1Павел, с Божията воля апостол на Исус Христос, и брат Тимотей, (Еф 1:1)2до святите и верни братя в Христос, които са в Колос: Благодат и мир на вас от Бога, нашия Отец и от Господ Исус Христос. (1 Кор 4:17; Гал 1:3; Еф 6:21)3Благодарим на Бога, Отец на нашия Господ Исус Христос (като се молим винаги за вас, (1 Кор 1:4; Еф 1:16; Фил 1:3; Фил 4:6)4понеже чухме за вашата вяра в Христос Исус и за любовта ви към всички светии), (Еф 1:15; Кол 1:9; Флм 1:5; Евр 6:10)5по причина на онова, за което се надяваме, което се пази за вас на небесата, за което сте чули преди това в истинското слово на благовестието, (2 Тим 4:8; 1 Пет 1:4)6което дойде до вас; както то принася плод и расте и в целия свят, така и между вас, от деня, когато чухте и наистина познахте Божията благодат, (Мт 13:8; Мт 24:14; Мк 4:8; Мк 16:15; Йн 15:16; Рим 10:18; 2 Кор 6:1; Еф 3:2; Фил 1:11; Кол 1:23; Тит 2:11; 1 Пет 5:12)7както сте я и научили от нашия възлюбен съработник Епафрас, който е за нас верен Христов служител; (2 Кор 11:23; Кол 4:12; 1 Тим 4:6; Флм 1:23)8който ни и извести за вашата любов в Духа. (Рим 15:30)
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, (1 Кор 1:1; 2 Кор 1:1; 1 Сол 3:2)2To the saints and faithful brothers[1] in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. (Рим 1:7; Еф 1:1; Фил 1:1)
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, (Еф 1:15; Еф 1:16; Флм 1:4)4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, (1 Сол 1:3)5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, (Д А 23:6; Еф 1:13; Кол 1:23; 2 Тим 4:8; Тит 1:2; Евр 3:6; 1 Пет 1:4)6which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, (Пс 98:3; Йн 15:5; Йн 15:16; Д А 11:23; Рим 16:26; Еф 4:21; Фил 1:11)7just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant.[2] He is a faithful minister of Christ on your[3] behalf (Кол 4:7; Кол 4:12; Флм 1:23)8and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. (Рим 15:30)9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (1 Кор 12:8; Еф 1:8; Еф 1:17; Кол 1:4; Кол 4:5; 2 Сол 1:11)10so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Пс 1:1; Пс 1:3; 2 Кор 5:9; Еф 5:10; Кол 1:6; 1 Сол 4:1)11being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; (Мт 5:12; Еф 3:16; Еф 4:2)12giving thanks[4] to the Father, who has qualified you[5] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Д А 26:18; Еф 5:20; Кол 3:15)13He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, (Лк 22:53; Еф 1:6; Еф 6:12; 1 Сол 1:10; 2 Пет 1:11)14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Еф 1:7)
The Preeminence of Christ
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Пс 89:27; 2 Кор 4:4; 1 Тим 1:17)16For by[6] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Ез 10:1; Рим 11:36; 1 Кор 8:6; Еф 1:10; Еф 1:21)17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Йн 8:58; Евр 1:3)18And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Д А 26:23; 1 Кор 15:20; Еф 1:22; Еф 1:23; Отк 1:5; Отк 3:14)19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, (Йн 1:16; Кол 2:9)20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (2 Кор 5:18; Еф 1:10; Еф 2:13; Еф 2:14)21And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, (Еф 2:1; Еф 2:2; Еф 2:12; Тит 1:16)22he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, (Рим 7:4; 1 Кор 1:8; Еф 1:4; Еф 5:27; Юда 1:24)23if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation[7] under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. (Мк 16:15; Йн 15:4; Д А 2:5; 2 Кор 3:6; Еф 3:17; Кол 1:5; Кол 2:7)
Paul’s Ministry to the Church
24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, (2 Кор 1:5; 2 Кор 7:4; Еф 4:12; 2 Тим 1:8; 2 Тим 2:10)25of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, (Еф 3:2; Кол 1:23)26the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. (Рим 16:25; Рим 16:26; Еф 3:9)27To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Еф 1:18; Еф 3:16; Кол 1:26; Кол 2:2; 1 Тим 1:1)28Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Мт 5:48; Кол 1:22)29For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (1 Кор 15:10; Еф 1:19; Кол 2:1; Кол 4:12; 1 Тим 4:10)