Colossians 1
1 I Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, I and Timothy my 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 that are in Colosse: grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
To the believers and trusting Christians at Colossae: may you have grace and peace from God our Father.
3 We give thanks to the God and 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 faithfulness in Christ Jesus, and your love for all the saints,
We've heard about your trust in Christ Jesus and your love for all the believers
5 in consequence of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you 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 present among you, as it is also in all the world, and is producing fruit, even as it has been doing also among you, since the day you heard 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 as you learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ for you,
Our dear friend and fellow-worker Epaphras, who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on our behalf, taught you about this.
8 and who also made known to us your love in spirit.
He's also made clear to us your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, we also, from the day in which we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to request that you 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 so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, in order to please him in all things, by means of every good work bringing forth fruit, 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 strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, in order to all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness,
May you be made powerfully strong by his wonderful strength, having great patience and endurance.
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit for a portion of the inheritance of the saints in 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 has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and has translated 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 redemption, the forgiveness of 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 every creature;
The Son is the visible picture of the invisible God. He was before all creation,
16 for by him were all things created, things in heaven and things in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or authorities; all things were created by 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 by him all things consist:
He existed before everything, and he holds everything together.
18 and he is the head of the body, the church: and he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in all things he might be preeminent;
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 it pleased the Father that all his fullness should dwell in him,
God was pleased to have his full nature live in him,
20 and by him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace by the blood of his cross; by him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
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, who were formerly alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now has he reconciled
You once were alienated from God, enemies in the way you thought and the way you acted,
22 by means of death in his fleshly body, that he may present you holy, and without spot, and blameless 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 you continue in the faith, founded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, have been made 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 what remains of my sufferings for Christ in my flesh for the sake 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 was made a minister according to the commission from God, which was given to me for you, that I might fully preach 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 was concealed from the ages and the generations, but is now made manifest 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 God would make known what is the glorious riches 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 Jesus:
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 labor, striving according to his energy, which works in 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.
