² To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those ^(A)sanctified in Christ Jesus, ^(B)called to be saints together with all those who in every place ^(C)call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

^3 (D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

⁴ I ^(E)give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in every way ^(F)you were enriched in him in all ^(G)speech and all knowledge— ⁶ even as ^(H)the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you ^(I)wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^8 (J)who will sustain you to the end, ^(K)guiltless ^(L)in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^9 (M)God is faithful, by whom you were called into the ^(N)fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

^3 (A)I thank my God ^(B)in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ^5 (C)because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began ^(D)a good work in you ^(E)will bring it to completion at ^(F)the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you ^(G)in my heart, for you are all ^(H)partakers with me of grace,^[a] both ^(I)in my imprisonment and in ^(J)the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸ For ^(K)God is my witness, ^(L)how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And it is my prayer that ^(M)your love may abound more and more, ^(N)with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, ^(O)and so be pure and blameless ^(P)for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled ^(Q)with the fruit of righteousness that comes ^(R)through Jesus Christ, ^(S)to the glory and praise of God.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

^3 (A)We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of ^(B)your faith in Christ Jesus and of ^(C)the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of ^(D)the hope ^(E)laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in ^(F)the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, as indeed ^(G)in the whole world it is ^(H)bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you ^(I)heard it and understood ^(J)the grace of God in truth, ⁷ just as you learned it from ^(K)Epaphras our beloved ^(L)fellow servant.^[a] He is ^(M)a faithful minister of Christ on your^[b] behalf ⁸ and has made known to us your ^(N)love in the Spirit.

⁹ And so, ^(O)from the day we heard, ^(P)we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that ^(Q)you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all ^(R)spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as ^(S)to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^(T)fully pleasing to him: ^(U)bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ^11 (V)being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for ^(W)all endurance and patience ^(X)with joy; ^12 (Y)giving thanks^[c] to the Father, who has qualified you^[d] to share in ^(Z)the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He ^(AA)has delivered us from ^(AB)the domain of darkness and transferred us to ^(AC)the kingdom of ^(AD)his beloved Son, ^14 (AE)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ

^15 (AF)He is the image of ^(AG)the invisible God, ^(AH)the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by^[e] him all things were created, ^(AI)in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^(AJ)thrones or ^(AK)dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created ^(AL)through him and for him. ¹⁷ And ^(AM)he is before all things, and in him all things ^(AN)hold together. ¹⁸ And ^(AO)he is the head of the body, the church. He is ^(AP)the beginning, ^(AQ)the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For ^(AR)in him all the ^(AS)fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and ^(AT)through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, ^(AU)making peace ^(AV)by the blood of his cross.

^21 (AW)And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, ^(AX)doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled ^(AY)in his body of flesh by his death, ^(AZ)in order to present you holy and blameless and ^(BA)above reproach before him, ^23 (BB)if indeed you continue in the faith, ^(BC)stable and steadfast, not shifting from ^(BD)the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed ^(BE)in all creation^[f] under heaven, ^(BF)and of which I, Paul, became a minister.