Colossians 1:1-23.
Colossians 1:1-23 (Good News Translation)
1From Paul, who by God's will is an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our
brother Timothy—
2To God's people in Colossae, who are our faithful friends in
union with Christ:
May God our Father give you grace and peace.
3We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, when we pray for you.
4For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your
love for all God's people.
5When the true message, the Good News, first came to you, you
heard about the hope it offers. So your faith and love are based on what
you hope for, which is kept safe for you in heaven.
6The gospel keeps bringing blessings and is spreading
throughout the world, just as it has among you ever since the day you
first heard about the grace of God and came to know it as it really is.
7You learned of God's grace from Epaphras, our dear fellow
servant, who is Christ's faithful worker on our
behalf.
8He has told us of the love that the Spirit has given you.
9For this reason we have always prayed for you, ever since we
heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will,
with all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives.
10Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will
always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good
deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge of God.
11-12May you be made strong with all the strength which comes
from his glorious power, so that you may be able to endure everything with
patience. And with joy give thanks to
the Father, who has made you fit to have your share of what God
has reserved for his people in the kingdom of light.
13He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe
into the kingdom of his dear Son,
14by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.
15Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is
the first-born Son, superior to all created things.
16For through him God created everything in heaven and on
earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords,
rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and
for him.
17Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all
things have their proper place.
18He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of
the body's life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in
order that he alone might have the first place in all things.
19For it was by God's own decision that the Son has in himself
the full nature of God.
20Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole
universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood
on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on
earth and in heaven.
21At one time you were far away from God and were his enemies
because of the evil things you did and thought.
22But now, by means of the physical death of his Son, God has
made you his friends, in order to bring you, holy, pure, and faultless,
into his presence.
23You must, of course, continue faithful on a firm and sure
foundation, and must not allow yourselves to be shaken from the hope you
gained when you heard the gospel. It is of this gospel that I, Paul,
became a servant—this gospel which has been preached to everybody in the
world.
brother Timothy—
2To God's people in Colossae, who are our faithful friends in
union with Christ:
May God our Father give you grace and peace.
3We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, when we pray for you.
4For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your
love for all God's people.
5When the true message, the Good News, first came to you, you
heard about the hope it offers. So your faith and love are based on what
you hope for, which is kept safe for you in heaven.
6The gospel keeps bringing blessings and is spreading
throughout the world, just as it has among you ever since the day you
first heard about the grace of God and came to know it as it really is.
7You learned of God's grace from Epaphras, our dear fellow
servant, who is Christ's faithful worker on our
behalf.
8He has told us of the love that the Spirit has given you.
9For this reason we have always prayed for you, ever since we
heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will,
with all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives.
10Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will
always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good
deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge of God.
11-12May you be made strong with all the strength which comes
from his glorious power, so that you may be able to endure everything with
patience. And with joy give thanks to
the Father, who has made you fit to have your share of what God
has reserved for his people in the kingdom of light.
13He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe
into the kingdom of his dear Son,
14by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.
15Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is
the first-born Son, superior to all created things.
16For through him God created everything in heaven and on
earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords,
rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and
for him.
17Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all
things have their proper place.
18He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of
the body's life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in
order that he alone might have the first place in all things.
19For it was by God's own decision that the Son has in himself
the full nature of God.
20Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole
universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood
on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on
earth and in heaven.
21At one time you were far away from God and were his enemies
because of the evil things you did and thought.
22But now, by means of the physical death of his Son, God has
made you his friends, in order to bring you, holy, pure, and faultless,
into his presence.
23You must, of course, continue faithful on a firm and sure
foundation, and must not allow yourselves to be shaken from the hope you
gained when you heard the gospel. It is of this gospel that I, Paul,
became a servant—this gospel which has been preached to everybody in the
world.
God bless you.
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