Parallel Bible results for "colossians 1"

Colossians 1

New Revised Standard NRS

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

2 To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3 In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,

5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel

6 that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.

7 This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,

8 and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

10 so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.

11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,

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

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

16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.

17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.

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

20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him—

23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.

24 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.

25 I became its servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

26 the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints.

27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28 It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

29 For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.

The Bible in Basic English BBE

1 Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, by the purpose of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 To the saints and true brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3 We give praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, making prayer for you at all times,

4 After hearing of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have for all the saints,

5 Through the hope which is in store for you in heaven; knowledge of which was given to you before in the true word of the good news,

6 Which has come to you; and which in all the world is giving fruit and increase, as it has done in you from the day when it came to your ears and you had true knowledge of the grace of God;

7 As it was given to you by Epaphras, our well-loved helper, who is a true servant of Christ for us,

8 And who, himself, made clear to us your love in the Spirit.

9 For this reason, we, from the day when we had word of it, keep on in prayer for you, that you may be full of the knowledge of his purpose, with all wisdom and experience of the Spirit,

10 Living uprightly in the approval of the Lord, giving fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

11 Full of strength in the measure of the great power of his glory, so that you may undergo all troubles with joy;

12 Giving praise to the Father who has given us a part in the heritage of the saints in light;

13 Who has made us free from the power of evil and given us a place in the kingdom of the Son of his love;

14 In whom we have our salvation, the forgiveness of sins:

15 Who is the image of the unseen God and existed before all living things;

16 For by him all things were made, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, authorities, lords, rulers, and powers; all things were made by him and for him;

17 He is before all things, and in him all things have being.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: the starting point of all things, the first to come again from the dead; so that in all things he might have the chief place.

19 For God in full measure was pleased to be in him;

20 Through him uniting all things with himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, uniting all things which are on earth or in heaven.

21 And you, who in the past were cut off and at war with God in your minds through evil works, he has now made one

22 In the body of his flesh through death, so that you might be holy and without sin and free from all evil before him:

23 If you keep yourselves safely based in the faith, not moved from the hope of the good news which came to you, and which was given to every living being under heaven; of which I, Paul, was made a servant.

24 Now I have joy in my pain because of you, and in my flesh I undergo whatever is still needed to make the sorrows of Christ complete, for the salvation of his body, the church;

25 Of which I became a servant by the purpose of God which was given to me for you, to give effect to the word of God,

26 The secret which has been kept from all times and generations, but has now been made clear to his saints,

27 To whom God was pleased to give knowledge of the wealth of the glory of this secret among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

28 Whom we are preaching; guiding and teaching every man in all wisdom, so that every man may be complete in Christ;

29 And for this purpose I am working, using all my strength by the help of his power which is working in me strongly.