Greetings from Paul

(2 Samuel 6:12-15; 1 Chronicles 15:1-14; Philippians 1:1-2)

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

2To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

(1 Corinthians 1:4-9; Philippians 1:3-11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4)

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 ye have toward all the saints, 5because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7even as ye learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

9For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10to walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet 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:

The Supremacy of Christ

(Hebrews 1:1-14)

15who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him; 17and he is before all things, and in him all things consist. 18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him should all the fulness dwell; 20and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.

21And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, yet now hath he reconciled 22in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him: 23if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister.

Paul's Suffering for the Church

(2 Corinthians 11:16-33)

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 church; 25whereof I was made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which was given me to you-ward, to fulfill the word of God, 26even the mystery which hath been hid from all ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to his saints, 27to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ; 29whereunto I labour also, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.