Father shower you with blessings and fill you with his great peace.

3 Whenever we pray for you, we always begin by giving thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 for we have heard how much you trust the Lord, and how much you love his people. 5 And you are looking forward to the joys of heaven, and have been ever since the Gospel first was preached to you. 6 The same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world and changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard it and understood about God’s great kindness to sinners.

7 Epaphras, our much-loved fellow worker, was the one who brought you this Good News. He is Jesus Christ’s faithful slave, here to help us in your place. 8 And he is the one who has told us about the great love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.

9 So ever since we first heard about you we have kept on praying and asking God to help you understand what he wants you to do; asking him to make you wise about spiritual things; 10 and asking that the way you live will always please the Lord and honor him, so that you will always be doing good, kind things for others, while all the time you are learning to know God better and better.

11 We are praying, too, that you will be filled with his mighty, glorious strength so that you can keep going no matter what happens—always full of the joy of the Lord, 12 and always thankful to the Father who has made us fit to share all the wonderful things that belong to those who live in the Kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us out of the darkness and gloom of Satan’s kingdom and brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who bought our freedom with his blood and forgave us all our sins.

15 Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all,[a] and, in fact, 16 Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory. 17 He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together. 18 He is the Head of the body made up of his people—that is, his Church—which he began; and he is the Leader of all those who arise from the dead,[b] so that he is first in everything; 19 for God wanted all of himself to be in his Son.

20 It was through what his Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to him—all things in heaven and on earth—for Christ’s death on the cross has made peace with God for all by his blood. 21 This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies and hated him and were separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. 22 He has done this through the death on the cross of his own human body, and now as a result Christ has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are standing there before him with nothing left against you—nothing left that he could even chide you for; 23 the only condition is that you fully believe the Truth, standing in it steadfast and firm, strong in the Lord, convinced of the Good News that Jesus died for you, and never shifting from trusting him to save you. This is the wonderful news that came to each of you and is now spreading all over the world. And I, Paul, have the joy of telling it to others.

24 But part of my work is to suffer for you; and I am glad, for I am helping to finish up the remainder of Christ’s sufferings for his body, the Church.

25 God has sent me to help his Church and to tell his secret plan to you Gentiles. 26-27 He has kept this secret for centuries and generations past, but now at last it has pleased him to tell it to those who love him and live for him, and the riches and glory of his plan are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ in your hearts is your only hope of glory.

28 So everywhere we go we talk about Christ to all who will listen, warning them and teaching them as well as we know how. We want to be able to present each one to God, perfect because of what Christ has done for each of them. 29 This is my work, and I can do it only because Christ’s mighty energy is at work within me.

Footnotes

  1. Colossians 1:15 He existed before God made anything at all, literally, “He is the firstborn of all creation.”
  2. Colossians 1:18 he is the Leader of all those who arise from the dead, literally, “he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.”
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Philippians 4
Colossians 2
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New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.