Colossians 1;
Colossians 2; Colossians 3; Colossians 4; Philemon 1
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and
Timothy our brother, 2 To the holy and faithful brothers in
Christ at Colosse: 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 the saints-- 5 the faith and love
that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have
already heard about 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 understood
God's grace in all its truth. 7 You learned it from Epaphras,
our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our
behalf, 8and who also told 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 through all
spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in
order that you may live a life 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 great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving
thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the
saints 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. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created:
things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers
or rulers or authorities; all things were created by 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. 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, not moved 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. 24 Now I
rejoice in what was suffered 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 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 in
Christ. 29 To this end I labor, struggling with all his
energy, which so powerfully works in me.
1 I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and
for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My
purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that
they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may
know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this
so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For
though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and
delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. 6 So
then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted
and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and
overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes
you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human
tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For
in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and
you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and
authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting
off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but
with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried
with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your
sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with
Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the
written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed
to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having
disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them by the cross. 16 Therefore do not let
anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious
festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These
are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in
Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility
and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into
great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with
idle notions.19 He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the
whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as
God causes it to grow. 20 Since you died with Christ to the
basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you
submit to its rules: 21 "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do
not touch!"? 22 These are all destined to perish with
use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23 Such
regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed
worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they
lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your
hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set
your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you
died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When
Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in
glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your
earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed,
which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is
coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once
lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as
these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.9 Do
not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its
practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here
there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian,
slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 12 Therefore,
as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear
with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one
another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all
these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect
unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since
as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let
the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another
with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to God. 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. 18Wives, submit 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 Fathers, do not
embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. 22 Slaves,
obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is
on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for
the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that
you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord
Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be
repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.
1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair,
because you know that you also have a Master in heaven. 2 Devote
yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray
for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim
the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I
may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you
act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let
your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may
know how to answer everyone. 7 Tychicus will tell you all the
news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in
the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose
that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your
hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear
brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening
here. 10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his
greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received
instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11 Jesus,
who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my
fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to
me. 12Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus,
sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand
firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I
vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and
Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas
send greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers at
Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 After
this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the
Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. 17 Tell
Archippus: "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the
Lord." 18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, 2 to Apphia our
sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your
home: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I always thank my God as I remember you
in my prayers, 5 because I hear about your faith in the Lord
Jesus and your love for all the saints. 6 I pray that you may
be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of
every good thing we have in Christ. 7 Your love has given me
great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of
the saints. 8 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold
and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I appeal to
you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul--an old man and now also a prisoner
of Christ Jesus-- 10 I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who
became my son while I was in chains. 11 Formerly he was
useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. 12 I
am sending him--who is my very heart--back to you.13 I would have
liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while
I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do
anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and
not forced. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you
for a little while was that you might have him back for good-- 16 no
longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear
to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.17 So
if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If
he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I,
Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back--not to mention that
you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may
have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident
of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I
ask. 22 And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me,
because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. 23 Epaphras,
my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24 And
so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. 25 The
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
