Colossians 1
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 60 – AD 62 · The early church · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
29 verses · 626 words · ~3 min read · ~4 min listen
Greetings from Paul and Timothy
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints— 5the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6that has come to you.
All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8and who also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
13He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Supremacy of the Son
15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence. 19For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.
21Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds. 22But now He has reconciled you by Christʼs physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence— 23if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Paulʼs Suffering for the Church
24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christʼs afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church. 25I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God, 26the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints. 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.
Footnotes (6)
- a v2 BYZ and TR God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
- b v7 NE, NA, BYZ, and TR your
- c v12 BYZ and TR us
- d v14 TR redemption through His blood,
- e v23 Or in all creation
- f v28 Or fully mature
Study notes on this chapter · 3
How to read the days of creation
Genesis 1 describes God creating in six days and resting on the seventh. Christians have read the days in several ways, and the question of how to relate the chapter to modern science is among the most discussed in biblical interpretation. The New Testament affirms creation through Christ and the created order, and Exodus ties the Sabbath to the six days.
When: Genesis; ancient readers such as Philo, Origen and Augustine already debated the nature of the days.
Ways people read this (5)
- Six ordinary days, with a young earth (young-earth creationism).
- Days as long periods, with an old earth (day-age, progressive creation).
- A literary framework: the days form a structure for teaching God's ordering of creation, without timing (framework view).
- An ancient cosmology: the chapter describes the cosmos as a temple, and its claims are functional, not material (cosmic temple or 'functional' readings).
- Augustine read creation as instantaneous, with the days an account for human understanding.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Humanity in God's image, and Christ the image of God
Genesis says God made humankind in his own image. The New Testament calls Christ the image of the invisible God, and says believers are being renewed after the image of their Creator, as if what Adam was meant to be is seen fully in Christ.
When: Genesis; Colossians, c. AD 60–62; 2 Corinthians, c. AD 55–56.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Wisdom at creation's side
In Proverbs 8 personified Wisdom says the LORD 'possessed' or 'created' her at the beginning, and that she was beside him as a craftsman when he made the world. Paul says all things were created in and through Christ, and John calls the Word the agent of creation. Early Christians read Proverbs 8 as speaking of the Son, which led to a long dispute over the verb.
When: Proverbs, c. 950–700 BC; John and Colossians, c. AD 60–95.
Ways people read this (3)
- Wisdom is a poetic personification of a divine attribute, without reference to Christ.
- Early Christian writers read Wisdom as the pre-existent Son; Arius used the verb 'created' (in the Greek) in his argument and Nicene writers responded that the verse described the incarnation or was figurative.
- Jewish tradition sees Wisdom as identified with the Torah (as in Sirach 24).
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.