Colossians 1 — The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel of Reconciliation | World English Bible | OliveGrove

The Gospel Bears Fruit Among God's People

Paul greets the church and gives thanks that the gospel has produced faith in Christ, love for the saints, and hope stored up in heaven.

Colossians 1:1–2

The Colossians are defined by God’s calling and Christ-union, and they are sustained by grace and peace from the Father.

Union with Christ Holiness

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1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:3–8

The true gospel inevitably produces faith in Christ, love for believers, and hope anchored in heaven.

Sanctification Divine Providence Faith Spirit

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3 We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

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

5 because 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

6 which has come to you, even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth,

7 even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on your behalf,

8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

The Gospel Forms a Worthy Walk

Paul prays for spiritual wisdom and understanding so believers may live in a manner worthy of the Lord, strengthened for endurance and grateful for redemption.

Colossians 1:9–14

Believers grow by knowing God’s will, walking worthily, and remembering they have been rescued into Christ’s kingdom.

Sanctification Kingdom Spirit

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9 For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

10 that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God,

11 strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy,

12 giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,

13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love,

14 in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.

The Son Is Supreme Over All Things

Christ is revealed as the visible image of the invisible God, the agent and goal of creation, the sustainer of all things, the head of the church, and the reconciler through his blood.

Colossians 1:15–20

Jesus Christ is preeminent in creation, sovereign in the church, and central in cosmic reconciliation.

Deity of Christ Glory Kingdom Temple

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15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

16 For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him.

17 He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.

18 He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.

19 For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him,

20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.

The Reconciled Must Continue in the Gospel

Those once alienated and hostile have been reconciled through Christ's death and are called to remain established and firm in the gospel hope.

Colossians 1:21–23

Christ’s atoning death has reconciled formerly hostile sinners, and that reconciliation calls for steadfast faith.

Atonement Perseverance Faith Servant

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21 You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil deeds,

22 yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without defect and blameless before him,

23 if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, was made a servant.

The Minister Proclaims Christ for Maturity

Paul's apostolic service is marked by suffering, stewardship, disclosure of the mystery, and labor to present everyone mature in Christ.

Colossians 1:24–29

Christ in believers is the revealed hope of glory, and faithful ministry labors to present every believer mature in Him.

Union with Christ Servant Glory

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24 Now 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 assembly,

25 of which I was made a servant according to the stewardship of God which was given me toward you to fulfill the word of God,

26 the mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to his saints,

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

28 We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus;

29 for which I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.

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