Colossians 1-2

New American Standard Bible 1995

Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments

1 ^(A)Paul, ^(B)an apostle of Jesus Christ ^[a](C)by the will of God, and ^(D)Timothy ^[b]our brother,

² To the ^[c](E)saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: ^(F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

^3 (G)We give thanks to God, ^(H)the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ^4 (I)since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the ^(J)love which you have ^[d]for ^(K)all the ^[e]saints; ⁵ because of the ^(L)hope ^(M)laid up for you in ^[f]heaven, of which you previously ^(N)heard in the word of truth, ^[g]the gospel ⁶ which has come to you, just as ^[h](O)in all the world also it is constantly bearing ^(P)fruit and ^[i]increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you ^(Q)heard of it and ^[j]understood the grace of God in truth; ⁷ just as you learned it from ^(R)Epaphras, our ^(S)beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ and he also informed us of your ^(T)love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason also, ^(U)since the day we heard of it, ^(V)we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the ^[k](W)knowledge of His will in all spiritual ^(X)wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you will ^(Y)walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^[l](Z)to please Him in all respects, ^(AA)bearing fruit in every good work and ^[m]increasing in the ^[n]knowledge of God; ^11 (AB)strengthened with all power, according to ^[o]His glorious might, ^[p]for the attaining of all steadfastness and ^[q]patience; ^(AC)joyously ¹² giving thanks to ^(AD)the Father, who has qualified us ^[r]to share in ^(AE)the inheritance of the ^[s]saints in ^(AF)Light.

The Incomparable Christ

^13 [t]For He rescued us from the ^[u](AG)domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of ^[v](AH)His beloved Son, ^14 (AI)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

^15 [w]He is the ^(AJ)image of the ^(AK)invisible God, the ^(AL)firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For ^[x](AM)by Him all things were created, ^(AN)both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^(AO)thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—^(AP)all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He ^[y](AQ)is before all things, and in Him all things ^[z]hold together. ¹⁸ He is also ^(AR)head of ^(AS)the body, the church; and He is ^(AT)the beginning, ^(AU)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For ^[aa]it was ^(AV)the Father’s good pleasure for all ^(AW)the ^[ab]fullness to dwell in Him, ²⁰ and through Him to ^(AX)reconcile all things to Himself, having made ^(AY)peace through ^(AZ)the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, ^(BA)whether things on earth or things in ^[ac]heaven.

²¹ And although you were ^(BB)formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, ²² yet He has now ^(BC)reconciled you in His fleshly ^(BD)body through death, in order to ^(BE)present you before Him ^(BF)holy and blameless and beyond reproach— ²³ if indeed you continue in ^[ad]the faith firmly ^(BG)established and steadfast, and not moved away from the ^(BH)hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed ^(BI)in all creation under heaven, ^(BJ)and of which I, Paul, ^[ae]was made a ^[af](BK)minister.

^24 (BL)Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh ^(BM)I ^[ag]do my share on behalf of ^(BN)His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking ^[ah]in Christ’s afflictions. ^25 (BO)Of this church I ^[ai]was made a minister according to the ^(BP)stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might ^[aj]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, ²⁶ that is, ^(BQ)the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His ^[ak]saints, ²⁷ to whom ^(BR)God willed to make known what is ^(BS)the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is ^(BT)Christ in you, the ^(BU)hope of glory. ²⁸ We proclaim Him, ^(BV)admonishing every man and teaching every man ^[al]with all ^(BW)wisdom, so that we may ^(BX)present every man ^[am](BY)complete in Christ. ²⁹ For this purpose also I ^(BZ)labor, ^(CA)striving ^(CB)according to His ^[an]power, which ^[ao]mightily works within me.

You Are Built Up in Christ

2 For I want you to know how great a ^(CC)struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at ^(CD)Laodicea, and for all those who have not ^[ap]personally seen my face, ² that their ^(CE)hearts may be encouraged, having been ^(CF)knit together in love, and attaining to all ^(CG)the wealth ^[aq]that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a ^(CH)true knowledge of ^(CI)God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, ³ in whom are hidden all ^(CJ)the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ^4 (CK)I say this so that no one will delude you with ^(CL)persuasive argument. ⁵ For even though I am ^(CM)absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing ^[ar]to see ^[as]your ^(CN)good discipline and the ^(CO)stability of your faith in Christ.

⁶ Therefore as you have received ^(CP)Christ Jesus the Lord, so ^[at](CQ)walk in Him, ⁷ having been firmly ^(CR)rooted and now being ^(CS)built up in Him and ^(CT)established ^[au]in your faith, just as you ^(CU)were instructed, and overflowing ^[av]with gratitude.

^8 (CV)See to it that no one takes you captive through ^(CW)philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the ^(CX)elementary principles of the world, ^[aw]rather than according to Christ. ⁹ For in Him all the ^(CY)fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been ^(CZ)made ^[ax]complete, and ^(DA)He is the head ^[ay]over all ^(DB)rule and authority; ¹¹ and in Him ^(DC)you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of ^(DD)the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; ¹² having been ^(DE)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also ^(DF)raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who ^(DG)raised Him from the dead. ¹³ When you were ^(DH)dead ^[az]in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He ^(DI)made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, ¹⁴ having canceled out ^(DJ)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and ^(DK)He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ When He had ^[ba](DL)disarmed the ^(DM)rulers and authorities, He ^(DN)made a public display of them, having ^(DO)triumphed over them through ^[bb]Him.

¹⁶ Therefore no one is to ^[bc](DP)act as your judge in regard to ^(DQ)food or ^(DR)drink or in respect to a ^(DS)festival or a ^(DT)new moon or a ^(DU)Sabbath ^[bd]day— ¹⁷ things which are ^(DV)a mere shadow of what is to come; but the ^[be]substance ^[bf]belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Let no one keep ^[bg](DW)defrauding you of your prize by ^(DX)delighting in ^[bh]self-abasement and the worship of the angels, ^[bi]taking his stand on visions he has seen, ^[bj](DY)inflated without cause by his ^(DZ)fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding fast to ^(EA)the head, from whom ^(EB)the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ^[bk]ligaments, grows with a growth ^[bl]which is from God.

^20 (EC)If you have died with Christ ^[bm]to the ^(ED)elementary principles of the world, ^(EE)why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to ^(EF)decrees, such as, ²¹ “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” ²² (which all refer ^(EG)to things destined to perish ^[bn]with use)—in accordance with the ^(EH)commandments and teachings of men? ²³ These are matters which have, to be sure, the ^[bo]appearance of wisdom in ^[bp](EI)self-made religion and self-abasement and ^(EJ)severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against ^(EK)fleshly indulgence.