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Colossians1This letter is from Paul, chosen by

God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus,and from our brother Timothy.2It is written to God's holy people in thecity of Colosse, who are faithful brothersand sisters in Christ. May God ourFather give you grace and peace.3We always pray for you, and we givethanks to God the Father of our LordJesus Christ,4for we have heard that you trust inChrist Jesus and that you love all ofGod's people.5You do this because you are lookingforward to the joys of heaven--as youhave been ever since you first heard thetruth of the Good News.6This same Good News that came toyou is going out all over the world. It ischanging lives everywhere, just as itchanged yours that very first day youheard and understood the truth aboutGod's great kindness to sinners.7Epaphras, our much loved co-worker,was the one who brought you the GoodNews. He is Christ's faithful servant, andhe is helping us in your place.8He is the one who told us about thegreat love for others that the Holy Spirithas given you.9So we have continued praying for youever since we first heard about you. Weask God to give you a completeunderstanding of what he wants to do inyour lives, and we ask him to make youwise with spiritual wisdom.10Then the way you live will alwayshonor and please the Lord, and you willcontinually do good, kind things forothers. All the while, you will learn toknow God better and better.11We also pray that you will bestrengthened with his glorious power sothat you will have all the patience andendurance you need. May you be filledwith joy,12always thanking the Father, who hasenabled you to share the inheritancethat belongs to God's holy people, wholive in the light.13For he has rescued us from the onewho rules in the kingdom of darkness,and he has brought us into the Kingdomof his dear Son.14God has purchased our freedom withhis blood and has forgiven all our sins.

15Christ is the visible image of theinvisible God. He existed before Godmade anything at all and is supremeover all creation.16Christ is the one through whom Godcreated everything in heaven and earth.He made the things we can see and thethings we can't see--kings, kingdoms,rulers, and authorities. Everything hasbeen created through him and for him.17He existed before everything elsebegan, and he holds all creationtogether.18Christ is the head of the church, whichis his body. He is the first of all who willrise from the dead, so he is first ineverything.19For God in all his fullness was pleasedto live in Christ,20and by him God reconciled everythingto himself. He made peace witheverything in heaven and on earth bymeans of his blood on the cross.21This includes you who were once sofar away from God. You were hisenemies, separated from him by yourevil thoughts and actions,22yet now he has brought you back ashis friends. He has done this through hisdeath on the cross in his own humanbody. As a result, he has brought youinto the very presence of God, and youare holy and blameless as you standbefore him without a single fault.23But you must continue to believe thistruth and stand in it firmly. Don't driftaway from the assurance you receivedwhen you heard the Good News. TheGood News has been preached all overthe world, and I, Paul, have beenappointed by God to proclaim it.24I am glad when I suffer for you in mybody, for I am completing what remainsof Christ's sufferings for his body, thechurch.25God has given me the responsibility ofserving his church by proclaiming hismessage in all its fullness to youGentiles.26This message was kept secret forcenturies and generations past, but nowit has been revealed to his own holypeople.27For it has pleased God to tell hispeople that the riches and glory of Christare for you Gentiles, too. For this is thesecret: Christ lives in you, and this isyour assurance that you will share in hisglory.

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28So everywhere we go, we telleveryone about Christ. We warn themand teach them with all the wisdom Godhas given us, for we want to presentthem to God, perfect in their relationshipto Christ.29I work very hard at this, as I depend onChrist's mighty power that works withinme.

2I want you to know how much I have

agonized for you and for the church atLaodicea, and for many other friendswho have never known me personally.2My goal is that they will be encouragedand knit together by strong ties of love. Iwant them to have full confidencebecause they have completeunderstanding of God's secret plan,which is Christ himself.3In him lie hidden all the treasures ofwisdom and knowledge.4I am telling you this so that no one willbe able to deceive you with persuasivearguments.5For though I am far away from you, myheart is with you. And I am very happybecause you are living as you shouldand because of your strong faith inChrist.6And now, just as you accepted ChristJesus as your Lord, you must continueto live in obedience to him.7Let your roots grow down into him anddraw up nourishment from him, so youwill grow in faith, strong and vigorous inthe truth you were taught. Let your livesoverflow with thanksgiving for all he hasdone.8Don't let anyone lead you astray withempty philosophy and high-soundingnonsense that come from humanthinking and from the evil powers of thisworld, and not from Christ.9For in Christ the fullness of God lives ina human body,10and you are complete through yourunion with Christ. He is the Lord overevery ruler and authority in the universe.11When you came to Christ, you were"circumcised," but not by a physicalprocedure. It was a spiritual procedure--the cutting away of your sinful nature.12For you were buried with Christ whenyou were baptized. And with him youwere raised to a new life because youtrusted the mighty power of God, whoraised Christ from the dead.13You were dead because of your sins

