Colossians Chapters

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

²to the saints in Colossae, our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:

Receive grace and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus, our Lord.

³Thanks be to God, the Father of Christ Jesus, our Lord!

We constantly pray for you, ⁴for we know of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints. Indeed, you await in hope the inheritance reserved for you in heaven, ⁵of which you have heard through the word of truth. This gospel, ⁶already present among you, is bearing fruit and growing throughout the world as it did among you from the day you accepted it and understood the gift of God in all its truth.

⁷He who taught you, Epaphras, our dear companion in the service of Christ, faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, ⁸has reminded me of your love for me in the Spirit. ⁹Because of this, from the day we received news of you, we have not ceased praying to God that you may attain the full knowledge of his will through all the gifts of wisdom and spiritual understanding.

¹⁰May your lifestyle be worthy of the Lord and completely pleasing to him. May you bear fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.

¹¹May you become strong in everything by sharing God's glory so that you may have great endurance and persevere in joy.

¹²Constantly give thanks to the Father who has empowered us to receive our share in the inheritance of the saints in his kingdom of light. ¹³He rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. ¹⁴In him, we are redeemed and forgiven.

Christ Is the Beginning of Everything

•  ¹⁵He is the image of the unseen God,

and for all creation, he is the firstborn,

¹⁶for, in him, all things were created,

in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible:

thrones, rulers, authorities, powers…

All was made through him and for him.

¹⁷He is before all

and all things hold together in him.

¹⁸And he is the head of the body that is the Church,

for he is the first, the first raised from the dead,

that he may be the first in everything,

¹⁹for God was pleased to let fullness dwell in him.

²⁰Through him, God willed to reconcile all things to himself,

and through him, through his blood shed on the cross,

God establishes peace

on earth as in heaven.

•  ²¹You, yourselves, were once estranged and opposed to God because of your evil deeds, ²²but now, God has reconciled you in the human body of his Son, through his death, so that you may be without fault, holy and blameless before him. ²³Only stand firm upon the foundation of your faith, and be steadfast in hope. Remember the gospel you have heard, preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

²⁴At present, I rejoice when I suffer for you; I complete, in my own flesh, what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church. ²⁵For I am serving the church since God entrusted to me the ministry to make the word of God fully known. ²⁶I mean that mysterious plan that remained a secret for centuries and generations and that God has now revealed to his holy ones.

²⁷God willed to make known to them the riches, and even the glory, that his mysterious plan reserved for the pagan nations: Christ is in you, the hope for glory.

²⁸This Christ, we preach. We warn and teach everyone true wisdom, aiming to make everyone perfect in Christ. ²⁹For this cause, I labor and struggle with the energy of Christ working powerfully in me.

Let Christ Jesus, the Lord, Be Your Doctrine

2 | •  ¹I want you to know how I strive for you, for those of Laodicea, and for so many who have not met me personally. ²I pray that all may be encouraged. May you be established in love, obtain all the riches of a full understanding, and know the mystery of God, Christ himself. ³For, in him, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.

⁴So, let no one deceive you with persuasive arguments. ⁵Although I am far from you, my spirit is with you, and I rejoice in recalling how well-disciplined you are and how firm in the faith of Christ.

⁶If you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, let him be your doctrine. ⁷Be rooted and built up in him; let faith be your principle, as you were taught, and your thanksgiving, overflowing.

⁸See that no one deceives you with philosophy or any hollow discourse; these are merely human doctrines not inspired by Christ but by the wisdom of this world. ⁹For in him dwells the fullness of God in bodily form. ¹⁰He is the head of all cosmic power and authority; you have everything in him.

Baptized and Risen

•  ¹¹In Christ Jesus you were given a circumcision, but not by human hands, which removed completely from you the carnal body: ¹²I refer to baptism. On receiving it, you were buried with Christ, and you also rose with him for having believed in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

¹³You were dead. You were in sin and uncircumcised at the same time. But God gave you life with Christ. He forgave all our sins. ¹⁴He canceled the record of our debts, those regulations which accused us. He did away with all that and nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵Victorious through the cross, he stripped the rulers and authorities of their power, humbled them before the eyes of the whole world, and dragged them behind him as prisoners.

