Colossians 1:13-27 - Unlocked Literal Bible

¹³He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.

¹⁴In his Son we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵The Son is the image of the invisible God. He is the firstborn of all creation.

¹⁶For by him all things were created, those in the heavens and those on the earth, the visible and the invisible things. Whether thrones or dominions or governments or authorities, all things were created by him and for him.

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

¹⁸He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so he has first place among all things.

¹⁹For God was pleased that all his fullness should live in him,

²⁰and to reconcile through the Son all things to himself. God made peace through the blood of his cross. God reconciled all things to himself, whether the things on the earth or the things in heaven.

²¹At one time, you also were strangers to God and were his enemies in mind and in evil deeds.

²²But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death. He did this in order to present you holy, blameless, and above reproach before him,

²³if you continue in the faith, established and firm, not moved away from the certain hope of the gospel that you heard. This is the gospel that was proclaimed to every person created under heaven. This is the gospel of which I, Paul, became a servant.

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church.

²⁵It is of this church that I am a servant, according to the responsibility from God that was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God.

²⁶This is the secret truth that was hidden for ages and for generations. But now it has been revealed to those who believe in him.

²⁷It is to them that God wanted to make known the riches of the glory of this secret truth among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.