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 | Passage Display |  | |
| Colossians 1:15 - 23 |  |
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| New International Version | THE MESSAGE |
| Col 1 | Col 1 | - 1:15
- He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
| - 1:15
- We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created.
| - 1:16
- For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
| - 1:16
- For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels--everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.
| - 1:17
- He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
| - 1:17
- He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment.
| - 1:18
- And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
| - 1:18
- And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and--leading the resurrection parade--he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone.
| - 1:19
- For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
| - 1:19
- So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding.
| - 1:20
- and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
| - 1:20
- Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe--people and things, animals and atoms--get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross.
| - 1:21
- Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of F6 your evil behavior.
| - 1:21
- You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got.
| - 1:22
- But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation -
| - 1:22
- But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence.
| - 1:23
- if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
| - 1:23
- You don't walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message--just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.
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| | Copyright Statement: The Holy Bible, New International Version®
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. The text may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio), up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without the express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for 25 percent (25%) or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted. Permission requests that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, International Bible Society®, 1820 Jet Stream Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921, USA.
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language
This edition issued by contractual arrangement with NavPress, a division of The Navigators, U.S.A.
Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language Copyright © 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved. |
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