for the sake of that happiness, which you hope for, and is reserv'd for you in heaven, of which you have already been inform'd by the preaching of the truth, that is, the gospel:

that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and spreading all over the world, so it has been doing among you from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth.

by whom we have been ransomed from captivity through having our sins forgiven.

He is the likeness of the unseen God, born first before all the creation ??16 for it was by him that all things were created both in heaven and on earth, both the seen and the unseen, including Thrones, angelic Lords, celestial Powers and Rulers; all things have been created by him and for him;

for 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;

All has been created through him and for him. He was before all things, and all things unite in him;

but now you have been reconciled by {his physical body} through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

if indeed ye abide in the faith founded and firm, and not moved away from the hope of the glad tidings, which ye have heard, which have been proclaimed in the whole creation which is under heaven, of which I Paul became minister.

I have been appointed to serve the Church in the position of responsibility entrusted to me by God for your benefit, so that I may fully deliver God's Message--

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

Unto whom God hath been pleased to make known what is the glorious wealth of this sacred secret among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of the glory, -

My goal is that their hearts, having been knit together in love, may be encouraged, and that they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ,

Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

in whom also ye have been circumcised with circumcision not done by hand, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of the Christ;

having been buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

And when you were [spiritually] dead because of your sins and your lack of being physically circumcised [Note: This refers to their having been unconverted Gentiles and therefore outside of a relationship with God], God made you alive [again] together with Christ, having forgiven us for all of our sins.

and not holding the Head, from whom all the body, having been supplied through the joints and bands, and having been joined together, will grow with the growth of God.

If then ye have been dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye dogmatically taught,

If therefore ye have been raised with the Christ, seek the things which are above, where the Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God:

for ye did die, and your life hath been hid with the Christ in God;

and have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;

And let the peace of Christ preside in your hearts, to which also ye have been called in one body, and be thankful.

praying at the same time also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the secret of the Christ, because of which also I have been bound,

Let your speech be always with grace, having been seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Aristarchus, my brother-prisoner, sends his love to you, and Mark, a relation of Barnabas (about whom you have been given orders: if he comes to you, be kind to him),

And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.

Epaphras, who is from you, the servant of Jesus Christ, always agonizing in your behalf in his prayers, in order that you may stand perfect even having been fully carried away in all the will of God, salutes you.

And when this epistle hath been read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye also read the epistle from Laodicea.

And tell Archippus [Note: He may have been the preacher at Colosse or Laodicia. See Philemon 1:1-2], "See to it that you fulfill your ministry [there], which you have received in [the service of] the Lord."