| New American Standard Bible | ►► |
Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus [a]by the will of God, and Timothy [b]our brother,
2To the [c]saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
3We [d]give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have [e]for all the [f]saints;
5because of the hope reserved for you in [g]heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, [h]the gospel
6which has come to you, just as [i]in all the world also it is bearing fruit and [j]increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard it and [k]understood the grace of God in truth;
7just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
8and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
9For this reason we also, since the day we heard about it, have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the [l]knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, [m]to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and [n]increasing in the [o]knowledge of God;
11strengthened with all power, according to [p]His glorious might, [q]for the attaining of all perseverance and [r]patience; joyously
12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us [s]to share in the inheritance of the [t]saints in light.
The Incomparable Christ
13[u]For He rescued us from the [v]domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of [w]His beloved Son,
14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15[x]He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation:
16for [y]by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17He [z]is before all things, and in Him all things [aa]hold together.
18He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19For [ab]it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the [ac]fullness to dwell in Him,
20and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in [ad]heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
21And although you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds,
22yet He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—
23if indeed you continue in [ae]the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel