Colossians 1
Christian Standard Bible
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will,(A) and Timothy(B) our brother:
2 To the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.[a]
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 word 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 came to truly appreciate(F) God’s grace.[b](G) 7 You learned this from Epaphras,(H) our dearly loved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ(I) on your[c] 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,[d] 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 being strengthened(P) with all power,(Q) according to his glorious(R) might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you[e] to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.(S) 13 He has rescued(T) us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom(U) of the Son(V) he loves.(W) 14 In him we have redemption,[f] the forgiveness of sins.
The Centrality of Christ
15 He is the image of the invisible God,(X)
the firstborn over all creation.(Y)
16 For everything was created by him,(Z)
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through him and for him.(AA)
17 He is before all things,(AB)
and by him all things(AC) hold together.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning,(AD)
the firstborn from the dead,(AE)
so that he might come to have
first place in everything.
19 For God was pleased to have
all his fullness(AF) dwell in him,(AG)
20 and through him to reconcile
everything to himself,
whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace(AH)
through his blood,(AI) shed on the cross.[g](AJ)
21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. 22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death,(AK) to present you holy, faultless,(AL) and blameless before him(AM)— 23 if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith(AN) and are not shifted away from the hope(AO) of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation(AP) under heaven,(AQ) and I, Paul,(AR) have become a servant of it.
Paul’s Ministry
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings(AS) for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for his body,(AT) that is, the church. 25 I have become its servant, according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ(AU) in you, the hope(AV) of glory. 28 We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 I labor for this, striving(AW) with his strength that works powerfully in me.(AX)
Colossians 1
Worldwide English (New Testament)
1 I am Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. God wanted me to be an apostle.
2 Timothy our brother, and I are writing this letter to God's people, the Christian brothers in the city of Colossae. May the kindness of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.
3 We give thanks to God. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we ask God to bless you, we always thank him for you.
4 We have heard that you believe in Christ Jesus and love all of God's people.
5 And also, you are looking ahead to what you will have in heaven. You have heard about it already when the good news was told to you.
6 That message has reached you. It is doing good and it is spreading everywhere in the world. It is doing the same among you. It began the day you heard and understood God's blessing, which came to you in a clear way.
7 Epaphras taught you the truth. He is Christ's servant, as we are also, and we love him. He is a good worker to help you.
8 Also, it is he who told us of your love in the Spirit.
9 That is why we keep on talking to God about you since the day we heard about you. We ask him that you may know everything he wants you to do. We ask him that you may be very wise and that the Spirit will help you to understand.
10 We ask him that you will live the way the Lord wants you to live, so that you will please him in everything you do. We ask that you will do everything that is good. We ask that you will see the fruit from what you do. We ask that you will know more and more about God.
11 God has wonderful power. And we ask him to give you all the strength you need to go through all your troubles, to be very patient in them, and to be happy.
12 Thank the Father who has made us ready to be with the people of God who live in his light.
13 He has set us free from the kingdom where it is dark. And he has put us into the kingdom where his dear Son rules.
14 Because of his Son, we are set free and the wrong things we have done are forgiven.
15 The Son is like God who cannot be seen. He was his Son before anything was made.
16 He made everything in the sky and on the earth. He made the things which can be seen and the things which cannot be seen. That means angels, kings, great powers, and rulers. They were all made by him and for him.
17 He himself was before all things. And he holds all things together.
18 He is also the head of the body which is the church [the people who believe in Jesus Christ]. He is the beginning, the first one to rise from death, so that he would be the first one in everything.
19 God wanted Christ to have everything in himself.
20 And God chose him to be the one who would bring all things back to himself. God made peace by the blood which Christ gave on his cross. He would bring back all things on earth and in heaven.
21 At one time you were far away from God. You hated him in your hearts and you did wrong things.
22 But now Christ himself has died on a cross, and he has brought you back to God. Christ will bring you before God holy, clean, and good.
23 But you must keep on believing and stand strong and true. Let nothing shake the hope which the good news brought you. You heard the same good news as is told to everyone in the whole world. I, Paul, was given the work of telling that same good news.
24 And now, even though I suffer for you, I am happy. There are still some things for Christ to suffer in his body, which is the church. So I am glad to take my share of his suffering in my body.
25 God gave me work to do for the church people so that you might know all of God's message.
26 This message is about the secret plan of God. People who lived in all the past times of the world did not know about this plan. But now it has been told to God's people.
27 He wanted them to know that his plan is very great and wonderful for those who are not Jews. And this plan is that Christ is in you! He is your hope for all the wonderful things that are to come.
28 We tell about him. We tell everyone to be careful to live in the right way. We teach everyone all he needs to know. We do this so that we can bring everyone before God and he will be grown up in the things of Christ.
29 And I am working for this with all the strength that God gives me.
Colossians 1
American Standard Version
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy [a]our brother, 2 [b]to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ that are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
3 We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have toward all the saints, 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the [c]gospel, 6 which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 even as ye learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on [d]our behalf, 8 who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 to walk worthily of the Lord [e]unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing [f]in the knowledge of God; 11 [g]strengthened [h]with all power, according to the might of his glory, unto all [i]patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks unto the Father, who made [j]us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; 13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love; 14 in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins: 15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him; 17 and he is before all things, and in him all things [k]consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; [l]that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 [m]For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him should all the fulness dwell; 20 and through him to reconcile all things [n]unto [o]himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens. 21 And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, 22 yet now [p]hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him: 23 if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the [q]gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church; 25 whereof I was made a minister, according to the [r]dispensation of God which was given me to you-ward, to fulfil the word of God, 26 even the mystery which hath been hid [s]for ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to his saints, 27 to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28 whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ; 29 whereunto I labor also, striving according to his working, which worketh in me [t]mightily.
Footnotes
- Colossians 1:1 Greek the brother.
- Colossians 1:2 Or, to those that are at Colossae, holy and faithful brethren in Christ
- Colossians 1:5 Greek good tidings: and so elsewhere. See marginal note on Mt. 4:23.
- Colossians 1:7 Many ancient authorities read your.
- Colossians 1:10 Or, unto all pleasing, in every good work, bearing fruit and increasing etc.
- Colossians 1:10 Or, by
- Colossians 1:11 Greek made powerful.
- Colossians 1:11 Or, in
- Colossians 1:11 Or, stedfastness
- Colossians 1:12 Some ancient authorities read you.
- Colossians 1:17 That is, hold together.
- Colossians 1:18 Or, that among all he might have etc.
- Colossians 1:19 Or, For the whole fulness of God was pleased to dwell in him
- Colossians 1:20 Or, into him
- Colossians 1:20 Or, him
- Colossians 1:22 Some ancient authorities read ye have been reconciled.
- Colossians 1:23 Greek good tidings. See verse 1.
- Colossians 1:25 Or, stewardship. See 1 Cor. 9:17.
- Colossians 1:26 Or, from all ages etc. Greek from the ages and from the generations.
- Colossians 1:29 Or, in power
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