Colossians

 

1   Paulus, an ambassador of Yeshua the Anointed through the will of God. And Timotheos the brother.

   To those in Colosse, holy and faithful brothers in the Anointed.

   Grace to you, and peace, from God our father and the lord Yeshua the Anointed. We give thanks to God, the father of our lord Yeshua the Anointed, praying at all times about you, since we have heard of your faith in Anointed Yeshua, and your love for all the holy, because of the expectation which is laid away for you in the heavens, which you heard of before, in the message of the truth of the good news, which came to you, just as it has to all the world, and is bearing fruit and increasing, just as it has also among you from the day you heard and recognised the grace of God in the truth. Just as you also learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-slave, who is a trustworthy servant of the Anointed on your behalf, and who made your love evident to us in the spirit.

   Because of this we also, from the day we heard, have not ceased praying on behalf of you, and requesting that you may be filled with the recognition of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, to walk worthily of the lord in all kinds of pleasing things, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing in the knowledge of God. Being strengthened in all power, according to the might of his glory, for all perseverance and patience with joy.

   Giving thanks to the father, who makes us sufficient for the portion of the lot of the holy in the light, and who rescued us from the authority of the darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of the son of his love, in whom we have the redemption through his blood, the pardoning of sins, he who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, because all things were created in him, both in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, whether lordships, whether rulers, whether authorities, all things have been created through him, and for him. And he himself is above all, and all things hold together in him.

   And he himself is the head of the body, the assembly. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become the first over all things, because all fullness was delighted to dwell in him, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his stake^a, through him, whether the things on earth, or whether the things in the heavens.

   And you, who used to be alienated and enemies in understanding by the wicked works, but whom he has now reconciled, in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and without reproach in his sight - if indeed you remain in the faith, having laid a foundation, and standing firm and not shifting from the expectation of the good news which you heard, and which was proclaimed to all the creation under the sky, and of which I, Paulus, became a servant.

   Now I rejoice in the sufferings on your behalf, and I make up for what is lacking of the duress of the Anointed in my flesh on behalf of his body, which is the assembly, of which I, myself, became a servant - according to the stewardship of God which was given to me for you, to fulfil the message of God. The secret which had been concealed from the ages, and from the generations, but which has now been made manifest to his holy ones, to whom God wants to make known what are riches of the glory of this secret in the nations - which is the Anointed among you, the expectation of the glory, whom we declare, warning every person, and teaching every person in all wisdom, so that we should present every person mature in Anointed Yeshua. For this reason I also labour, contending according to his working that is working in me in power.

2   For I want you to know what an exceptionally great struggle I am having concerning you, and those in Laodicea, and all those who haven’t seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be comforted, being joined together in love, and in all the riches of the assurance of understanding, resulting in recognition of the secret of God the father, and of the Anointed, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. But I say this so that nobody will beguile you with plausible sounding arguments. For even though I am absent in the flesh, in the spirit I am with you, rejoicing and watching your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in the Anointed.

   Therefore, since you have accepted Anointed Yeshua the lord, walk in him, having been firmly planted and built up in him, confirmed in the faith, just as you were taught, overabounding in it with thankfulness. Watch out that nobody leads you away captive through empty and deceptive philosophy, according to the tradition of people, according to the fundamentals of the world, and not according to the Anointed. Because the whole fullness of the divine nature dwells in him in bodily form.

   And you who have been filled, are in him who is the head of every ruler and power, in whom you were also circumcised, with a circumcision not made by hands, in the taking off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of the Anointed, being buried with him by the immersion, in which you were also raised together through the faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And he made you, (who were dead in the transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh), alive again with him, showing grace to us in all the transgressions, having blotted out the written decrees which were standing opposed to us and lifting them from our midst, nailing them to the stake^a. Stripping the rulers and the powers, he openly made a show of them, triumphing over them in it.

   Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you in eating or drinking, or in a particular festival, or new moon, or Sabbath^b, which are a shadow of the ones which are about to come, but the body is of the Anointed. Don’t let anybody condemn you, wanting to do things in humility, and in the religion of messengers, stepping into things which they haven’t seen, being puffed up for no reason by the mind of their flesh, and not being controlled by the head, from whom the whole body, which is being supplied and brought together through the joints and ligaments, grows with the growth of God.

   If you died with the Anointed from the fundamentals of the world, why, like those who live in the world, are you being subject to rules? Don’t touch. Don’t taste. Don’t contact. These will all end in destruction in their use, and are according to the commands and teachings of people, which indeed have a message of wisdom, in self-made religion, and humility, and harsh treatment of the body, but which have no value whatever against gratification of the flesh.

3   If then you were raised with the Anointed, then keep seeking upwards, where the Anointed is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind upwards, not on things of the earth. For you died, and your life has been hidden with the Anointed in God. When the Anointed is manifested, our life will appear, and then we will also be made manifest with him in glory.

   So then, put your body parts to death on the earth - fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire and greed which is idolatry. Through these the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience, among whom you also used to walk when you lived among them. But now, put all these away - wrath, fury, evil, speaking evil, foul language out of your mouth. Don’t lie to one another - having taken off the old person together with its actions, and having put on the new, the one being renewed in regard to knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. Where there is no Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, Barbarian^a, Scythian, slave, free - but the Anointed is all and in all.

   So then as the selected of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart^b of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. Being tolerant of one another, and showing grace among yourselves, even if someone has a complaint against someone, just as the Anointed shows grace to you, in the same way, so should you be.

   But above all these things is love, which is a unifying bond of perfection. And let the peace of God be judge in your hearts, into which you were also called into one body. And become thankful. Let the message of the Anointed dwell among you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing yourselves in psalms, and praise songs and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the lord. And whatever you do, in word or in work, do all things in the name of the lord Yeshua, giving thanks to God the father through him.

   Wives, be subject to your own husbands as is proper in the lord. Husbands, love your wives and don’t be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is pleasing in the lord. Fathers, don’t provoke your children to anger, so they aren’t disheartened. Slaves, obey those who are masters according to the flesh in all things, not with eye-service like people pleasers, but in oneness^c of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it from the soul, working as to the lord and not to people, knowing that you will receive the repayment of the inheritance from the lord, for you are serving the lord the Anointed as slaves. But the one who does wrong will receive what he did wrong, and there will be no partiality.

4   Masters, show righteousness and equality to your slaves, knowing that you also have a master in the heavens. Be devoted to prayer, watching in it in thankfulness. Praying at the same time also about us, so that God will open a door of the message to us, to speak the secret of the Anointed, because of which I have also been bound, so that I should make it manifest as I am bound [must] to speak.

   Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Your message should be with grace at all times, seasoned with salt, to know how you must answer each one.

   Tychicus, the beloved brother, and trustworthy servant, and fellow slave in the lord, will make everything about me known to you. I sent him to you for this very thing, so that he might perceive the things about you, and that he should encourage your hearts, together with Onesimus the trustworthy and beloved brother who is from among you. They will make everything here known to you.

   Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, as does Markos, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you received commands, (if he ever comes to you, welcome him), and Yeshua, the one called Justus. These are the only ones of the circumcision, fellow workers for the kingdom of God, who became a consolation to me. Epaphras, a slave of the Anointed, from among you, greets you, contending always in prayers on behalf of you, so that you may stand mature, having been filled in the entire will of God. For I testify about him, that he has much zeal on behalf of you, and of those in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis.

   Loukas the beloved healer greets you, as does Demas. Greet the brothers in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the assembly which is in her house. And when this letter is read among you, make it also read in the assembly of the Laodiceans, and you also read the one from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, “Look to the service which you accepted in the lord, so that you might fulfil it.”

   The greeting by my hand, Paulus. Recall my bonds. Grace is with you. Amen^a.