Colossians 1
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.
2 To the holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we pray for you.
4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all the saints.
5 This is because of the hope stored up for you in heaven, which you heard about before in the word of truth, the gospel.
6 It has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world, so it has been among you since the day you heard and truly understood the grace of God.
7 That is how you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on your behalf.
8 He also told us about your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, from the day we heard, we have not stopped praying for you and asking that you be filled with the knowledge of his will, with all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
10 So that you may live in a way worthy of the Lord, pleasing him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.
11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and patience, with joy.
12 Giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
13 He rescued us from the authority of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
14 In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For in 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 He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he might have first place in everything.
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.
20 And through him to reconcile all things to himself, making peace through the blood of his cross. Through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
21 And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your minds because of your evil deeds,
22 he has now reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy, without fault and without accusation before him.
23 That is, if you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting away from the hope of the gospel you heard. It has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and I, Paul, became its servant.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
25 I became its servant according to God's stewardship, which was given to me for your sake, to fulfill the word of God.
26 The mystery hidden for ages and generations—but now revealed to his saints.
27 To them God wanted to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations: Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 He is the one we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
29 For this I also labor, striving according to his power, which works powerfully in me.
Read and listen to this chapter in the Shalem app, free: narration, chapter video and reading progress. Get the app