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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Colossians 1 Amplified Bible</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/colossians/1.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/colossians/1-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">AMP</a> > Colossians 1</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="../menu.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../philippians/4.htm" title="Philippians 4">◄</a> Colossians 1 <a href="../colossians/2.htm" title="Colossians 2">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">Amplified Bible</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nas/esv/colossians/1.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Verses"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><p class="hdg">Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments</p><p><span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Paul, an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed) by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>To the <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[a]</a></span>saints and faithful <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[b]</a></span>believers in Christ [who are] at Colossae: Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we pray always for you, <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [how you lean on Him with absolute confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness], and of the [unselfish] <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[c]</a></span>love which you have for all the saints (God’s people); <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>because of the [confident] hope [of experiencing that] which is reserved <i>and</i> waiting for you in heaven. You previously heard of this <i>hope</i> in the message of truth, the gospel [regarding salvation] <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>which has come to you. Indeed, just as in the whole world <i>the gospel</i> is constantly bearing fruit and spreading [by God’s power], just as <i>it has been doing</i> among you ever since the day you first heard <i>of it</i> and understood the grace of God in truth [becoming thoroughly and deeply acquainted with it]. <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>You learned it from [our representative] Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>and he also has told us of your love [well-grounded and nurtured] in the [Holy] Spirit. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>For this reason, since the day we heard about it, we have not stopped praying for you, asking [specifically] that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [with insight into His purposes], and in understanding [of spiritual things], <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord [displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity], to [fully] please <i>Him</i> in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing in the knowledge of God [with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His precepts]; <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>[we pray that you may be] strengthened <i>and</i> invigorated with all power, according to His glorious might, to attain every kind of endurance and patience with joy; <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints (God’s people) in the Light. <p class="hdg">The Incomparable Christ</p><span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>For He has rescued us <i>and</i> has drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>in whom we have redemption [because of His sacrifice, resulting in] the forgiveness of our sins [and the cancellation of sins’ penalty]. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation. <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>For <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[d]</a></span>by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created <i>and</i> exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him. <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>And He Himself existed <i>and</i> is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.] <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>He is also the head [the life-source and leader] of the body, the <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[e]</a></span>church; and He is the beginning, <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[f]</a></span>the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will occupy the first place [He will stand supreme and be preeminent] in everything. <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>For it pleased the <i>Father</i> for all the fullness [of deity--the sum total of His essence, all His perfection, powers, and attributes] to dwell [permanently] in Him (the Son), <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>and through [the intervention of] the Son to reconcile all things to Himself, making peace [with believers] through the blood of His cross; through Him, [I say,] whether things on earth or things in heaven. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>And although you were at one time estranged <i>and</i> alienated and hostile-minded [toward Him], <i>participating</i> in evil things, <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>yet Christ has now reconciled you [to God] in His <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[g]</a></span>physical body through death, in order to present you before the Father holy and blameless and beyond reproach-- <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>[and He will do this] if you continue in the faith, well-grounded and steadfast, and not shifting away from the [confident] hope [that is a result] of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[h]</a></span>in all creation under heaven, and of which [gospel] I, Paul, was made a minister. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>Now I rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf. And with my own body I <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[i]</a></span>supplement whatever is lacking [on our part] of Christ’s afflictions, on behalf of His body, which is the church. <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>In <i>this church</i> I was made a minister according to the stewardship which God entrusted to me for your sake, so that I might make the word of God fully known [among you]-- <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span><i>that is,</i> <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[j]</a></span>the mystery which was hidden [from angels and mankind] for ages and generations, but has now been revealed to His saints (God’s people). <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>God [in His eternal plan] chose to make known to them how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in <i>and</i> among you, the hope <i>and</i> guarantee of [realizing the] glory. <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>We proclaim Him, warning and instructing everyone in all wisdom [that is, with comprehensive insight into the word and purposes of God], so that we may present every person complete in Christ [mature, fully trained, and perfect in Him--the Anointed]. <span class="reftext"><a href="/colossians/1-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>For this I labor [often to the point of exhaustion], striving with His power <i>and</i> energy, which so greatly works within me.<A name="fn"></a></p><br /><br /><span class="footnotesbot">[a]</span> <span class="fnverse">2</span> Every born-again believer (saint) has been reborn from above--spiritually transformed, renewed, made holy and set apart for God’s purpose.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[b]</span> <span class="fnverse">2</span> Lit <i>brethren</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[c]</span> <span class="fnverse">4</span> The key to understanding this and other statements about love is to know that this love (the Greek word <i>agape)</i> is not so much a matter of emotion as it is of doing things for the benefit of another person, that is, having an unselfish concern for another and a willingness to seek the best for another.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[d]</span> <span class="fnverse">16</span> Or <i>in</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[e]</span> <span class="fnverse">18</span> This refers to the entire body of born-again believers (whether past, present, or future), not a local congregation.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[f]</span> <span class="fnverse">18</span> Christ is the first to be resurrected with an incorruptible, immortal body. Others who were raised had to die again.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[g]</span> <span class="fnverse">22</span> Lit <i>body of flesh</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[h]</span> <span class="fnverse">23</span> Paul may be referring to the fact that the created world displays proof of the existence of an omnipotent, benevolent God (cf Rom 1:20), without whom there would be no possibility of salvation. Such a God is the foundation of the “good news.”<br><span class="footnotesbot">[i]</span> <span class="fnverse">24</span> I.e. since the church is Christ’s body, figuratively speaking, whatever the church suffers can be considered additional sufferings by Christ Himself, and all such suffering was ordained and destined by God; what is left to suffer in God’s plan is what is “lacking of Christ’s afflictions.” Paul, as a member of the church, was destined to suffer through persecution etc., thereby taking his share of the church body’s divinely-ordained suffering.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[j]</span> <span class="fnverse">26</span> I.e. that believing Gentiles would be united with believing Jews into one body of believers.<br></div><br /><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Amplified Bible Copyright © 2015<br>by The Lockman Foundation<br>All rights reserved <a href="http://www.lockman.org">www.lockman.org</a><br><br><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br>                                                                                                                                <span class="p"><br /><br /></span></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../philippians/4.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Philippians 4"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Philippians 4" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../colossians/2.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Colossians 2"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Colossians 2" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>