Useless Doctrines

•  ¹⁶So then, let no one criticize you regarding food or drink or about the observance of animal festivals, new moons, or the Sabbath. ¹⁷These things were only shadows of what was to come, whereas the reality is the person of Christ. ¹⁸Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on humbling practices and worship of angels. In fact, they are only good for satisfying self-indulgence ¹⁹instead of holding firmly to the head of Christ. He nourishes and gives unity to the whole body through a complex system of nerves and ligaments, making it grow according to the plan of God.

²⁰If you have really died with Christ and are rid of the principles of the world, why do you now let yourselves be taught as if you belonged to the world? ²¹“Do not eat this, do not taste that, do not touch that…” ²²These are human rules and teachings referring to perishable things that wear out and disappear. ²³These doctrines may seem profound because they speak of religious observance and humility and disregarding the body. In fact, they are useless as soon as the flesh rebels.

Seek the Things that Are Above

3 | •  ¹So then, if you are risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your mind on the things that are above, not on earthly things. ³For you have died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is your life, reveals himself, you also will be revealed with him in glory.

⁵Therefore, put to death what is earthly in your life, that is immorality, impurity, inordinate passions, wicked desires, and greed, which is a way of worshiping idols. ⁶These are the things that arouse the wrath of God.

⁷You followed this way and lived in such disorders for a time. ⁸Well then, reject all that: anger, evil intentions, malice, and let no abusive words be heard from your lips.

Put On the New Self

•  ⁹Do not lie to one another. You have been stripped of the old self and its way of thinking; ¹⁰to put on the new, which is being renewed, and is to reach perfect knowledge, and the likeness of its creator. ¹¹There is no room for distinction between Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, foreigner, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.

¹²Clothe yourselves, then, as is fitting for God’s chosen people, holy and beloved of him. Put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience ¹³to bear with one another and forgive whenever there is any occasion to do so. As the Lord has forgiven you, forgive one another. ¹⁴Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵May the peace of Christ overflow in your hearts; for this end, you were called to be one body. And be thankful.

¹⁶Let the word of God dwell in you, in all its richness. Teach and admonish one another with words of wisdom. With thankful hearts, sing to God psalms, hymns, and spontaneous praise. ¹⁷And whatever you do or say, do it in the Name of Jesus the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

On Obedience

•  ¹⁸Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as you should do in the Lord. ¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and do not get angry with them. ²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything because that pleases the Lord. ²¹Parents, do not be too demanding of your children, lest they become discouraged.

²²Servants, obey your masters in everything, not only while they are present to gain favor with them, but sincerely, because you fear the Lord. ²³Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly, working for the Lord and not for humans. ²⁴You well know that the Lord will reward you with the inheritance. You are servants, but your Lord is Christ. ²⁵Every evildoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done, for God does not make exceptions in favor of anyone.

4 | ¹As for you, masters, give your servants what is fair and reasonable, knowing that you have a Master in heaven.

Further Instructions

•  ²Be steadfast in prayer, and even spend the night praying and giving thanks. ³Pray especially for us and our preaching: may the Lord open a door for us to announce the mystery of Christ. Because of this, I am in chains; ⁴pray then that I may be able to reveal this mystery, as I should.

⁵Deal wisely with those who do not belong to the Church; take advantage of every opportunity. ⁶Let your conversation be pleasing with a touch of wit. Know how to speak to everyone in the best way.

⁷Tychicus will give news of me. He is our dear brother and, for me, a faithful assistant and fellow worker for the Lord. ⁸I am purposely sending him to give you news of me and to encourage you. ⁹With him, I am sending Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of yours. They will tell you about everything that is happening here.

¹⁰My companion in prison, Aristarchus, greets you, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you have already received instructions. If he calls on you, receive him warmly. ¹¹Jesus, named Justus, greets you. They are the only Jewish people working with me for the kingdom of God, and because of that, they have comforted me.

¹²Greetings from your countryman Epaphras, a good servant of Christ Jesus. He constantly battles for you through his prayer that you be perfect and firm in whatever God asks of you. ¹³I assure you that he has worked hard for you and those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.

¹⁴Greetings from Luke, our dear doctor, and from Demas. ¹⁵Greet the brothers and sisters of Laodicea, and don’t forget Nympha and the church that gathers in her house.

¹⁶After reading this letter, see that it is read in the Church of the Laodiceans, and you yourselves read the one from Laodicea. ¹⁷And say to Archippus, “Do not forget the ministry given to you in the Lord.”

¹⁸Greetings in my own hand, Paul. Remember that I am in chains. Grace be with you.