1Paul, an apostlea of Christ Jesus by the will of God,b and Timothyc our brother, Letter to Colossae
2To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters1 in Christ:
Graced and peace to you from God our Father.2,e
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3We always thank God,f the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the loveg you have for all God’s peopleh— 5the faith and love that spring from the hopei stored up for you in heavenj and about which you have already heard in the true messagek of the gospel 6that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruitl and growing throughout the whole worldm—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7You learned it from Epaphras,n our dear fellow servant,3 who is a faithful ministero of Christ on our4 behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.p
9For this reason, since the day we heard about you,q we have not stopped praying for you.r We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his wills through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,5,t 10so that you may live a life worthyu of the Lord and please himv in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,w 11being strengthened with all powerx according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,y 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father,z who has qualified you6 to share in the inheritancea of his holy people in the kingdom of light.b 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darknessc and brought us into the kingdomd of the Son he loves,e 14in whom we have redemption,f the forgiveness of sins.g
The Supremacy of the Son of God
15The Son is the imageh of the invisible God,i the firstbornj over all creation. 16For in him all things were created:k things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;l all things have been created through him and for him.m 17He is before all things,n and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the heado of the body, the church;p he is the beginning and the firstbornq from among the dead,r so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleaseds to have all his fullnesst dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcileu to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,v by making peacew through his blood,x shed on the cross. Background of Colossians 1:15–20
21Once you were alienated from God and were enemiesy in your mindsz because of7 your evil behavior. 22But now he has reconcileda you by Christ’s physical bodyb through death to present youc holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusationd— 23if you continuee in your faith, establishedf and firm, and do not move from the hopeg held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven,h and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.i
Paul’s Labor for the Church
24Now I rejoicej in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions,k for the sake of his body, which is the church.l 25I have become its servantm by the commission God gave men to present to you the word of Godo in its fullness— 26the mysteryp that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27To them God has chosen to make knownq among the Gentiles the glorious richesr of this mystery, which is Christ in you,s the hope of glory.
28He is the one we proclaim, admonishingt and teaching everyone with all wisdom,u so that we may present everyone fully maturev in Christ. 29To this end I strenuouslyw contendx with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.y
1I want you to know how hard I am contendinga for you and for those at Laodicea,b and for all who have not met me personally. 2My goal is that they may be encouraged in heartc and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mysteryd of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.e 4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.f 5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spiritg and delight to see how disciplinedh you are and how firmi your faith in Christj is.
Spiritual Fullness in Christ
6So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,k continue to live your lives in him, 7rootedl and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught,m and overflowing with thankfulness.
8See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,n which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces1 of this worldo rather than on Christ.
9For in Christ all the fullnessp of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the headq over every power and authority.r 11In him you were also circumciseds with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh2,t was put off when you were circumcised by3 Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism,u in which you were also raised with himv through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.w
13When you were dead in your sinsx and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you4 alivey with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,z 14having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness,a which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.b 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities,c he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over themd by the cross.5
Freedom From Human Rules
16Therefore do not let anyone judge youe by what you eat or drink,f or with regard to a religious festival,g a New Moon celebrationh or a Sabbath day.i 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come;j the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18Do not let anyone who delights in false humilityk and the worship of angels disqualify you.l Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19They have lost connection with the head,m from whom the whole body,n supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.o
20Since you died with Christp to the elemental spiritual forces of this world,q why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:r 21“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perishs with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.t 23Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humilityu and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Living as Those Made Alive in Christ
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,a set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.b 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.c 3For you died,d and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your1 life,e appears,f then you also will appear with him in glory.g
5Put to death,h therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:i sexual immorality,j impurity, lust, evil desires and greed,k which is idolatry.l 6Because of these, the wrath of Godm is coming.2 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.n 8But now you must also rid yourselveso of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander,p and filthy language from your lips.q 9Do not lie to each other,r since you have taken off your old selfs with its practices 10and have put on the new self,t which is being renewedu in knowledge in the image of its Creator.v 11Here there is no Gentile or Jew,w circumcised or uncircumcised,x barbarian, Scythian, slave or free,y but Christ is all,z and is in all. Mystery Cults
12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselvesa with compassion, kindness, humility,b gentleness and patience.c 13Bear with each otherd and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.e 14And over all these virtues put on love,f which binds them all together in perfect unity.g
15Let the peace of Christh rule in your hearts, since as members of one bodyi you were called to peace.j And be thankful. 16Let the message of Christk dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdoml through psalms,m hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.n 17And whatever you do,o whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanksp to God the Father through him.
Instructions for Christian Households
3:18–4:1pp — Eph 5:22–6:9
18Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands,q as is fitting in the Lord.
19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
21Fathers,3 do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritancer from the Lord as a reward.s It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.t
1Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair,a because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Further Instructions
2Devote yourselves to prayer,b being watchful and thankful. 3And pray for us, too, that God may open a doorc for our message, so that we may proclaim the mysteryd of Christ, for which I am in chains.e 4Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5Be wisef in the way you act toward outsiders;g make the most of every opportunity.h 6Let your conversation be always full of grace,i seasoned with salt,j so that you may know how to answer everyone.k
Final Greetings
7Tychicusl will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant1,m in the Lord. 8I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our2 circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.n 9He is coming with Onesimus,o our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you.p They will tell you everything that is happening here.
10My fellow prisoner Aristarchusq sends you his greetings, as does Mark,r the cousin of Barnabas.s (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews3 among my co-workerst for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12Epaphras,u who is one of youv and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you,w that you may stand firm in all the will of God, maturex and fully assured. 13I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodiceay and Hierapolis. 14Our dear friend Luke,z the doctor, and Demasa send greetings. 15Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea,b and to Nympha and the church in her house.c
16After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also readd in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
17Tell Archippus:e “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”f
18I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.g Rememberh my chains.i Grace be with you.j