Colossians 1
Paul and Timothy greet the Colossians, expressing gratitude for their faith and love, and acknowledging the gospel's impact on their lives. Paul explains that Jesus is the image of God, creator of all things, and head of the Church, and that through him, all things were reconciled to God. The Colossians, once foreigners and enemies, have been reconciled to God through Jesus' death, and Paul urges them to continue in the faith. Paul also describes his role as a minister of the Church, announcing Jesus and striving to present every person perfect in Christ.
1 Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy, a brother 2 to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ Jesus who are at Colossae 3 Grace 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 always 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love that you have toward all the saints 5 because of the hope that has been stored up for you in heaven, which you have heard through the Word of Truth in the Gospel 6 This 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 truth 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our most beloved fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ Jesus 8 And he has also manifested to us your love in the Spirit 9 Then, 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 understanding 10 so 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 God 11 being strengthened in every virtue, in accord with the power of his glory, with all patience and longsuffering, with joy 12 giving thanks to God the Father, who has made us worthy to have a share in the portion of the saints, in the light 13 For he has rescued us from the power of darkness, and he has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love 14 in whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature 16 For 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 him 17 And he is before all, and in him all things continue 18 And 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 primacy 19 For the Father is well-pleased that all fullness reside in him 20 and 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 heaven 21 And you, though you had been, in times past, understood to be foreigners and enemies, with works of evil 22 yet now he has reconciled you, by his body of flesh, through death, so as to offer you, holy and immaculate and blameless, before him 23 So 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 minister 24 For 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 Church 25 For 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 God 26 the mystery which had remained hidden to past ages and generations, but which now is manifested to his saints 27 To 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 you 28 We are announcing him, correcting every man and teaching every man, with all wisdom, so that we may offer every man perfect in Christ Jesus 29 In him, too, I labor, striving according to his action within me, which he works in virtue