Col 1 | Comm | STEP | Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

‏ Colossians 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as in all the world it is bearing fruit and growing, even as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth; 7 as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will live a life worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy,

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might have the first place in everything. 19 For all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him 20 and through him, to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. 21 And although you were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a minister. 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share for the sake of his body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. 25 Of this church I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27 To them God willed 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. 28 We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this end I labor, striving with all his energy, which so mightily works within me.