Colossians 1
1
Paul, a an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2
To the saints b and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse:
c Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3
d We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4
e since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of f your love for all the saints;
5
because of the hope g which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
6
which has come to you, h as it has also in all the world, and i is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew j the grace of God in truth;
7
as you also learned from k Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is l a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,
8
who also declared to us your m love in the Spirit.
9
n For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask o that you may be filled with p the knowledge of His will q in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10
r that you may walk worthy of the Lord, s fully pleasing Him, t being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the u knowledge of God;
11
v strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, w for all patience and longsuffering x with joy;
12
y giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of z the inheritance of the saints in the light.
13
He has delivered us from a the power of darkness b and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14
c in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15
He is d the image of the invisible God, e the firstborn over all creation.
16
For f by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or g dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created h through Him and for Him.
17
i And He is before all things, and in Him j all things consist.
18
And k He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, l the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
19
For it pleased the Father that m in Him all the fullness should dwell,
20
and n by Him to reconcile o all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, p having made peace through the blood of His cross.
21
And you, q who once were alienated and enemies in your mind r by wicked works, yet now He has s reconciled
22
t in the body of His flesh through death, u to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight -
23
if indeed you continue v in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are w not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, x which was preached to every creature under heaven, y of which I, Paul, became a minister.
24
z I now rejoice in my sufferings a for you, and fill up in my flesh b what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for c the sake of His body, which is the church,
25
of which I became a minister according to d the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
26
e the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, f but now has been revealed to His saints.
27
g To them God willed to make known what are h the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is i Christ in you, j the hope of glory.
28
Him we preach, k warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, l that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
29
To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me m mightily.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
-
Cross References
1 Corinthians 4:17
For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.
-
Cross References
Galatians 1:3
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
-
Cross References
1 Corinthians 1:4
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 1:16
Do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
Philippians 1:3
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 1:15
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
-
Cross References
Hebrews 6:10
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
-
Cross References
1 Peter 1:4
To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.
-
Cross References
Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
-
Cross References
John 15:16
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 3:2
If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you.
-
Cross References
Colossians 4:12
Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
-
Cross References
1 Corinthians 4:1
Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
1 Corinthians 4:2
Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
2 Corinthians 11:23
Are they ministers of Christ? - I speak as a fool - I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.
-
Cross References
Romans 15:30
Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 1:15 - 17
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
-
Cross References
1 Corinthians 1:5
That you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge.
-
Cross References
Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Ephesians 5:17
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 1:8
Which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 4:1
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.
Philippians 1:27
Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.
1 Thessalonians 2:12
That you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
-
Cross References
1 Thessalonians 4:1
Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God.
-
Cross References
Hebrews 13:21
Make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
-
Cross References
2 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 3:16
That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 4:2
With all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.
-
Cross References
Acts 5:41
So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.
2 Corinthians 8:2
That in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.
Hebrews 10:34
For you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 5:20
Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 1:11
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
-
Cross References
2 Peter 1:11
For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
-
Cross References
2 Corinthians 4:4
Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
Hebrews 1:3
Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
-
Cross References
Psalms 89:27
Also I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.
Revelation 3:14
And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
-
Cross References
John 1:3
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Hebrews 1:2
Has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.
Hebrews 1:3
Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 1:20
Which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 1:21
Far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
Colossians 2:15
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
-
Cross References
John 1:3
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Romans 11:36
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
1 Corinthians 8:6
Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
Hebrews 2:10
For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
-
Cross References
John 17:5
And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
-
Cross References
Hebrews 1:3
Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
-
Cross References
1 Corinthians 11:3
But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
Ephesians 1:22
And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church.
-
Cross References
Revelation 1:5
And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.
-
Cross References
John 1:16
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
-
Cross References
Romans 5:1
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:14
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.
-
Cross References
2 Corinthians 5:18
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 1:10
That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in Him.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 2:1
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.
-
Cross References
Titus 1:15
To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.
-
Cross References
2 Corinthians 5:18
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:19
That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
-
Cross References
2 Corinthians 5:18
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
Ephesians 2:14 - 16
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 5:27
That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Colossians 1:28
Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 3:17
That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love.
Colossians 2:7
Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
-
Cross References
John 15:6
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
-
Cross References
Mark 16:15
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Acts 2:5
And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
Romans 10:18
But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: "Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.
Colossians 1:6
Which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth.
-
Cross References
Acts 1:17
"for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry."
Ephesians 3:7
Of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
Colossians 1:25
Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God.
-
Cross References
2 Corinthians 7:4
Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 3:1
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles -
Ephesians 3:13
Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
-
Cross References
Romans 8:17
And if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
2 Corinthians 1:5
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.
2 Corinthians 12:15
And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.
Philippians 2:17
Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 1:23
Which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
-
Cross References
Galatians 2:7
But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter
-
Cross References
1 Corinthians 2:7
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory.
-
Cross References
2 Timothy 1:10
But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
-
Cross References
2 Corinthians 2:14
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
-
Cross References
Romans 9:23
And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory.
-
Cross References
Romans 8:10
And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
-
Cross References
1 Timothy 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.
-
Cross References
Acts 20:20
How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 5:27
That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
-
Cross References
Ephesians 3:7
Of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.