To Christ's People at Colossae--the Brothers who are faithful to him: May God, our Father, bless you and give you peace.

for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [how you lean on Him with absolute confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness], and of the [unselfish] love which you have for all the saints (God’s people);

so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord [displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity], to [fully] please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing in the knowledge of God [with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His precepts];

In him we enjoy our redemption, that is, the forgiveness of sins.

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 by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Also, he is the head of the Body, that is, of the church, in virtue of his primacy as the first to be born from the dead ??that gives him pre-eminence over all.

For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

And although you were at one time estranged and alienated and hostile-minded [toward Him], participating in evil things,

yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him:

In it, by divine appointment, I became a worker, that I might preach among you the message of God in its fulness??26 that secret, hidden from the ages and generations, but now disclosed to those who are consecrated to him,

We proclaim Him, warning and instructing everyone in all wisdom [that is, with comprehensive insight into the word and purposes of God], so that we may present every person complete in Christ [mature, fully trained, and perfect in Him—the Anointed].

To this end, like an earnest wrestler, I exert all my strength in reliance upon the power of Him who is mightily at work within me.

in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [regarding the word and purposes of God].

For even though I am absent [from you] in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, delighted to see your good discipline [as you stand shoulder to shoulder and form a solid front] and to see the stability of your faith in Christ [your steadfast reliance on Him and your unwavering confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

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

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but by the [spiritual] circumcision of Christ in the stripping off of the body of the flesh [the sinful carnal nature],

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them through the cross.

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

In him there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free person. Instead, the Messiah is all and in all.

So, as God's elect [i.e., His people], holy and dearly loved [by Him], clothe yourselves with a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Let the Message of the Christ dwell in your minds in all its wealth, bringing all wisdom with it. Teach and admonish one another with psalms, and hymns, and sacred songs, full of the loving- kindness of God, lifting your hearts in song to him.

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Servants, in everything obey those who are your masters on earth, not only with external service, as those who merely please people, but with sincerity of heart because of your fear of the Lord.

for you know that it is from him that you are to receive that inheritance which is to be your reward. Think of Christ as the master you are working for.

The man who perpetrates a wrong will find the wrong repaid to him; and with God there are no merely earthly distinctions.

As to what relates to me, you will be inform'd of it by Tychicus my dear brother, who is a faithful minister of the Lord, and serves him with me.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are doing and that he may encourage your hearts;

and with him is Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will let you know everything about the situation here [in Rome].

Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)

receive him,) And Jesus, called Justus, who are of the circumcision: these are the only fellow-workers unto the kingdom of God, who have been a comfort to me.

For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.

And tell Archippus to discharge carefully the duties devolving upon him as a servant of the Lord.

This greeting [is being written] by me, Paul, in my own handwriting. Remember my imprisonment. [Note: This was probably a request for them to pray for him]. May God's favor be with you.