Paul's Ministry to the Church

24 Now (A)I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh (B)I am filling up (C)what is lacking in Christ's afflictions (D)for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 (E)of which I became a minister according to (F)the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 (G)the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 (H)To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are (I)the riches of the glory of (J)this mystery, which is Christ in you, (K)the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that (L)we may present everyone (M)mature in Christ. 29 For this (N)I toil, (O)struggling (P)with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

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24 (A)Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh (B)I [a]do my share on behalf of (C)His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking [b]in Christ’s afflictions. 25 (D)Of this church I [c]was made a minister according to the (E)stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might [d]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, (F)the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His [e]saints, 27 to whom (G)God willed to make known what is (H)the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is (I)Christ in you, the (J)hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, (K)admonishing every man and teaching every man [f]with all (L)wisdom, so that we may (M)present every man [g](N)complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I (O)labor, (P)striving (Q)according to His [h]power, which [i]mightily works within me.

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Footnotes

  1. Colossians 1:24 Or representatively...fill up
  2. Colossians 1:24 Lit of
  3. Colossians 1:25 Lit became
  4. Colossians 1:25 Lit make full the word of God
  5. Colossians 1:26 Or holy ones
  6. Colossians 1:28 Lit in
  7. Colossians 1:28 Or perfect
  8. Colossians 1:29 Lit working
  9. Colossians 1:29 Lit in power

Paul’s Labor for the Church

24 Now I rejoice(A) in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions,(B) for the sake of his body, which is the church.(C) 25 I have become its servant(D) by the commission God gave me(E) to present to you the word of God(F) in its fullness— 26 the mystery(G) that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known(H) among the Gentiles the glorious riches(I) of this mystery, which is Christ in you,(J) the hope of glory.

28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing(K) and teaching everyone with all wisdom,(L) so that we may present everyone fully mature(M) in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously(N) contend(O) with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.(P)

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Paul’s Work for the Church

24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect[a] in their relationship to Christ. 29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:28 Or mature.

14 And (A)the Word (B)became flesh and (C)dwelt among us, (D)and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[a] from the Father, full of (E)grace and (F)truth.

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:14 Or only One, or unique One

The Word Made Flesh

14 And (A)the Word (B)became flesh, and [a](C)dwelt among us, and (D)we saw His glory, glory as of [b]the only begotten from the Father, full of (E)grace and (F)truth.

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:14 Or tabernacled; i.e. lived temporarily
  2. John 1:14 Or unique, only one of His kind

14 The Word became flesh(A) and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,(B) the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace(C) and truth.(D)

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14 So the Word became human[a] and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.[b] And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:14a Greek became flesh.
  2. 1:14b Or grace and truth; also in 1:17.

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together (A)for good,[a] for (B)those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he (C)foreknew he also (D)predestined (E)to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be (F)the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also (G)justified, and those whom he justified he also (H)glorified.

God's Everlasting Love

31 What then shall we say to these things? (I)If God is for us, who can be[b] against us?

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 8:28 Some manuscripts God works all things together for good, or God works in all things for the good
  2. Romans 8:31 Or who is

28 And we know that [a]God causes (A)all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are (B)called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He (C)foreknew, He also (D)predestined to become (E)conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the (F)firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He (G)predestined, He also (H)called; and these whom He called, He also (I)justified; and these whom He justified, He also (J)glorified.

31 (K)What then shall we say to these things? (L)If God is for us, who is against us?

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 8:28 One early ms reads all things work together for good

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good(A) of those who love him, who[a] have been called(B) according to his purpose.(C) 29 For those God foreknew(D) he also predestined(E) to be conformed to the image of his Son,(F) that he might be the firstborn(G) among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined,(H) he also called;(I) those he called, he also justified;(J) those he justified, he also glorified.(K)

More Than Conquerors

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things?(L) If God is for us,(M) who can be against us?(N)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 8:28 Or that all things work together for good to those who love God, who; or that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who

28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn[b] among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

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Footnotes

  1. 8:28 Some manuscripts read And we know that everything works together.
  2. 8:29 Or would be supreme.

For God, who said, (A)“Let light shine out of darkness,” (B)has shone in our hearts to give (C)the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

But we have this treasure in (D)jars of clay, (E)to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

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For God, who said, “(A)Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has (B)shone in our hearts to give the (C)Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in (D)earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of (E)the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

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For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a](A) made his light shine in our hearts(B) to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.(C)

But we have this treasure in jars of clay(D) to show that this all-surpassing power is from God(E) and not from us.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 4:6 Gen. 1:3

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[a] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:7 Greek We now have this treasure in clay jars.

16 So we do not lose heart. (A)Though our outer self[a] is wasting away, (B)our inner self (C)is being renewed day by day. 17 For (D)this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 (E)as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 4:16 Greek man

16 Therefore we (A)do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our (B)inner man is (C)being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, (D)light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we (E)look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

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16 Therefore we do not lose heart.(A) Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly(B) we are being renewed(C) day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.(D) 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,(E) since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

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16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[a] being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:16 Greek our inner being is.

10 And (A)after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, (B)who has called you to his (C)eternal glory in Christ, will himself (D)restore, (E)confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

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10 After you have suffered (A)for a little while, the (B)God of all grace, who (C)called you to His (D)eternal glory in Christ, will Himself (E)perfect, (F)confirm, strengthen and establish you.

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10 And the God of all grace, who called you(A) to his eternal glory(B) in Christ, after you have suffered a little while,(C) will himself restore you and make you strong,(D) firm and steadfast.

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10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

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