Colossians 1
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy the brother,
This letter comes from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the will of God, and from our brother Timothy.
2 to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossae: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father.
To the believers and trusting Christians at Colossae: may you have grace and peace from God our Father.
3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
We are always thankful to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for you, and pray for you.
4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
We've heard about your trust in Christ Jesus and your love for all the believers
5 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 gospel,
because of the hope prepared for you in heaven. You already heard about this in the good news, the message of truth
6 which is come to you, as it is in all the world, and is bearing fruit and growing, as it doth also in you, from the day ye heard it, and knew the grace of God in truth;
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.
7 even as ye learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf;
Our dear friend and fellow-worker Epaphras, who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on our behalf, taught you about this.
8 who also brought to our knowledge your love in the Spirit.
He's also made clear to us your love in the Spirit.
9 On this account we also, from the day we heard of it, cease not to pray for you, and to ask that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
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.
10 that ye may walk worthily of the Lord so as to please him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
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.
11 endued with all power according to the might of his glory unto all patience and long-suffering with joy;
May you be made powerfully strong by his wonderful strength, having great patience and endurance.
12 giving thanks to the Father, who enabled us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light;
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.
13 who rescued us from the empire of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son;
He rescued us from the tyranny of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14 in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins; —
through whom we have been set free and our sins forgiven.
15 who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of the whole creation;
The Son is the visible picture of the invisible God. He was before all creation,
16 for in him were created all things, those in the heavens, and those on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things have been created through him and for him;
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.
17 and he is before all things, and in him all things subsist.
He existed before everything, and he holds everything together.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church; since he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that he may be in all things pre-eminent;
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.
19 for God was pleased that in him all the fullness should dwell, and by him to reconcile all things to himself,
God was pleased to have his full nature live in him,
20 having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him, I say, whether the things on earth, or those in the heavens.
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.
21 And you, that were once alienated, and enemies in your mind in wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
You once were alienated from God, enemies in the way you thought and the way you acted,
22 in the body of his flesh through his death, to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable in his sight;
but now he has reconciled you through his dying human body, bringing you into his presence where you stand holy, pure, and faultless.
23 if ye indeed continue in the faith grounded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye heard, which hath been preached in the whole creation under heaven; of which I Paul became a minister.
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.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up instead that which is wanting of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh on behalf of his body, which is the church;
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.
25 of which I became a minister, according to the stewardship which God entrusted to me, for you, to fulfill the word of God,
I serve the church following the direction God gave me about you, to present fully the word of God to you.
26 the mystery which hath been hidden for ages and generations, but hath been now revealed to his saints; (aiōn g165)
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)
27 to whom it was the will of God 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;
God wanted to make known to them the glorious wealth of this mystery to the nations: Christ living in you is the glorious hope!
28 whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ;
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.
29 to which end I also am laboring, striving earnestly through his working, which worketh within me mightily.
That's what I'm working for too, making every effort as I rely on his strength which is powerfully at work in me.
