Greetings from Paul
(2 Samuel 6:12-15; 1 Chronicles 15:1-14; Philippians 1:1-2)
1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,
2To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
(1 Corinthians 1:4-9; Philippians 1:3-11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4)
3We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, 5For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; 6Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: 7As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; 8Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
9For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
The Supremacy of Christ
(Hebrews 1:1-14)
15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
21And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Paul's Suffering for the Chruch
(2 Corinthians 11:16-33)
24Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church: 25Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Greetings from Paul and Timothy
(Philippians 1:1–2; Philemon 1:1–3)
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
(1 Corinthians 1:4–9; Philippians 1:3–11)
3 We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have toward all the saints, 5 because 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 Good News, 6 which has come to you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
9 For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;
13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love; 14 in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins;
The Supremacy of the Son
(Hebrews 1:1–14)
15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. 18 He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him; 20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.
21 You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, 22 yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and blameless before him, 23 if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven; of which I, Paul, was made a servant.
Paul’s Suffering for the Church
(2 Corinthians 11:16–33)
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly; 25 of which I was made a servant, according to the stewardship of God which was given me toward you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to his saints, 27 to whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; 28 whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus; 29 for which I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.
Greetings from Paul and Timothy
(Philippians 1:1–2; Philemon 1:1–3)
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father. a
Thanksgiving and Prayer
(1 Corinthians 1:4–9; Philippians 1:3–11)
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints— 5 the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you.
All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our b behalf, 8 and who also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you c to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
13 He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, d the forgiveness of sins.
The Supremacy of the Son
(Hebrews 1:1–14)
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in Him all things were created, things 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 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.
21 Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds. 22 But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence— 23 if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature e under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Paul’s Suffering for the Church
(2 Corinthians 11:16–33)
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church. 25 I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God, 26 the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect f in Christ. 29 To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.
Footnotes:
2 a BYZ and TR God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
7 b NE, NA, BYZ, and TR your
12 c BYZ and TR us
14 d TR redemption through His blood,
23 e Or in all creation
28 f Or fully mature
Greetings from Paul
(2 Samuel 6:12-15; 1 Chronicles 15:1-14; Philippians 1:1-2)
1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Timotheus the brother,
2to the saints in Colossae, and to the faithful brethren in Christ: Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Thanksgiving and Prayer
(1 Corinthians 1:4-9; Philippians 1:3-11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4)
3We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you, 4having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love that is to all the saints, 5because of the hope that is laid up for you in the heavens, which ye heard of before in the word of the truth of the good news, 6which is present to you, as also in all the world, and is bearing fruit, as also in you, from the day in which ye heard, and knew the grace of God in truth; 7as ye also learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful ministrant of the Christ, 8who also did declare to us your love in the Spirit.
9Because of this, we also, from the day in which we heard, do not cease praying for you, and asking that ye may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10to your walking worthily of the Lord to all pleasing, in every good work being fruitful, and increasing to the knowledge of God, 11in all might being made mighty according to the power of His glory, to all endurance and long-suffering with joy. 12Giving thanks to the Father who did make us meet for the participation of the inheritance of the saints in the light,
13who did rescue us out of the authority of the darkness, and did translate us into the reign of the Son of His love, 14in whom we have the redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of the sins,
The Supremacy of Christ
(Hebrews 1:1-14)
15who is the image of the invisible God, first-born of all creation, 16because in him were the all things created, those in the heavens, and those upon the earth, those visible, and those invisible, whether thrones, whether lordships, whether principalities, whether authorities; all things through him, and for him, have been created, 17and himself is before all, and the all things in him have consisted. 18And himself is the head of the body -- the assembly -- who is a beginning, a first-born out of the dead, that he might become in all things -- himself -- first, 19because in him it did please all the fulness to tabernacle, 20and through him to reconcile the all things to himself -- having made peace through the blood of his cross -- through him, whether the things upon the earth, whether the things in the heavens.
21And you -- once being alienated, and enemies in the mind, in the evil works, yet now did he reconcile, 22in the body of his flesh through the death, to present you holy, and unblemished, and unblameable before himself, 23if also ye remain in the faith, being founded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the good news, which ye heard, which was preached in all the creation that is under the heaven, of which I became -- I Paul -- a ministrant.
Paul's Suffering for the Chruch
(2 Corinthians 11:16-33)
24I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and do fill up the things lacking of the tribulations of the Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the assembly, 25of which I -- I did become a ministrant according to the dispensation of God, that was given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God, 26the secret that hath been hid from the ages and from the generations, but now was manifested to his saints, 27to whom God did will to make known what is the riches of the glory of this secret among the nations -- which is Christ in you, the hope of the glory, 28whom we proclaim, warning every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, 29for which also I labour, striving according to his working that is working in me in power.
The Favor of God paraphrase
Introduction and Thanksgiving
¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
² to God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—⁵ the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven, which you have already heard about in the true message of the gospel ⁶ that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. ⁷ You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Prayer for Spiritual Growth
⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, ¹⁰ so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Supremacy of Christ
¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
¹⁶ For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him.
¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.
¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,
²⁰ and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.
Reconciled Through Christ
²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²² But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation—²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Paul’s Labor for the Church
²⁴ Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church. ²⁵ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
²⁸ He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. ²⁹ To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
Footnotes:
1.“Image of the invisible God” (verse 15) refers to Christ as the perfect representation of God’s nature. The Greek word eikon suggests both representation and manifestation, showing that Jesus makes the unseen God visible.
2.“Firstborn over all creation” (verse 15) does not mean Christ was created but that He holds a position of preeminence and authority over all creation. The term prototokos emphasizes rank and status, not origin.
3.“Thrones or powers” (verse 16) refers to spiritual beings and authorities in both the visible and invisible realms. Paul emphasizes that all of them were created by Christ and are subject to His authority.
4.“Fullness dwell in Him” (verse 19) conveys that all of God’s essence and power reside in Christ. This counters any belief that Jesus was merely a great teacher or angel; He is fully divine.
5.“Reconciled through His blood” (verse 20) uses the imagery of atonement, highlighting that Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross restores peace between humanity and God. The Greek term apokatallasso emphasizes complete and total reconciliation.
6.“Present you holy” (verse 22) describes the transformation believers experience through Christ’s work. Paul explains that through His death, believers are made holy—set apart for God, without any blemish of sin or accusation.
7.“The mystery…now disclosed” (verse 26) refers to God’s long-hidden plan to extend salvation to the Gentiles through Christ. This was a revolutionary message in the early church, breaking down cultural and religious barriers.
