for the sake of that happiness, which you hope for, and is reserv'd for you in heaven, of which you have already been inform'd by the preaching of the truth, that is, the gospel:

that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and spreading all over the world, so it has been doing among you from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth.

by whom we have been ransomed from captivity through having our sins forgiven.

He is the likeness of the unseen God, born first before all the creation ??16 for it was by him that all things were created both in heaven and on earth, both the seen and the unseen, including Thrones, angelic Lords, celestial Powers and Rulers; all things have been created by him and for him;

for in him was the universe created, things in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen, thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; by him and for him all have been created;

All has been created through him and for him. He was before all things, and all things unite in him;

but now you have been reconciled by {his physical body} through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

And this he will do if, indeed, you continue in the faith, firmly founded and stedfast, and never moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, and which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, that gospel of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

In it I have been made a minister in accordance with the trusteeship God entrusted to me for you, that I might prove among you the universal message of God,

that secret truth, which, although hidden from ages and generations of old, has now been made manifest to his saints.

Unto whom God hath been pleased to make known what is the glorious wealth of this sacred secret among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of the glory, -

that their hearts may be encouraged, by having been knit together in love and by having atoned to the full assurance of understanding, so that they may finally reach the fullest knowledge of the open secret, Christ Himself,

Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

And you have been filled by him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.

In whom, ye have also been circumcised with a circumcision not done by hand, in the despoiling of the body of flesh, in the circumcision of the Christ, -

having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

And when you were [spiritually] dead because of your sins and your lack of being physically circumcised [Note: This refers to their having been unconverted Gentiles and therefore outside of a relationship with God], God made you alive [again] together with Christ, having forgiven us for all of our sins.

and not holding the Head, from whom all the body, having been supplied through the joints and bands, and having been joined together, will grow with the growth of God.

If then ye have been dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye dogmatically taught,

So if you have been raised to life in fellowship with Christ, keep on seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

for ye did die, and your life hath been hid with the Christ in God;

and have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for which you have been called in one body; and be thankful.

praying at the same time also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the secret of the Christ, because of which also I have been bound,

Let your speech be always with grace, having been seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner salutes you, and Mark the nephew of Barnabas,??oncerning whom you received commandments, if he comes to you receive him,??11 and Jesus called Justus, who are of the circumcision; these are the only co-laborers for the kingdom of God who have been a comfort to me.

and Jesus who is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These are my only fellow workers for the Kingdom of God, men who have been a comfort to me.

Epaphras, who is from you, the servant of Jesus Christ, always agonizing in your behalf in his prayers, in order that you may stand perfect even having been fully carried away in all the will of God, salutes you.

When this letter has been read among you, cause it to be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

And tell Archippus, "See that you perform the Christian service you have been assigned."