having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints,

on account of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the true word of the gospel

which is present with you as also in all the world, and is fruitful and increases, as also with you, from the day that you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

for by him were all things created which are in heaven and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or powers. All things were created through him and for him,

if indeed you continue founded and established in the faith, and not moved from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached in all the creation under heaven; of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Now I rejoice in sufferings for you, and supply the deficiencies of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the church,

of which I was made a minister according to the dispensation of God given me for you, to complete the word of God,

to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,

for which I also labor, striving with his power which operates in me with power.

in which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

having been buried with him in baptism, in which you have also been raised together through the effectual faith of God who raised him from the dead;

having blotted out what was written by the hand in ordinances which was against us, and has taken it away from between [us], having nailed it to the cross;

which are a shadow of things that were to come; but the body is Christ's.

and not holding the head, from which all the body being supplied and compacted by means of joints and tendons grows with an increase of God.

If therefore you died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why do you practice ordinances as living in the world,??21 you shall not touch, you shall not taste, you shall not feel,??22 all which are to perish in the using??ccording to the commandments and instructions of men?

Which have an appearance of wisdom in voluntary worship and humiliation, and in a rigorous treatment of the body, [which is held] in no respect for the surfeiting of the flesh.

Put to death, therefore, your members which are on the earth, fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry,

for which comes the wrath of God.

In which also you walked formerly when you lived in them;

and in addition to all these [put on] love, which is the bond of perfection.

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

for he that does wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done, and there is no respect of persons.

praying also at the same time for us, that God will open to us a door of utterance to declare the mystery of Christ, for which also I am bound,

And say to Archippus, Attend to your ministry which you received in the Lord, to perform it fully.