< Colossians 1 >
1 Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and brother Timothy,
2 to the saints who are in Colossae and the faithful brethren in Christ. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
3 We give thanks to God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you,
4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and the divine love which you have toward all the saints.
5 on account of the hope which awaits you in the heavens, which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
6 having come to you, as it is indeed in the whole world bearing fruit and increasing, as also among you, from the day on which you heard and have known the grace of God in truth;
7 as you have learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is the faithful minister of Christ your behalf,
8 who also having revealed to us your divine love in the Spirit.
9 Therefore we, from the day on which we heard, do not cease praying for you, and asking that you may be filled with the perfect knowledge of his will in all wisdom, and spiritual understanding,
10 that you may walk worthily of the Lord in all loyalty, in every good work bearing fruit, and increasing in the perfect knowledge of God.
11 being impowered with all power, according to the might of his glory, in all patience and longsuffering with joy;
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has made us worthy unto a participation of the inheritance of the saints in light;
13 who delivered us from the power of darkness, and transplanted us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;
14 in whom we have redemption, the remission of sins:
15 who is the image of the invisible God, being the first begotten of all creation,
16 because in him all things are created, in the heavens and upon the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All things were created by him, and unto him;
17 and he before all things, and all things consist in him:
18 and himself is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the first begotten from the dead, in order that in all things himself may be preeminent:
19 because in him all fulness is pleased to dwell;
20 and through him, to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross: through him, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.
21 And you, being at one time aliens and enemies in your minds on account of wicked works, nevertheless he has now reconciled
22 in the body of his cross through death, to present you holy and blameless and unreprovable before him,
23 if you abide in the faith, having been grounded and firm, and not moved from the hope of the gospel which you have heard, having been preached in all creation which is under heaven; whose minister I Paul became.
24 Now I rejoice in sufferings in your behalf, and am filling up the residue of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh in behalf of his body, which is the church;
25 whose minister I became, according to the economy of God which was given to me unto you, to fulfill the word of God,
26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from the generations: but is now made manifest to his saints, (aiōn )
27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, who is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
28 whom we preach, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, in order that we may present every man perfect in Christ;
29 unto which I also labor, agonizing according to his energy, working in me with power.