and because your sinful nature was notyet cut away. Then God made you alivewith Christ. He forgave all our sins.14He canceled the record that containedthe charges against us. He took it anddestroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross.15In this way, God disarmed the evilrulers and authorities. He shamed thempublicly by his victory over them on thecross of Christ.16So don't let anyone condemn you forwhat you eat or drink, or for notcelebrating certain holy days or newmoonceremonies or Sabbaths.17For these rules were only shadows ofthe real thing, Christ himself.18Don't let anyone condemn you byinsisting on self-denial. And don't letanyone say you must worship angels,even though they say they have hadvisions about this. These people claimto be so humble, but their sinful mindshave made them proud.19But they are not connected to Christ,the head of the body. For we are joinedtogether in his body by his strongsinews, and we grow only as we get ournourishment and strength from God.20You have died with Christ, and he hasset you free from the evil powers of thisworld. So why do you keep on followingrules of the world, such as,21"Don't handle, don't eat, don't touch."22Such rules are mere human teachingabout things that are gone as soon aswe use them.23These rules may seem wise becausethey require strong devotion, humility,and severe bodily discipline. But theyhave no effect when it comes toconquering a person's evil thoughts anddesires.

3Since you have been raised to new

life with Christ, set your sights on therealities of heaven, where Christ sits atGod's right hand in the place of honorand power.2Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do notthink only about things down here onearth.3For you died when Christ died, andyour real life is hidden with Christ in God.4And when Christ, who is your real life,is revealed to the whole world, you willshare in all his glory.5So put to death the sinful, earthly thingslurking within you. Have nothing to dowith sexual sin, impurity, lust, and

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shameful desires. Don't be greedy forthe good things of this life, for that isidolatry.6God's terrible anger will come uponthose who do such things.7You used to do them when your lifewas still part of this world.8But now is the time to get rid of anger,rage, malicious behavior, slander, anddirty language.9Don't lie to each other, for you havestripped off your old evil nature and allits wicked deeds.10In its place you have clothedyourselves with a brand-new nature thatis continually being renewed as youlearn more and more about Christ, whocreated this new nature within you.11In this new life, it doesn't matter if youare a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised oruncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,slave, or free. Christ is all that matters,and he lives in all of us.12Since God chose you to be the holypeople whom he loves, you must clotheyourselves with tenderhearted mercy,kindness, humility, gentleness, andpatience.13You must make allowance for eachother's faults and forgive the person whooffends you. Remember, the Lordforgave you, so you must forgive others.14And the most important piece ofclothing you must wear is love. Love iswhat binds us all together in perfectharmony.15And let the peace that comes fromChrist rule in your hearts. For asmembers of one body you are all calledto live in peace. And always be thankful.16Let the words of Christ, in all theirrichness, live in your hearts and makeyou wise. Use his words to teach andcounsel each other. Sing psalms andhymns and spiritual songs to God withthankful hearts.17And whatever you do or say, let it beas a representative of the Lord Jesus,all the while giving thanks through himto God the Father.18You wives must submit to yourhusbands, as is fitting for those whobelong to the Lord.19And you husbands must love yourwives and never treat them harshly.20You children must always obey yourparents, for this is what pleases the Lord.21Fathers, don't aggravate your children.If you do, they will become discouraged

and quit trying.22You slaves must obey your earthlymasters in everything you do. Try toplease them all the time, not just whenthey are watching you. Obey themwillingly because of your reverent fear ofthe Lord.23Work hard and cheerfully at whateveryou do, as though you were working forthe Lord rather than for people.24Remember that the Lord will give youan inheritance as your reward, and theMaster you are serving is Christ.25But if you do what is wrong, you will bepaid back for the wrong you have done.For God has no favorites who can getaway with evil.

4You slave owners must be just and

fair to your slaves. Remember that youalso have a Master--in heaven.2Devote yourselves to prayer with analert mind and a thankful heart.3Don't forget to pray for us, too, that Godwill give us many opportunities topreach about his secret plan--that Christis also for you Gentiles. That is why I amhere in chains.4Pray that I will proclaim this messageas clearly as I should.5Live wisely among those who are notChristians, and make the most of everyopportunity.6Let your conversation be gracious andeffective so that you will have the rightanswer for everyone.7Tychicus, a much loved brother, will tellyou how I am getting along. He is afaithful helper who serves the Lord withme.8I have sent him on this special trip to letyou know how we are doing and toencourage you.9I am also sending Onesimus, a faithfuland much loved brother, one of yourown people. He and Tychicus will giveyou all the latest news.10Aristarchus, who is in prison with me,sends you his greetings, and so doesMark, Barnabas's cousin. And as youwere instructed before, make Markwelcome if he comes your way.11Jesus (the one we call Justus) alsosends his greetings. These are the onlyJewish Christians among my coworkers;they are working with me herefor the Kingdom of God. And what acomfort they have been!12Epaphras, from your city, a servant of

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Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings.He always prays earnestly for you,asking God to make you strong andperfect, fully confident of the whole willof God.13I can assure you that he has agonizedfor you and also for the Christians inLaodicea and Hierapolis.14Dear Doctor Luke sends his greetings,and so does Demas.15Please give my greetings to ourChristian brothers and sisters atLaodicea, and to Nympha and thosewho meet in her house.16After you have read this letter, pass iton to the church at Laodicea so theycan read it, too. And you should readthe letter I wrote to them.17And say to Archippus, "Be sure tocarry out the work the Lord gave you."18Here is my greeting in my ownhandwriting--PAUL. Remember mychains. May the grace of God be withyou.