1:1  PAUL, AN apostle (special messenger) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah), by the will of God, and Timothy [our] brother,

1:2  To the saints (the consecrated people of God) and believing {and} faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace (spiritual favor and blessing) to you and [heart] peace from God our Father.

1:3  We continually give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), as we are praying for you,

1:4  For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [the leaning of your entire human personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness] and of the love which you [have and show] for all the saints (God's consecrated ones),

1:5  Because of the hope [of experiencing what is] laid up (reserved and waiting) for you in heaven. Of this [hope] you heard in the past in the message of the truth of the Gospel,

1:6  Which has come to you. Indeed, in the whole world [that Gospel] is bearing fruit {and} still is growing [by its own inherent power], even as it has done among yourselves ever since the day you first heard and came to know {and} understand the grace of God in truth. [You came to know the grace or undeserved favor of God in reality, deeply and clearly and thoroughly, becoming accurately and intimately acquainted with it.]

1:7  You so learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ in our stead {and} as our representative {and} {yours}.

1:8  Also he has informed us of your love in the [Holy] Spirit.

1:9  For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray {and} make [special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding {and} discernment of spiritual things--

1:10  That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him {and} desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing {and} increasing in {and} by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition].

1:11  [We pray] that you may be invigorated {and} strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy,

1:12  Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified {and} made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God's holy people) in the Light.

1:13  [The Father] has delivered {and} drawn us to Himself out of the control {and} the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

1:14  In Whom we have our redemption {through His blood,} [which means] the forgiveness of our sins.

1:15  [Now] He is the exact likeness of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible]; He is the Firstborn of all creation.

1:16  For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created {and} exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in {and} for Him.

1:17  And He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together).

1:18  He also is the Head of [His] body, the church; seeing He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead, so that He alone in everything {and} in every respect might occupy the chief place [stand first and be preeminent].

1:19  For it has pleased [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should dwell in Him permanently.

1:20  And God purposed that through (by the service, the intervention of) Him [the Son] all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross.

1:21  And although you at one time were estranged {and} alienated from Him and were of hostile attitude of mind in your wicked activities,

1:22  Yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you to God] in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father's] presence.

1:23  [And this He will do] provided that you continue to stay with {and} in the faith [in Christ], well-grounded and settled {and} steadfast, not shifting {or} moving away from the hope [which rests on and is inspired by] the glad tidings (the Gospel), which you heard and which has been preached [as being designed for and offered without restrictions] to every person under heaven, and of which [Gospel] I, Paul, became a minister.

1:24  [Even] now I rejoice in the midst of my sufferings on your behalf. And in my own person I am making up whatever is still lacking {and} remains to be completed [on our part] of Christ's afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church.

1:25  In it I became a minister in accordance with the divine stewardship which was entrusted to me for you [as its object and for your benefit], to make the Word of God fully known [among you]--

1:26  The mystery of which was hidden for ages and generations [from angels and men], but is now revealed to His holy people (the saints),

1:27  To whom God was pleased to make known how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ within {and} among you, the Hope of [realizing the] glory.

1:28  Him we preach {and} proclaim, warning {and} admonishing everyone and instructing everyone in all wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God), that we may present every person mature (full-grown, fully initiated, complete, and perfect) in Christ (the Anointed One).

1:29  For this I labor [unto weariness], striving with all the superhuman energy which He so mightily enkindles {and} works within me.