1I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus just as God planned. Our brother Timothy joins me in writing.
2We are sending this letter to you, our brothers and sisters in Colossae. You belong to Christ. You are holy and faithful.
May God our Father give you grace and peace.
Paul Prays and Gives Thanks
3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. 4We thank him because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus. We have also heard that you love all God’s people. 5Your faith and love are based on the hope you have. What you hope for is stored up for you in heaven. You have already heard about it. You were told about it when the true message was given to you. I’m talking about the good news 6that has come to you. In the same way, the good news is bearing fruit. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world. It has been doing that among you since the day you heard it. That is when you really understood God’s grace. 7You learned the good news from Epaphras. He is dear to us. He serves Christ together with us. He faithfully works for Christ and for us among you. 8He also told us about your love that comes from the Holy Spirit.
9That’s why we have not stopped praying for you. We have been praying for you since the day we heard about you. We keep asking God to fill you with the knowledge of what he wants. We pray he will give you the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. 10Then you will be able to lead a life that is worthy of the Lord. We pray that you will please him in every way. So we want you to bear fruit in every good thing you do. We pray that you will grow to know God better. 11We want you to be very strong, in keeping with his glorious power. We want you to be patient. We pray that you will never give up. 12We want you to give thanks with joy to the Father. He has made you fit to have what he will give to all his holy people. You will all receive a share in the kingdom of light. 13He has saved us from the kingdom of darkness. He has brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 14Because of what the Son has done, we have been set free. Because of him, all our sins have been forgiven.
The Son of God Is Better Than Everything Else
15The Son is the exact likeness of God, who can’t be seen. The Son is first, and he is over all creation. 16All things were created in him. He created everything in heaven and on earth. He created everything that can be seen and everything that can’t be seen. He created kings, powers, rulers and authorities. All things have been created by him and for him. 17Before anything was created, he was already there. He holds everything together. 18And he is the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning. He is the first to be raised from the dead. That happened so that he would be far above everything. 19God was pleased to have his whole nature living in Christ. 20God was pleased to bring all things back to himself. That’s because of what Christ has done. These things include everything on earth and in heaven. God made peace through Christ’s blood, by his death on the cross.
21At one time you were separated from God. You were enemies in your minds because of your evil ways. 22But because Christ died, God has brought you back to himself. Christ’s death has made you holy in God’s sight. So now you don’t have any flaw. You are free from blame. 23But you must keep your faith steady and firm. You must not move away from the hope the good news holds out to you. This is the good news that you heard. It has been preached to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, now serve the good news.
Paul’s Work for the Church
24I am happy because of what I am suffering for you. My suffering joins with and continues the sufferings of Christ. I suffer for his body, which is the church. 25I serve the church. God appointed me to bring the complete word of God to you. 26That word contains the mystery that has been hidden for many ages. But now it has been made known to the Lord’s people. 27God has chosen to make known to them the glorious riches of that mystery. He has made it known among the Gentiles. And here is what it is. Christ is in you. He is your hope of glory.
28Christ is the one we preach about. With all the wisdom we have, we warn and teach everyone. When we bring them to God, we want them to be like Christ. We want them to be grown up as people who belong to Christ. 29That’s what I’m working for. I work hard with all the strength of Christ. His strength works powerfully in me.
1Bulus, wanda Allah ya zaɓa don yă zama manzon Kiristi Yesu, da kuma daga Timoti ɗan’uwanmu,
2Zuwa ga tsarkaka da kuma amintattun ’yan’uwa cikin Kiristi da suke a Kolossi.
Alheri da salama daga Allah Ubanmu, su kasance tare da ku.1.2 Waɗansu rubuce-rubucen hannu na dā suna da Uba da Ubangiji Yesu Kiristi
Godiya da addu’a
3Kullum muna gode wa Allah, Uban Ubangijinmu Yesu Kiristi, sa’ad da muke addu’a dominku. 4Gama mun ji labarin bangaskiyarku a cikin Yesu Kiristi da kuma ƙaunar da kuke yi saboda dukan tsarkaka. 5Kuna yin haka ne kuwa domin abin da kuke bege yana a ajiye a sama. Kun riga kun ji game da wannan bege sa’ad da kuka gaskata saƙon nan na gaskiya wanda shi ne bisharar 6da ta zo muku. Ko’ina a duniya wannan bishara tana yi ta haihuwa tana kuma girma, kamar yadda take yi a cikinku tun daga ranar da kuka ji ta kuka kuma fahimci alherin Allah cikin dukan gaskiyarta. 7Kun koyi wannan gaskiya daga wurin Efafaras, ƙaunataccen abokin hidimarmu, wanda yake amintacce mai hidimar Kiristi a madadinmu, 8wanda kuma ya faɗa mana ƙaunar da kuke yi cikin Ruhu.
