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Colossians 1
New International Version

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

2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters[a] in Christ:

Grace(D) and peace to you from God our Father.[b](E)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 We always thank God,(F) the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love(G) you have for all God’s people(H)— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope(I) stored up for you in heaven(J) and about which you have already heard in the true message(K) of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit(L) and growing throughout the whole world(M)—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras,(N) our dear fellow servant,[c] who is a faithful minister(O) of Christ on our[d] behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.(P)

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you,(Q) we have not stopped praying for you.(R) We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will(S) through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[e](T) 10 so that you may live a life worthy(U) of the Lord and please him(V) in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,(W) 11 being strengthened with all power(X) according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,(Y) 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father,(Z) who has qualified you[f] to share in the inheritance(AA) of his holy people in the kingdom of light.(AB) 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness(AC) and brought us into the kingdom(AD) of the Son he loves,(AE) 14 in whom we have redemption,(AF) the forgiveness of sins.(AG)

The Supremacy of the Son of God

15 The Son is the image(AH) of the invisible God,(AI) the firstborn(AJ) over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created:(AK) things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;(AL) all things have been created through him and for him.(AM) 17 He is before all things,(AN) and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head(AO) of the body, the church;(AP) he is the beginning and the firstborn(AQ) from among the dead,(AR) so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased(AS) to have all his fullness(AT) dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile(AU) to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,(AV) by making peace(AW) through his blood,(AX) shed on the cross.

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies(AY) in your minds(AZ) because of[g] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled(BA) you by Christ’s physical body(BB) through death to present you(BC) holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation(BD)— 23 if you continue(BE) in your faith, established(BF) and firm, and do not move from the hope(BG) held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven,(BH) and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.(BI)

Paul’s Labor for the Church

24 Now I rejoice(BJ) in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions,(BK) for the sake of his body, which is the church.(BL) 25 I have become its servant(BM) by the commission God gave me(BN) to present to you the word of God(BO) in its fullness— 26 the mystery(BP) 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(BQ) among the Gentiles the glorious riches(BR) of this mystery, which is Christ in you,(BS) the hope of glory.

28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing(BT) and teaching everyone with all wisdom,(BU) so that we may present everyone fully mature(BV) in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously(BW) contend(BX) with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.(BY)

Footnotes

  1. Colossians 1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 4:15.
  2. Colossians 1:2 Some manuscripts Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
  3. Colossians 1:7 Or slave
  4. Colossians 1:7 Some manuscripts your
  5. Colossians 1:9 Or all spiritual wisdom and understanding
  6. Colossians 1:12 Some manuscripts us
  7. Colossians 1:21 Or minds, as shown by
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歌罗西书 1
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)

1 我是奉上帝旨意做基督耶稣使徒的保罗， 2 和提摩太弟兄写信给歌罗西的圣徒，就是忠于基督的弟兄姊妹。

愿我们的父上帝赐给你们恩典和平安！

感恩与祷告

3-4 我们听说了你们对基督耶稣的信心和对众圣徒的爱心，为你们祷告的时候，常常感谢我们主耶稣基督的父上帝。 5 你们能有这样的信心和爱心是因为那给你们存在天上的盼望，就是你们从前从福音真道中听到的盼望。 6 这福音不但传到了你们那里，也传到了世界各地，并且开花结果，信主的人数不断增长，正如你们当初听了福音，因为明白真理而认识上帝的恩典后的情形。 7 这福音是你们从我们亲爱的同工以巴弗那里得知的。他代表我们[a]做基督的忠仆， 8 并把圣灵赐给你们的爱心告诉了我们。

