Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

² To the saints ^(B)and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse:

^(C)Grace to you and peace from God our Father ^[a]and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Their Faith in Christ

^3 (D)We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ^4 (E)since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of ^(F)your love for all the saints; ⁵ because of the hope ^(G)which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, ^(H)as it has also in all the world, and ^(I)is bringing forth ^[b]fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew ^(J)the grace of God in truth; ⁷ as you also learned from ^(K)Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is ^(L)a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, ⁸ who also declared to us your ^(M)love in the Spirit.

Preeminence of Christ

^9 (N)For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask ^(O)that you may be filled with ^(P)the knowledge of His will ^(Q)in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ^10 (R)that you may walk worthy of the Lord, ^(S)fully pleasing Him, ^(T)being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the ^(U)knowledge of God; ^11 (V)strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, ^(W)for all patience and longsuffering ^(X)with joy; ^12 (Y)giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of ^(Z)the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has delivered us from ^(AA)the power of darkness ^(AB)and ^[c]conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ^14 (AC)in whom we have redemption ^[d]through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵ He is ^(AD)the image of the invisible God, ^(AE)the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For ^(AF)by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or ^(AG)dominions or ^[e]principalities or ^[f]powers. All things were created ^(AH)through Him and for Him. ^17 (AI)And He is before all things, and in Him ^(AJ)all things consist. ¹⁸ And ^(AK)He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, ^(AL)the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

^12 (A)Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always ^(B)laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand ^(C)perfect and ^[a]complete in all the will of God.

²³ if indeed you continue ^(A)in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are ^(B)not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, ^(C)which was preached to every creature under heaven, ^(D)of which I, Paul, became a minister.

^27 (A)To them God willed to make known what are ^(B)the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: ^[a]which is ^(C)Christ in you, ^(D)the hope of glory.

¹³ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

³ remembering without ceasing ^(A)your work of faith, ^(B)labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,

⁸ But let us who are of the day be sober, ^(A)putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

By Faith We Understand

11 Now faith is the ^[a]substance of things hoped for, the ^[b]evidence ^(A)of things not seen.

^9 (A)He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. ^10 (B)He who loves his brother abides in the light, and ^(C)there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹ But he who ^(D)hates his brother is in darkness and ^(E)walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.