Colossians 1

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy the brother,

²to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossae: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father.

³We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

⁴since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

⁵on 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,

⁶which 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;

⁷even as ye learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf;

⁸who also brought to our knowledge your love in the Spirit.

⁹On 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;

¹⁰that 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;

¹¹endued with all power according to the might of his glory unto all patience and long-suffering with joy;

¹²giving thanks to the Father, who enabled us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light;

¹³who rescued us from the empire of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son;

¹⁴in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins; —

¹⁵who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of the whole creation;

¹⁶for 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;

¹⁷and he is before all things, and in him all things subsist.

¹⁸And 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;

¹⁹for God was pleased that in him all the fullness should dwell, and by him to reconcile all things to himself,

²⁰having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him, I say, whether the things on earth, or those in the heavens.

²¹And you, that were once alienated, and enemies in your mind in wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

²²in the body of his flesh through his death, to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable in his sight;

²³if 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.

²⁴Now 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;

²⁵of which I became a minister, according to the stewardship which God entrusted to me, for you, to fulfill the word of God,

²⁶the mystery which hath been hidden for ages and generations, but hath been now revealed to his saints;

²⁷to 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;

²⁸whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ;

²⁹to which end I also am laboring, striving earnestly through his working, which worketh within me mightily.

Colossians 1

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,

²To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

⁴Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

⁵For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

⁶Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

⁷As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;

⁸Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

⁹For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

¹⁰That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

¹¹Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

¹²Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

¹³Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

¹⁴In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

¹⁵Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

¹⁶For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

¹⁷And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

¹⁹For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

²⁰And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

²¹And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

²²In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

²³If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

²⁴Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

²⁵Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

²⁶Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

²⁷To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

²⁸Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

²⁹Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.