9 因此，从听到你们的消息那天起，我们便不断地为你们祷告，求上帝使你们在一切属灵的智慧和悟性上完全明白祂的旨意， 10 以便你们行事为人对得起主，凡事蒙祂喜悦，在一切良善的事上结出果实，对上帝的认识不断增加。 11 愿上帝以祂荣耀的权能使你们刚强，无论遇到什么事都能长久忍耐， 12 欢喜地感谢天父，因祂使你们有资格跟众圣徒在光明中同享基业。 13 祂把我们从黑暗的权势下拯救出来，带进祂爱子的国度里。 14 我们借着祂的爱子蒙救赎，罪过得到赦免。

基督超越一切

15 基督是那不能看见之上帝的真像，超越[b]一切受造之物。 16 因为万物都是借着祂创造的，天上的、地上的、有形的、无形的、做王的、统治的、执政的、掌权的，一切都是借着祂也是为了祂而创造的。 17 祂存在于万物之前，万物都靠祂而维系。 18 祂是教会的头，教会是祂的身体；祂是源头，是首先从死里复活的，这样祂可以在一切事上居首位。 19 因为上帝乐意让一切的丰盛住在祂里面， 20 又借着祂在十字架上所流的血成就了和平，使天地万物借着祂与上帝和好。

21 你们从前与上帝隔绝，行事邪恶，心思意念与祂为敌； 22 但现在上帝借着基督肉身的死使你们与祂和好了，让你们在祂面前成为圣洁无瑕、无可指责的人。 23 只是你们必须恒心持守所信的道，根基稳固，坚定不移，不要失去你们听到福音后所得到的盼望。这福音传给了天下万民。我保罗也做了这福音的使者。

保罗为教会受苦

24 现在我因能够为你们受苦而欢喜，并且我是为基督的身体——教会的缘故，在自己身上补满基督未受的苦难。 25 我受上帝的委派成为教会的仆人，要把上帝的道完整地传给你们。 26 这道是历世历代一直隐藏的奥秘，现在已经向祂的众圣徒显明了。 27 上帝要他们知道这奥秘在外族人中有何等丰富的荣耀，这奥秘就是基督在你们里面，使你们有荣耀的盼望。 28 我们传扬基督，用各样的智慧劝诫、教导众人，使他们在基督里长大成熟，好把他们带到上帝面前。 29 为此，我按着祂在我身上运行的大能尽心竭力，不辞劳苦。

Footnotes

  1. 1:7 “我们”有古卷作“你们”。
  2. 1:15 “超越”或译“先存于”，希腊文是“长子”，常用来指地位上的优越或时间上的优先。
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Colossians 1
The Voice

1 Paul, an emissary[a] of Jesus the Anointed serving at God’s pleasure, along with our brother Timothy 2 to you, dear holy and faithful brothers and sisters in the family of the Anointed who live in Colossae. May grace and peace from God our Father [and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One][b] envelop you.

3 As always, we’ve been praying for you, thanking God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, 4 ever since we heard of your faith in Jesus the Anointed and your love for His holy ones— 5 a faith and love that emerge from the hope you have heard about in the word of truth—the gospel—the very hope that awaits you in heaven. 6-7 The same gospel that was brought to you is growing and bearing fruit all over the world, just as it has been growing among you since the day you heard and took in the truth of God’s grace from our beloved fellow servant Epaphras. (He is a faithful minister of the Anointed on our[c] behalf.) 8 He was the one who told us how you demonstrate your love in the power of the Spirit. 9 Since the day we got this good news about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We ask:

This is a prayer for knowledge and insight that only can come from God.

