Colossians 1:1-23

Colossians 1

 ¹From Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, who is also a follower.

   ²To God's people who live in Colossae and are faithful followers of Christ.

   I pray that God our Father will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

   

A Prayer of Thanks

 ³Each time we pray for you, we thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

   ⁴We have heard of your faith in Christ and of your love for all of God's people,

   ⁵because what you hope for is kept safe for you in heaven. You first heard about this hope when you believed the true message, which is the good news.

   ⁶The good news is spreading all over the world with great success. It has spread in that same way among you, ever since the first day you learned the truth about God's wonderful kindness

   ⁷from our good friend Epaphras. He works together with us for Christ and is a faithful worker for you.

   ⁸He is also the one who told us about the love that God's Spirit has given you.

   

The Person and Work of Christ

 ⁹We have not stopped praying for you since the first day we heard about you. In fact, we always pray that God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives.

   ¹⁰Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better.

   ¹¹His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.

   ¹²I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light.

   ¹³God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son,

   ¹⁴who forgives our sins and sets us free.

   ¹⁵Christ is exactly like God,

   who cannot be seen.

   He is the first-born Son,

   superior to all creation.

   ¹⁶Everything was created by him,

   everything in heaven

   and on earth,

   everything seen and unseen,

   including all forces

   and powers,

   and all rulers

   and authorities.

   All things were created

   by God's Son,

   and everything was made

   for him.

   ¹⁷God's Son was before all else,

   and by him everything

   is held together.

   ¹⁸He is the head of his body,

   which is the church.

   He is the very beginning,

   the first to be raised

   from death,

   so that he would be

   above all others.

   ¹⁹God himself was pleased

   to live fully in his Son.

   ²⁰And God was pleased

   for him to make peace

   by sacrificing his blood

   on the cross,

   so that all beings in heaven

   and on earth

   would be brought back to God.

   ²¹You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things.

   ²²But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent.

   ²³But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I myself have become a servant of this message.