Colossians 1-2

Legacy Standard Bible

Thanksgiving and Prayer

1 ^(A)Paul, ^(B)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^[a](C)by the will of God, and ^(D)Timothy ^[b]our brother,

² To the ^[c](E)saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae: ^(F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

^3 (G)We give thanks to God, ^(H)the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ^4 (I)since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the ^(J)love which you have ^[d]for ^(K)all the ^[e]saints, ⁵ because of the ^(L)hope ^(M)laid up for you in ^[f]heaven, of which you previously ^(N)heard in the word of truth, ^[g]the gospel ⁶ which has come to you, just as ^[h](O)in all the world also it is constantly bearing ^(P)fruit and ^[i]multiplying, just as it has been doing in you also since the day you ^(Q)heard and ^[j]understood the grace of God in truth; ⁷ just as you learned it from ^(R)Epaphras, our ^(S)beloved fellow slave, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ who also informed us of your ^(T)love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason also, ^(U)since the day we heard, ^(V)we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the ^[k](W)full knowledge of His will in all spiritual ^(X)wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you may ^(Y)walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^[l](Z)to please Him in all respects, ^(AA)bearing fruit in every good work and ^[m]multiplying in the ^[n]full knowledge of God; ^11 (AB)being strengthened with all power, according to ^[o]His glorious might, ^[p]for the attaining of all steadfastness and ^[q]patience; ^(AC)joyously ¹² giving thanks to ^(AD)the Father, who has qualified us ^[r]to share in ^(AE)the inheritance of the ^[s]saints in ^(AF)light. ¹³ Who rescued us from the ^(AG)authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of ^(AH)the Son of His love, ^14 (AI)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Firstborn of All Creation

²¹ And although you were ^(BB)formerly alienated and enemies in mind and in evil deeds, ²² but now He ^(BC)reconciled you in the ^(BD)body of His flesh through death, in order to ^(BE)present you before Him ^(BF)holy and blameless and beyond reproach— ²³ if indeed you continue in ^[z]the faith firmly ^(BG)grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the ^(BH)hope of the gospel, which you have heard, which was proclaimed ^(BI)in all creation under heaven, ^(BJ)and of which I, Paul, ^[aa]was made a ^[ab](BK)minister.

^24 (BL)Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and ^(BM)I fill up what is lacking of Christ’s afflictions in my flesh, on behalf of ^(BN)His body, which is the church, ^25 (BO)of which I ^[ac]was made a minister according to the ^(BP)stewardship from God given to me for you, so that I might ^[ad]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, ²⁶ that is, ^(BQ)the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His ^[ae]saints, ²⁷ to whom ^(BR)God willed to make known what is ^(BS)the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is ^(BT)Christ in you, the ^(BU)hope of glory. ²⁸ Him we proclaim, ^(BV)admonishing every man and teaching every man ^[af]with all ^(BW)wisdom, so that we may ^(BX)present every man ^[ag](BY)complete in Christ. ²⁹ For this purpose I also ^(BZ)labor, ^(CA)striving ^(CB)according to His working, which He works in me in power.

Alive with Christ

2 For I want you to understand how great a ^(CC)struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at ^(CD)Laodicea, and for all those who have not seen my face in the flesh, ² so that their ^(CE)hearts may be encouraged, having been ^(CF)held together in love, even unto all ^(CG)the wealth of the full assurance of understanding, unto the ^(CH)full knowledge of ^(CI)God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, ³ in whom are hidden all ^(CJ)the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ^4 (CK)I say this so that no one will delude you with ^(CL)persuasive argument. ⁵ For even though I am ^(CM)absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing ^[ah]to see your ^(CN)good order and the ^(CO)stability of your faith in Christ.

⁶ Therefore as you received ^(CP)Christ Jesus the Lord, so ^[ai](CQ)walk in Him, ⁷ having been firmly ^(CR)rooted and being ^(CS)built up in Him, and having been ^(CT)established ^[aj]in your faith—just as you ^(CU)were instructed—and abounding ^[ak]with thanksgiving.

^8 (CV)See to it that no one takes you captive through ^(CW)philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the ^(CX)elementary principles of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹ For in Him all the ^(CY)fullness of Deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been ^(CZ)filled, ^(DA)who is the head ^[al]over all ^(DB)rule and authority; ¹¹ in whom ^(DC)you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of ^(DD)the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been ^(DE)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also ^(DF)raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who ^(DG)raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And you being ^(DH)dead ^[am]in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He ^(DI)made you alive with Him, having graciously forgiven us all our transgressions. ¹⁴ Having canceled out ^(DJ)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us, ^(DK)He also has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ Having ^[an](DL)disarmed the ^(DM)rulers and authorities, He ^(DN)made a public display of them, having ^(DO)triumphed over them in ^[ao]Him.

¹⁶ Therefore, no one is to ^(DP)judge you in ^(DQ)food and ^(DR)drink, or in respect to a ^(DS)festival or a ^(DT)new moon or a ^(DU)Sabbath ^[ap]day— ¹⁷ things which are only a ^(DV)shadow of what is to come; but the ^[aq]substance ^[ar]belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Let no one keep ^[as](DW)defrauding you of your prize by ^(DX)delighting in ^[at]self-abasement and the worship of the angels, going into detail about visions he has seen, ^(DY)being puffed up for nothing by his ^(DZ)fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding fast to ^(EA)the head, from whom ^(EB)the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ^[au]ligaments, grows with a growth ^[av]that is from God.

^20 (EC)If you have died with Christ ^[aw]to the ^(ED)elementary principles of the world, ^(EE)why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to ^(EF)decrees: ²¹ “Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch”? ²² Which ^[ax]deal with everything ^(EG)destined to perish ^[ay]with use, which are in accordance with the ^(EH)commands and teachings of men; ²³ which are matters having, to be sure, a ^[az]word of wisdom in ^[ba](EI)self-made religion and self-abasement and ^(EJ)severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against ^(EK)fleshly indulgence.