Father, may they clearly know Your will and achieve the height and depth of spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 May their lives be a credit to You, Lord; and what’s more, may they continue to delight You by doing every good work and growing in the true knowledge that comes from being close to You. 11 Strengthen them with Your infinite power, according to Your glorious might, so that they will have everything they need to hold on and endure hardship patiently and joyfully. 12 Thank You, Father, as You have made us[d] eligible to receive our portion of the inheritance given to all those set apart by the light. 13 You have rescued us from dark powers and brought us safely into the kingdom of Your Son, whom You love 14 and in whom we are redeemed and forgiven of our sins [through His blood].[e]

15 He is the exact image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation, the eternal. 16 It was by Him that everything was created: the heavens, the earth, all things within and upon them, all things seen and unseen, thrones and dominions, spiritual powers and authorities. Every detail was crafted through His design, by His own hands, and for His purposes. 17 He has always been! It is His hand that holds everything together. 18 He is the head of this body, the church. He is the beginning, the first of those to be reborn from the dead, so that in every aspect, at every view, in everything—He is first. 19 God was pleased that all His fullness should forever dwell in the Son 20 who, as predetermined by God, bled peace into the world by His death on the cross as God’s means of reconciling to Himself the whole creation—all things in heaven and all things on earth.

As Paul gives thanks to God—a normal thing to do in a letter—he remembers a hymn he heard in the churches. The Colossian hymn (verses 15–20), as we call it, is all about Jesus. It celebrates His reign, first as the Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos and second as the head of the church and the One who reconciles every broken thing to God by what He accomplished on the cross. In this hymn, the story of redemption is a witness to God’s love. Paul wants the Colossians to understand who they are; but to do that, they must first know to whom they belong.

21 You were once at odds with God, wicked in your ways and evil in your minds; 22 but now He has reconciled you in His body—in His flesh through His death—so that He can present you to God holy, blameless, and totally free of imperfection 23 as long as you stay planted in the faith. So don’t venture away from what you have heard and taken to heart: the living hope of the good news that has been announced to all creation under heaven and has captured me, Paul, as its servant.

24 Now I rejoice in what I’ve suffered on your behalf, but even more suffering is ahead for me as I take on and complete what remains of the Anointed’s suffering for the sake of His body, the church. 25 I am a servant appointed by God to preach the Word of God until it is known to you and all over—what I am talking about is nothing less than 26 the mystery of the ages! What was hidden for ages, generations and generations, is now being revealed to His holy ones. 27 He decided to make known to them His blessing to the nations; the glorious riches of this mystery is the indwelling of the Anointed in you! The very hope of glory.

28 We are preaching Him—spreading the Word to all with equal amounts of wise warning and instruction—so that, at the final judgment, we will be able to present everyone to the Creator fully mature because of what Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, has done. 29 This is why I continue to toil and struggle—because His amazing power and energy surge within me.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Literally, apostle
  2. 1:2 Some manuscripts omit this portion.
  3. 1:6-7 Some manuscripts read “your.”
  4. 1:12 Other manuscripts read “you.”
  5. 1:14 Early manuscripts omit this portion.
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Colossians 1
New King James Version

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.

Reconciled in Christ

19 For it pleased the Father that (AM)in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and (AN)by Him to reconcile (AO)all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, (AP)having made peace through the blood of His cross.

21 And you, (AQ)who once were alienated and enemies in your mind (AR)by wicked works, yet now He has (AS)reconciled 22 (AT)in the body of His flesh through death, (AU)to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue (AV)in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are (AW)not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, (AX)which was preached to every creature under heaven, (AY)of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Sacrificial Service for Christ

24 (AZ)I now rejoice in my sufferings (BA)for you, and fill up in my flesh (BB)what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for (BC)the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to (BD)the [g]stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 (BE)the [h]mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, (BF)but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 (BG)To them God willed to make known what are (BH)the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: [i]which is (BI)Christ in you, (BJ)the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, (BK)warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, (BL)that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me (BM)mightily.

Footnotes

  1. Colossians 1:2 NU omits and the Lord Jesus Christ
  2. Colossians 1:6 NU, M add and growing
  3. Colossians 1:13 transferred
  4. Colossians 1:14 NU, M omit through His blood
  5. Colossians 1:16 rulers
  6. Colossians 1:16 authorities
  7. Colossians 1:25 dispensation or administration
  8. Colossians 1:26 secret or hidden truth
  9. Colossians 1:27 M who
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