Colossians

  1 Paul, an apostlea of Christ Jesus by the will of God,b and Timothyc our brother,

 2To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:

Graced and peace to you from God our Father.*e

 Thanksgiving and Prayer

3We always thank God,a 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 loveb you have for all his peoplec—  5the faith and love that spring from the hoped stored up for you in heavene and about which you have already heard in the true wordf of the gospel  6that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruitg and growing throughout the whole worldh— 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,i our dear fellow servant,* who is a faithful ministerj of Christ on our* behalf,  8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.k

 9For this reason, since the day we heard about you,l we have not stopped praying for you.m We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his willn through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,*o  10so that you may live a life worthyp of the Lord and please himq in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,r  11being strengthened with all powers according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,t  12and giving joyful thanks to the Father,u who has qualified you* to share in the inheritancev of his people in the kingdom of light.w  13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darknessx and brought us into the kingdomy of the Son he loves,z  14in whom we have redemption,a the forgiveness of sins.b

 The Supremacy of the Son of God

15The Son is the imagea of the invisible God,b the firstbornc over all creation.  16For in him all things were created:d things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;e all things have been created through him and for him.f  17He is before all things,g and in him all things hold together.  18And he is the headh of the body, the church;i he is the beginning and the firstbornj from among the dead,k so that in everything he might have the supremacy.  19For God was pleasedl to have all his fullnessm dwell in him,  20and through him to reconcilen to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,o by making peacep through his blood,q shed on the cross.

 21Once you were alienated from God and were enemiesr in your mindss because of* your evil behavior.  22But now he has reconciledt you by Christ’s physical bodyu through death to present youv holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusationw—  23if you continuex in your faith, establishedy and firm, and do not move from the hopez held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven,a and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.b

 Paul’s Labor for the Church

24Now I rejoicea in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions,b for the sake of his body, which is the church.c  25I have become its servantd by the commission God gave mee to present to you the word of Godf in its fullness—  26the mysteryg 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 knownh among the Gentiles the glorious richesi of this mystery, which is Christ in you,j the hope of glory.

 28We proclaim him, admonishingk and teaching everyone with all wisdom,l so that we may present everyone fully maturem in Christ.  29To this end I strenuouslyn contendo with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.p

  2 I want you to know how hard I am contendingq for you and for those at Laodicea,r and for all who have not met me personally.  2My goal is that they may be encouraged in hearts and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mysteryt of God, namely, Christ,  3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.u  4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.v  5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spiritw and delight to see how disciplinedx you are and how firmy your faith in Christz is.

 Spiritual Fullness in Christ

6So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,a continue to live your lives in him,  7rootedb and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught,c and overflowing with thankfulness.

 8See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,d which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces* of this worlde rather than on Christ.

 9For in Christ all the fullnessf of the Deity lives in bodily form,  10and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the headg over every power and authority.h  11In him you were also circumcisedi with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your sinful nature*j was put off when you were circumcised by* Christ,  12having been buried with him in baptism,k in which you were also raised with himl through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.m

 13When you were dead in your sinsn and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,* God made you* aliveo with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,p  14having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness,q which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.r  15And having disarmed the powers and authorities,s he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over themt by the cross.*

 Freedom From Human Rules

16Therefore do not let anyone judge youa by what you eat or drink,b or with regard to a religious festival,c a New Moon celebrationd or a Sabbath day.e  17These are a shadow of the things that were to come;f the reality, however, is found in Christ.  18Do not let anyone who delights in false humilityg and the worship of angels disqualify you.h Such people also go into great detail about what they have seen, and their unspiritual minds puff them up with idle notions.  19They have lost connection with the head,i from whom the whole body,j supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.k

 20Since you died with Christl to the elemental spiritual forces of this world,m why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:n  21“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?  22These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perisho with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.p  23Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humilityq and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

  Living as Those Made Alive in Christ

3 Since, 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 your* 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.*  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.

 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

3:18-4:1* — Eph 5:22–6:9

18Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands,a 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,* 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 inheritanceb from the Lord as a reward.c It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  25Those who do wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.d