Colossians 1

1 This letter comes from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the will of God, and from our brother Timothy.

Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus, by God's will, and Timotheus the brother,

2 To the believers and trusting Christians at Colossae: may you have grace and peace from God our Father.

to the holy and faithful brethren in Christ which [are] in Colosse. Grace to you and peace from God our Father [and Lord Jesus Christ].

3 We are always thankful to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for you, and pray for you.

We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ continually [when] praying for you,

4 We've heard about your trust in Christ Jesus and your love for all the believers

having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love which ye have towards all the saints,

5 because of the hope prepared for you in heaven. You already heard about this in the good news, the message of truth

on account of the hope which [is] laid up for you in the heavens; of which ye heard before in the word of the truth of the glad tidings,

6 that came to you just as it has gone throughout the whole world, spreading widely and bringing results. It's done the same for you too, ever since you heard it and realized the true nature of God's grace.

which are come to you, as [they are] in all the world, [and] are bearing fruit and growing, even as also among you, from the day ye heard [them] and knew indeed the grace of God, in truth:

7 Our dear friend and fellow-worker Epaphras, who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on our behalf, taught you about this.

even as ye learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow-bondman, who is a faithful minister of Christ for you,

8 He's also made clear to us your love in the Spirit.

who has also manifested to us your love in [the] Spirit.

9 Because of this we continue to pray for you from the time we heard about you, asking God to give you understanding of what he wants you to do and to give you every kind of spiritual wisdom and understanding.

For this reason we also, from the day we heard [of your faith and love], do not cease praying and asking for you, to the end that ye may be filled with the full knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

10 That way you'll live lives that rightly represent the Lord and please him, producing all kinds of good results and gaining greater knowledge of God.

[so as] to walk worthily of the Lord unto all well-pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing by the true knowledge of God;

11 May you be made powerfully strong by his wonderful strength, having great patience and endurance.

strengthened with all power according to the might of his glory unto all endurance and longsuffering with joy;

12 May you happily praise the Father, who has made it possible for us to share in the inheritance of God's people who live in the light.

giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit for sharing the portion of the saints in light,

13 He rescued us from the tyranny of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and translated [us] into the kingdom of the Son of his love:

14 through whom we have been set free and our sins forgiven.

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins;

15 The Son is the visible picture of the invisible God. He was before all creation,

who is image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation;

16 for everything was created through him—in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, empires, rulers, leaders and authorities—everything was created through him and for him.

because by him were created all things, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or authorities: all things have been created by him and for him.

17 He existed before everything, and he holds everything together.

And he is before all, and all things subsist together by him.

18 He is also the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the first and highest of those raised from the dead, so that he is supreme in everything.

And he is the head of the body, the assembly; who is [the] beginning, firstborn from among the dead, that he might have the first place in all things:

19 God was pleased to have his full nature live in him,

for in him all the fulness [of the Godhead] was pleased to dwell,

20 and through him brought back everything in the universe to himself, since he made peace through the blood of his cross, through him reconciling all those on the earth and in heaven.

and by him to reconcile all things to itself, having made peace by the blood of his cross — by him, whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens.

21 You once were alienated from God, enemies in the way you thought and the way you acted,

And you, who once were alienated and enemies in mind by wicked works, yet now has it reconciled

22 but now he has reconciled you through his dying human body, bringing you into his presence where you stand holy, pure, and faultless.

in the body of his flesh through death; to present you holy and unblamable and irreproachable before it,

23 But your trust in him must continue rock-solid and immovable. Don't be shaken from the hope of the good news that you heard, the good news that's been shared throughout the world—that's the work that I Paul have been doing.

if indeed ye abide in the faith founded and firm, and not moved away from the hope of the glad tidings, which ye have heard, which have been proclaimed in the whole creation which [is] under heaven, of which I Paul became minister.

24 I'm happy to have trouble for your sake, for by means of what happens to me physically I'm part of Christ's sufferings that he continues to experience for the sake of his body, the church.

Now, I rejoice in sufferings for you, and I fill up that which is behind of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh, for his body, which is the assembly;

25 I serve the church following the direction God gave me about you, to present fully the word of God to you.

of which I became minister, according to the dispensation of God which [is] given me towards you to complete the word of God,

26 This is the mystery that was hidden down through the ages and for many generations, but it's now been revealed to God's people. (aiōn g165)

the mystery which [has been] hidden from ages and from generations, but has now been made manifest to his saints; (aiōn g165)

27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious wealth of this mystery to the nations: Christ living in you is the glorious hope!

to whom God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you the hope of glory:

28 We're telling everyone about him, instructing and teaching them in the best way we know how so that we can bring everyone before God fully mature in Christ.

whom we announce, admonishing every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, to the end that we may present every man perfect in Christ.

29 That's what I'm working for too, making every effort as I rely on his strength which is powerfully at work in me.

Whereunto also I toil, combating according to his working, which works in me in power.