1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and brother Timothy,
2 to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ who are in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Always praying for you, we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love that you have for all the saints,
5 because of the hope that is laid up for you in heaven , of which you have already heard through the true word of the gospel,
6 which has come to you, as well as to the whole world, and bears fruit and grows in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth ,
7 as you have learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ to you,
8 who has also declared your love to us in the Spirit.
9 Therefore we also, from the day we heard it, have not ceased to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, pleasing him. in everything, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing in the knowledge of God;
11 strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all patience and long-suffering;
12 with joy giving thanks to the Father who qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light;
13 Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For in him all things were created, things in heaven and things on earth, visible and invisible; be thrones, be dominions, be principalities, be powers; everything was created through him and for him.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things consist;
18 And he is the head of the body that is the church, he who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in everything he may have the preeminence;
19 because it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell in him,
20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, both those on earth and those in heaven, making peace through the blood of his cross.
21 And you also, who were once strangers and enemies in your mind, doing evil works,
22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and blameless before him. ;
23 if indeed you remain established and steadfast in the faith, and do not move from the hope of the gospel which you have heard, which is preached in all the creation under heaven; of which I Paul was made a minister.
24 Now I rejoice in what I suffer for you, and I fulfill in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for his body, which is the church;
25 Of which I was made a minister, according to the administration of God which was given to me toward you, to proclaim fully the word of God,
26 the mystery which had been hidden from ages and ages, but which has now been made manifest to his saints,
27 to whom God wanted to make known 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 work, striving according to his power, which works mightily in me.
1 For I want you to know how great I fight for you, and for those who are in Laodicea, and for all who have never seen my face;
2 that their hearts may be comforted, united in love, until they may reach all the riches of full understanding, to know the mystery of God the Father, and of Christ,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge .
4 And I say this so that no one deceives you with persuasive words.
5 For although I am absent in body, yet in spirit I am with you, rejoicing and seeing your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
6 Therefore, as you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, walk in him;
7 rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one deceives you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the rudiments of the world, and not according to Christ.
9 For in him dwells bodily all the fullness of the Godhead,
10 and you are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power.
11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the sinful body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ;
12 buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead.
13 And you, being dead in sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made alive together with him, forgiving you all your sins,
14 canceling the handwriting of the ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, putting it out of the way and nailing it to the cross,
15 and dispossessing the principalities and powers, he made a public display of them, triumphing over them on the cross.
16 Therefore let no one judge you in food or drink, or in regard to festival days, new moon or Sabbath days,
17 all of which is a shadow of things to come; but the body is Christ’s.
18 Let no one deprive you of your reward, affecting humility and worship of angels, meddling in what he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his own carnal mind,
19 and not holding fast to the Head, by virtue of which the whole body, nourished and united by the joints and ligaments, it grows with the growth that God gives.
20 If then you have died with Christ to the elements of the world, why, as if you lived in the world, do you submit to precepts
21 such as: Do not handle, nor taste, nor even touch
22 (in accordance with commandments and doctrines of men), things that are all destroyed with use?
23 Such things indeed have a certain reputation for wisdom in voluntary worship, in humility and in harsh treatment of the body; but they have no value against the appetites of the flesh.
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth.
3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory
5 Therefore put to death what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, inordinate passions, evil desires and covetousness, which is idolatry;
6 things for which the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience,
7 in which you also once walked when you lived in them.
8 But now you also leave behind all these things: wrath, wrath, malice, blasphemy, dishonest words from your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, having put off the old self with its deeds,
10 and having put on the new self, which is being renewed in full knowledge after the image of him who created it,
11 where there is no Greek or Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, tender mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patience;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. As Christ forgave you, so do you.
14 And above all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were also called in one body; and be grateful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
21 Parents, do not exasperate your children, so that they do not become discouraged.
22 Servants, obey your earthly masters in everything, not with eye service, as those who please men, but with a sincere heart, fearing God.
23 And whatever you do, do it from the heart, as working for the Lord and not for men;
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, because you serve Christ the Lord.
25 But whoever does injustice will receive the injustice that he does, because there is no partiality.
1 Masters, do what is just and right with your servants, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
2 Persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving;
3 also praying at the same time for us, that the Lord may open a door for us to speak, to make known the mystery of Christ, for which I am also a prisoner,
4 that I may make it known as I should speak.
5 Walk wisely toward those outside, redeeming the time.
6 Let your word always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each one.
7 All that concerns me, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord, will make known to you,
8 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that he may know what concerns you, and comfort your feelings. hearts,
9 with Onesimus, beloved and faithful brother, who is one of you. Everything that happens here, they will let you know.
10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark the nephew of Barnabas, about whom you have received commandments; If he comes to you, receive him;
11 and Jesus, called Justus; who are the only ones of the circumcision who help me in the kingdom of God, and have been a comfort to me.
12 Epaphras greets you, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, always praying earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may be steadfast, perfect, and complete in all that God wills.
13 For I testify of him that he has great concern for you, and for those who are in Laodicea, and those who are in Hierapolis.
14 Luke the beloved doctor greets you, and Demas.
15 Greet the brothers who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church that is in her house.
16 When this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that of Laodicea you also read.
17 Say to Archippus: See that you fulfill the ministry which you received in the Lord.
18 The greeting from my own hand, by Paul. Remember my prisons. May the grace be with you. Amen
