The Person and Work of the Christ

13 For God has rescued us from the tyranny of darkness, and has removed us into the kingdom of his Son, who is the embodiment of his love, 14 and through whom we have found deliverance in the forgiveness of our sins.

15 For Christ is the incarnation of the invisible God – firstborn and head of all creation; 16 for in him was created all that is in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible – angels and archangels and all the powers of heaven. 17 All has been created through him and for him. He was before all things, and all things unite in him; 18 and he is the head of the church, which is his body. The firstborn from the dead, he is to the church the source of its life, that he, in all things, may stand first. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him the divine nature in all its fulness should live, 20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself (making peace by the shedding of Christ’s blood offered on the cross) – whether on earth or in heaven. 21 And it pleased God that you, once estranged from him and hostile towards him in your thoughts, intent only on wickedness – 22 but now he has reconciled you to himself by the sacrifice of Christ’s earthly body in death – it has pleased God that you should stand in his presence holy, pure, and blameless, 23 if only you remain true to your faith, firm and immovable, never abandoning the hope held out in the good news to which you listened, which has been proclaimed among all created things under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made an assistant.

Titleless Section Break

24 Now at last I can rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf, and in my own person I supplement the afflictions endured by the Christ, for the sake of his body, the church; 25 of which I myself became a minister in virtue of the office with which God entrusted me for your benefit, to declare the message of God in all its fulness – 26 that truth which has been hidden from former ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to God’s people, 27 to whom it was his pleasure to make known the surpassing glory of that hidden truth when proclaimed among the Gentiles – “Christ among you! Your hope of glory!” 28 This is the Christ whom we proclaim, warning everyone, and instructing everyone, with all the wisdom that we possess, in the hope of bringing everyone into God’s presence perfected by union with Christ. 29 It is for that I toil, struggling with all the energy which he inspires and which works powerfully within me.

Titleless Section Break

6 Since, therefore, you have received Jesus, the Christ, as your Lord, live your lives in union with him – 7 rooted in him, building up your characters through union with him, growing stronger through your faith, as you were taught, overflowing with faith and thanksgiving. 8 Take care that there is not someone who will carry you away by his “philosophy” – a hollow sham! – following, as it does, mere human traditions, and dealing with puerile questions of this world, and not with Christ. 9 For in Christ the Godhead in all its fulness dwells incarnate; 10 and, by your union with him, you also are filled with it. He is the head of all archangels and powers of heaven. 11 By your union with him you received a circumcision that was not performed by human hands, when you threw off the tyranny of the earthly body, and received the circumcision of the Christ. 12 For in baptism you were buried with Christ; and in baptism you were also raised to life with him, through your faith in the omnipotence of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And to you, who once were dead, by reason of your sins and your uncircumcised nature – to you God gave life in giving life to Christ! He pardoned all our sins! 14 He canceled the bond which stood against us – the bond that consisted of ordinances – and which was directly hostile to us! He has taken it out of our way by nailing it to the cross! 15 He rid himself of all the powers of evil, and held them up to open contempt, when he celebrated his triumph over them on the cross!

16 Do not, then, allow anyone to take you to task on questions of eating or drinking, or in the matter of annual or monthly or weekly festivals. 17 These things are only the shadow of what is to come; the substance is in the Christ. 18 Do not let anyone defraud you of the reality by affecting delight in so-called “humility” and angel-worship. Such a person busies themselves with their visions, and without reason are rendered conceited by their merely human intellect. 19 They fail to maintain union with the head, to whom it is due that the whole body, nourished and knit together by the contact and connexion of every part, grows with a divine growth.

Titleless Section Break

20 Since, with Christ, you became dead to the puerile teaching of this world, why do you submit, as if you still belonged to the world, 21 to such ordinances as “Do not handle, or taste, or touch”? 22 For all the things referred to in them cease to exist when used. You are following mere human directions and instructions. 23 Such prohibitions appear reasonable where there is a desire for self-imposed service, and so-called “humility,” and harsh treatment of the body, but are of no real value against the indulgence of our earthly nature.