Colossians 1
Paul and Timothy express gratitude to God for the faith and love of the Colossian saints, and for the spread of the Gospel throughout the world. They pray for the Colossians to be filled with knowledge of God's will and to walk in a manner worthy of Him. Jesus is described as the image of the invisible God, the creator of all things, and the head of the Church, in whom all things were created and continue. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, God has reconciled all things to Himself, and the Colossians, once foreigners and enemies, have been reconciled and made holy. Paul rejoices in his ministry to the Church, proclaiming the mystery of Christ, which is now revealed to the saints.
Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy, a brotherto the saints and faithful brothers in Christ Jesus who are at ColossaeGrace and peace to you, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying for you alwaysFor we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love that you have toward all the saintsbecause of the hope that has been stored up for you in heaven, which you have heard through the Word of Truth in the GospelThis has reached you, just as it is present in the whole world, where it grows and bears fruit, as it has also done in you, since the day when you first heard and knew the grace of God in truthjust as you learned it from Epaphras, our most beloved fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ JesusAnd he has also manifested to us your love in the SpiritThen, too, from the day when we first heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and requesting that you be filled with the knowledge of his will, with all wisdom and spiritual understandingso that you may walk in a manner worthy of God, being pleasing in all things, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of Godbeing strengthened in every virtue, in accord with the power of his glory, with all patience and longsuffering, with joygiving thanks to God the Father, who has made us worthy to have a share in the portion of the saints, in the lightFor he has rescued us from the power of darkness, and he has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his lovein whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sinsHe is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creatureFor in him was created everything in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers. All things were created through him and in himAnd he is before all, and in him all things continueAnd he is the head of his body, the Church. He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that in all things he may hold primacyFor the Father is well-pleased that all fullness reside in himand that, through him, all things be reconciled to himself, making peace through the blood of his cross, for the things that are on earth, as well as the things that are in heavenAnd you, though you had been, in times past, understood to be foreigners and enemies, with works of evilyet now he has reconciled you, by his body of flesh, through death, so as to offer you, holy and immaculate and blameless, before himSo then, continue in the faith: well-founded and steadfast and immovable, by the hope of the Gospel that you have heard, which has been preached throughout all creation under heaven, the Gospel of which I, Paul, have become a ministerFor now I rejoice in my passion on your behalf, and I complete in my flesh the things that are lacking in the Passion of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the ChurchFor I have become a minister of the Church, according to the dispensation of God that has been given to me among you, so that I may fulfill the Word of Godthe mystery which had remained hidden to past ages and generations, but which now is manifested to his saintsTo them, God willed to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ and the hope of his glory within youWe are announcing him, correcting every man and teaching every man, with all wisdom, so that we may offer every man perfect in Christ JesusIn him, too, I labor, striving according to his action within me, which he works in virtue
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