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Colossians 1

Paul grounds his prayer for faithful living and his labor for the church in Christ’s supremacy over creation and reconciliation through his death.

Paul writes with Timothy to the believers at Colossae after Epaphras has reported their faith in Christ and love in the Spirit. He thanks God for them and prays that their knowledge of God will bear fruit in their lives. His focus then widens to Christ’s rule over creation and the assembly, and the peace made through his cross. Paul closes by describing his suffering and labor to bring believers to maturity in Christ.

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1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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 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,
7even as you learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, 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 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,
10that 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,
11strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy,
12giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit 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.
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16For 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.
17He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.
18He 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.
19For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him,
20and 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.
21You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil deeds,
22yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without defect and blameless before him,
23if 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 was proclaimed 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 assembly,
25of which I was made a servant according to the stewardship of God which was given me toward you to fulfill the word of God,
27to 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.
28We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus;
29for which I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Colossians 1:10Paul’s prayer connects knowledge of God with a life that pleases the Lord and bears fruit in good works.
Colossians 1:11God’s glorious power strengthens believers for endurance and perseverance with joy, giving substance to Paul’s prayer for their growth.
Colossians 1:15This declaration opens Paul’s account of the Son’s supremacy, identifying him as God’s image before describing his relation to creation.
Where this chapter reaches

Ephesians shares the themes of redemption, Christ as head of the church, and God’s mystery made known among the Gentiles. John and Hebrews share the claim that creation came through the Son, while Romans also connects reconciliation with Christ’s death.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

Which part of Paul’s prayer in verses 9–12 would you most want someone to pray for you?

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How does Paul’s account of Christ’s supremacy shape your understanding of his suffering and labor?

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Questions people ask about Colossians 1

What does “the firstborn of all creation” mean in Colossians 1:15?

The phrase describes the Son’s supreme rank in relation to creation. The next verses say that all things were created through him and for him, that he exists before all things, and that all things hold together in him. This context places him above the whole created order.

What is lacking in Christ’s afflictions in Colossians 1:24?

Paul describes suffering in his own body for Christ’s assembly as part of his assigned service. The precise force of “lacking” is debated. The surrounding passage presents Christ’s death as the basis of reconciliation and Paul’s afflictions as the cost of serving the church and making God’s word known.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).