Paul's Letter to the Colossians, NVI

A letter without the divisions that came later

A letter to be read as a letter

The text below presents Paul's Letter to the Colossians as one continuous reading.

The chapter and verse numbers, the titles, subtitles and references added later by Bible editions have been removed.

Only the paragraphs were kept, trying to follow, as much as possible, the development of Paul's own thought.

The idea is simple: to read Colossians as its first recipients probably heard it, as a whole letter.

No interruptions.
No titles announcing the subject ahead of time.
No verses isolating sentences.

Just the letter.

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Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Timothy, to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints, because of the hope that is stored up for you in heaven, about which you heard through the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.

You learned it… from our beloved fellow worker, a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not stopped praying for you and asking that you be filled with the full knowledge of God's will, with all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

And this so that you may live in a manner worthy of the Lord and please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God and being strengthened with all power, according to the strength of his glory, so that you may have great endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has made us worthy to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

For he rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, that is, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions, powers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

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

He is the head of the body, which is the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

For it pleased God that in him all the fullness should dwell, and through him reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, making peace through his blood shed on the cross.

Once you were separated from God and, in your minds, were enemies because of your evil conduct.

But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body, through death, to present you before him holy, blameless and free of any accusation, provided that you continue grounded and steadfast in the faith, not moving from the hope of the gospel, which you heard and which has been proclaimed to everyone under heaven.

This is the gospel of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my body what remains of Christ's afflictions, on behalf of his body, which is the church.

I became its minister according to the responsibility given to me by God to present to you fully the word of God, the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations, but that has now been revealed to his saints.

God chose to make known to them among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

For this I labor, struggling according to his strength, which works powerfully in me.

I want you to know how much I am struggling for you… and for all who have not met me personally.

I strive so that they may be strengthened in their hearts, be united in love and reach all the riches of full understanding, so that they may fully know the mystery of God, namely, Christ.

In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I tell you this so that no one may deceive you with seemingly convincing arguments.

For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, established in the faith, as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude.

Be careful that no one enslaves you to empty and deceptive philosophies, which are based on human traditions and the elementary principles of this world, and not on Christ.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and, because you are in him, who is the Head over every power and authority, you have received fullness.

In him you were also circumcised, not with a circumcision done by human hands, but with the circumcision done by Christ, which is the putting off of the body of the flesh.

This happened when you were buried with him in baptism, and with him were raised through faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead.

When you were dead in sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with Christ.

He forgave us all our transgressions and canceled the written record of debt, which consisted of ordinances, and which was against us.

He removed it, nailing it to the cross, and, having disarmed the powers and authorities, made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them on the cross.

Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival or the celebration of new moons or sabbath days.

These things are a shadow of what was to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into detail about their visions, and their fleshly mind makes them proud. This is someone who is not united to the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and joints, grows as God causes it to grow.

Since you died with Christ to the elementary principles of this world, why, then, as if you still belonged to it, do you submit to rules: “Do not handle!”, “Do not taste!”, “Do not touch!”?

All these things are destined to perish with use, for they are based on human commands and teachings.

Such rules indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-made religion, false humility and harsh treatment of the body, but they have no value in restraining the impulses of the flesh.

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on the things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and now your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

So, put to death everything that belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

It is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming on those who live in disobedience, things you practiced in the past, when you used to live in them.

But now, get rid of all these things: anger, indignation, malice, slander and filthy language when you speak.

Do not lie to one another, since you have already taken off the old man with its practices and have put on the new, which is being renewed in knowledge, in the image of its Creator.

In this new life there is no difference between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave and free, but Christ is all and is in all.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with deep compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Above all, however, clothe yourselves with love, which is the perfect bond.

Let the peace of Christ be the judge in your hearts, since you were called to live in peace, as members of one body.

And be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and counsel one another with all wisdom, and sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude to God in your hearts.

Whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who are in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not treat them with bitterness.

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so that they will not become discouraged.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them when they are watching, but with sincerity of heart, because you fear the Lord. Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as for the Lord, and not for people, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the reward of the inheritance. It is Christ, the Lord, whom you are serving. Whoever does wrong will be repaid for the wrong done, and there is no favoritism.

Masters, give your slaves what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Lord in heaven.

Devote yourselves to prayer, be alert and be thankful. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may make it known openly, as I should.

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your speech always be pleasant and seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer each person.

…

I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.

Remember my chains.

Grace be with you.

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After reading

Maybe it is better to go back to the letter once more.

This time without looking for familiar verses.

Just noticing one thing:

where does Paul's own thought begin, continue, change direction and reach its conclusions?

A note about this edition

This page does not present a new translation or any change to the biblical text.

The intervention was only editorial: the visual divisions of chapters and verses, titles, subtitles and references were removed, preserving the text of the translation used.

Version used: Nova Versão Internacional (NVI).

You can also read this same letter in another translation:
Colossians, ARA ↗