1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ [who are] at Colossae: Grace to you{+} and peace from God our Father. 3We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you{+}, 4having heard of your{+} faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you{+} have toward all the saints, 5because of the hope which is laid up for you{+} in the heavens, of which you{+} heard before in the word of the truth of the good news, 6which has come to you{+}; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as [it does] in you{+} also, since the day you{+} heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7even as you{+} learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow slave, who is a faithful servant of Christ on your{+} behalf, 8who also declared to us your{+} love in the Spirit. 9For this cause we also, since the day we heard [it], do not cease to pray and make request for you{+}, that you{+} may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10to walk worthily of the Lord to all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, to all patience and long-suffering with joy; 12giving thanks to the Father, who made you{+} meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; 13who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love; 14in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins: 15who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for in him were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and to him; 17and he is before all things, and in him all things consist. 18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19For it was the good pleasure [of the Father] that in him should all the fullness dwell; 20and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens. 21And you{+}, being in time past alienated and enemies in your{+} mind in your{+} evil works, 22yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you{+} holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him: 23if indeed you{+} continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the good news which you{+} heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; of which I Paul was made a servant. 24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your{+} sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church; 25of which I was made a servant, according to the dispensation of God which was given me toward you{+}, to fulfill the word of God, 26[even] the mystery which has been hid since the ages and since the generations: but now it has been manifested to his saints, 27to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you{+}, the hope of glory: 28whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ; 29to which I labor also, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.