Col 1 | ESV | STEP | Paul , an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God , and Timothy our brother ,

cb[See ver. 26 above]

cc 1 Tim. 1:1

cdSee ver. 22, 23

ceSee Matt. 5:48

cf 1 Cor. 15:10; 1 Tim. 4:10

cg ch. 4:12; [ch. 2:1]

chSee Eph. 1:19

‏ Colossians 1

Greeting

1 Paul, ^aan apostle of Christ Jesus ^bby the will of God, and Timothy ^cour brother,

2 To the ^dsaints and faithful brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God’s family, the church} in Christ at Colossae:

^fGrace to you and peace from God our Father.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 ^gWe always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of ^hyour faith in Christ Jesus and of ⁱthe love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of ^jthe hope ^klaid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in ^lthe word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed ^min the whole world it is ⁿbearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you ^oheard it and understood ^pthe grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from ^qEpaphras our beloved ^rfellow servant. ^{▼▼Greek fellow bondservant} He is ^ta faithful minister of Christ on your ^{▼▼Some manuscripts our} behalf 8 and has made known to us your ^vlove in the Spirit.

9 And so, ^wfrom the day we heard, ^xwe have not ceased to pray for you, asking that ^yyou may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all ^zspiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as ^aato walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^abfully pleasing to him: ^acbearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 ^adbeing strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for ^aeall endurance and patience ^afwith joy; 12 ^aggiving thanks ^{▼▼Or patience, with joy giving thanks} to the Father, who has qualified you ^{▼▼Some manuscripts us} to share in ^ajthe inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He ^akhas delivered us from ^althe domain of darkness and transferred us to ^amthe kingdom of ^anhis beloved Son, 14 ^aoin whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ

15 ^apHe is the image of ^aqthe invisible God, ^arthe firstborn of all creation. 16 For by ^{▼▼That is, by means of; or in} him all things were created, ^atin heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^authrones or ^avdominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created ^awthrough him and for him. 17 And ^axhe is before all things, and in him all things ^ayhold together. 18 And ^azhe is the head of the body, the church. He is ^bathe beginning, ^bbthe firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For ^bcin him all the ^bdfullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and ^bethrough him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, ^bfmaking peace ^bgby the blood of his cross.

21 ^bhAnd you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, ^bidoing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled ^bjin his body of flesh by his death, ^bkin order to present you holy and blameless and ^blabove reproach before him, 23 ^bmif indeed you continue in the faith, ^bnstable and steadfast, not shifting from ^bothe hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed ^bpin all creation ^{▼▼Or to every creature} under heaven, ^brand of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Paul’s Ministry to the Church

24 Now ^bsI rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh ^btI am filling up ^buwhat is lacking in Christ’s afflictions ^bvfor the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 ^bwof which I became a minister according to ^bxthe stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 ^bythe mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 ^bzTo them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are ^cathe riches of the glory of ^cbthis mystery, which is Christ in you, ^ccthe hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that ^cdwe may present everyone ^cemature in Christ. 29 For this ^cfI toil, ^cgstruggling ^chwith all his energy that he powerfully works within me.