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Colossians 1

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through God's will, and Timothy our brother,

2to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you, 4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all the holy ones, 5because of the hope stored up for you in heaven. You heard of this beforehand in the word of truth, the good news 6that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in all the world, so it has been among you from the day you heard and truly came to know God's grace, 7as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8and he has told us of your love in the Spirit.

9That is why we too, ever since we heard, have continued praying for you. We ask that you be filled with knowledge of his will, with every kind of spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10to walk worthily of the Lord and please him in every respect: bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 11empowered with all power in keeping with his glorious might, for complete endurance and patience with joy, 12thanking the Father who has made you fit for a share in the inheritance of the holy ones in the light. 13He rescued us from the authority of darkness and moved us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 14In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15He is the image of God, who is invisible, the firstborn of all creation, 16because everything was created in him—in heaven and on earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before everything, and everything holds together in him. 18He himself is the head of the body, the assembly. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself might hold first place in everything. 19For God was pleased for all the fullness to dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile everything to himself, making peace through the blood of his cross—through him—whether things on earth or things in heaven.

21And you, once alienated and hostile in your thinking, engaged in evil deeds—22you have now been reconciled in his body of flesh through death, to be presented holy, blameless, and free from accusation before him, 23if indeed you continue in faith, firmly founded and steadfast, without being moved away from the hope of the good news you heard. This good news has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, became its servant.

24Now I rejoice in what I suffer for you, and in my flesh I fill up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for his body, which is the assembly. 25I became its servant according to the stewardship God gave me for you, to bring God's word to its fullness: 26the mystery hidden from the ages and from the generations, but now revealed to his holy ones. 27God wanted to make known to them the riches of this mystery's glory among the Gentiles: Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28He is the one we proclaim, warning every person and teaching every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person mature in Christ. 29For this I also labor, struggling according to his working, which works in me with power.

Translation notes 9

1:2 — Holy and faithful brothers. The family address includes the women of the community. “Faithful” can also mean “believing.” “Holy ones” elsewhere in the chapter names the people set apart for God, not a special class within them.

1:3–5 — Thanksgiving and hope. “Always” may attach to giving thanks rather than praying. The stored-up hope grounds the faith and love just mentioned; it includes what they hope to receive, not only their feeling of hope.

1:7 — On our behalf. The Greek base reads “our.” Another substantial reading is “your.” “Fellow slave” and “servant” translate different words.

1:11–12 — With joy. The phrase may qualify endurance and patience, as printed, or the thanksgiving that follows. “You” in verse 12 follows the base; other witnesses read “us.”

1:15–18 — Firstborn. The birth image can convey priority and privileged rank. “Firstborn over all creation” is an interpretive alternative. The following verses describe everything as created in, through, and for him; “first-created” is not the word used. “Firstborn” recurs in connection with resurrection at verse 18.

1:19–20 — Fullness and reconciliation. “God” is supplied as the understood subject; another rendering is “All the fullness was pleased to dwell in him.” Chapter 2:9 explicitly identifies the fullness as divine. The second “through him” is marked uncertain in the Greek base. “Everything” retains the statement's breadth without adding an explanation of how reconciliation applies to every being.

1:21–23 — You have been reconciled. The base uses a passive verb; most editions read “he has reconciled you.” The Greek then has “to present you”; the English passive makes its purpose intelligible with the passive base reading. “Body of flesh” refers to Christ's physical body. The condition about continuing in faith remains explicit.

1:24 — What is lacking. The wording is intentionally left forceful. In context Paul speaks of his suffering in service to Christ's people. Sharing Christ's afflictions or completing the afflictions associated with his mission are possible explanations; the verse does not itself spell out that relationship.

1:25–28 — Fullness, mystery, and maturity. Bringing God's word “to its fullness” can mean fully carrying out its proclamation. The mystery is something formerly hidden and now disclosed. “Christ in you” can also mean “Christ among you,” with “you” plural. “Mature” can also be rendered “complete” or “perfect”; every person, rather than an elite group, is the stated aim.