9Shi ya sa tun daga ranar da muka sami labarin, ba mu fasa yin addu’a dominku ba. Kullum muna roƙon Allah yă sa ku san kome da yake so ku yi, domin ku sami hikima ta Ruhu, ku kuma sami ganewar kome duka. 10Ta haka za ku yi rayuwa wadda ta dace da Ubangiji, ku kuma gamshe shi a ta kowace hanya, kuna yin aiki mai kyau ta kowace hanya, kuna kuma yin girma cikin sanin Allah. 11Allah yă ƙarfafa ku da dukan iko bisa ga ɗaukakar ƙarfinsa domin ku kasance da jimrewa sosai da kuma haƙuri, cikin farin ciki 12kuna gode wa Uba, wanda ya sa kuka cancanci ku sami rabo a gādon tsarkaka a cikin mulkin haske. 13Gama ya riga ya cece mu daga mulkin duhu ya kuma kawo mu cikin mulkin Ɗan da yake ƙauna, 14wanda ta wurinsa muka sami fansa da kuma gafarar zunubai.
Fifikon Kiristi
15Kiristi shi ne surar da ake gani na Allah wanda ba a iya gani, ɗan fari a kan dukan halitta. 16Ta wurinsa aka halicci dukan abu, abubuwan da suke cikin sama da abubuwan da suke a duniya, waɗanda ake gani, da waɗanda ba a gani, ko kursiyoyi ko ikoki ko masu mulki ko hukumomi; an halicci dukan abu ta wurinsa da kuma dominsa ne. 17Ya kasance kafin dukan abu, kuma a cikinsa ne dukan abubuwa suke a harhaɗe. 18Shi ne kuma kan ikkilisiya, wadda take jikinsa. Shi ne mafari da kuma na farko da ya tashi daga matattu, domin a cikin kowane abu yă zama mafifici. 19Gama Allah ya ji daɗi yă sa dukan cikarsa ta kasance a cikin Kiristi, 20ta wurin Kiristi ne ya komar da kome zuwa ga kansa. Ya kawo salama ga abubuwan da suke ƙasa da abubuwan da suke sama, ta wurin jinin Kiristi da ya zubar a kan gicciye.
21A dā kuna a ware da Allah, kuka kuma zama abokan gāba a cikin tunaninku saboda mugun halinku. 22Amma Ɗansa ya zama mutum ya kuma mutu. Saboda haka Allah ya yi sulhu da ku, yanzu kuwa ya bar ku ku tsaya a gabansa da tsarki, marasa aibi, da kuma marasa abin zargi. 23Sai ku ci gaba cikin bangaskiyarku, kuna tsaye a kafe kuma tsayayyu, ba tare da gusawa daga begen da kuka ji daga bishara ba. Wannan ita ce bisharar da kuka ji wadda aka yi shelarta ga kowace halittar da take ƙarƙashin sama, wadda kuma ni Bulus, na zama mai hidimarta.
Hidimar Bulus ga ikkilisiya
24Yanzu, ina farin ciki saboda wuyar da nake sha dominku, don ta wurin wuyan nan zan cika abin da ya rage na wuyar da Kiristi ya sha saboda jikinsa, wato, ikkilisiya. 25Na zama mai hidimar ikkilisiya bisa ga aikin nan da Allah ya ba ni amana saboda ku, domin in sanar da maganar Allah sosai. 26Wannan magana da nake gaya muku asiri ne da yake a ɓoye tun zamanai masu yawa, wanda yanzu aka bayyana ga tsarkaka. 27Su ne Allah ya so yă sanar da yadda irin yalwar ɗaukakar asirin nan take a cikin al’ummai, asirin nan kuwa shi ne Kiristi a cikinku, begen ɗaukakar da za a bayyana.
28Saboda haka ko’ina muka tafi, muna shela, muna gargaɗi, muna kuma koyar da kowa da dukan hikima, don mu miƙa kowa cikakke a cikin Kiristi. 29Don haka ne ina fama, ina kuma ƙoƙari da duk ƙarfin nan da Kiristi ya ba ni.
