Colossians 1

Paul gives thanks for the Colossians’ faith, love, and hope, and prays that they may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, bear fruit, and be strengthened, giving thanks to the Father who “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” Then comes the great hymn: Christ is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,” for “by him all things were created... and in him all things hold together.” He is “the head of the body, the church,” and “the firstborn from the dead,” in whom “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,” and through whom God reconciles all things “by the blood of his cross.” Paul rejoices in his sufferings for the church and labors to present everyone “mature in Christ,” proclaiming “the mystery... which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”