1:1
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of
God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. 2 We are
writing to God’s holy people in the city of
Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in
Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace.
Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer
3
We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in
Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5 which come from your
confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this
expectation ever since you first heard the truth of
the Good News.
6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over
the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it
changed your lives from the day you first heard and
understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.
7
You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is
Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf. 8 He has told us about the love for others that the Holy
Spirit has given you.
9
So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask
God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom
and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the
Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good
fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
11
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you
will have all the endurance and patience you need.
May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to
share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13
For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the
Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
2:1
I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at
Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. 2 I
want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong
ties of love. I want them to have complete
confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. 3 In him lie
hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4
I am telling you this so no one will deceive you
with well-crafted arguments. 5 For though I am far away from you, my heart is
with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.
Freedom
from Rules and New Life in Christ
6
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him,
and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith
will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
8
Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense
that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world,
rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a
human body. 10 So you also are complete through your
union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
11
When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical
procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your
sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the
mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
13
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet
cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14
He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it
to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the
spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over
them on the cross.
16
So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or
drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies
or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come.
And Christ himself is that reality 19…For he holds the
whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God
nourishes it.
3:12
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves,
you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility,
gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and
forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord
forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with
love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the
peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For
as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
16
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness,
fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he
gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you
do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
