12 giving thanks to athe Father, who has qualified us to share in bthe inheritance of the saints in clight. 13 Who rescued us from the aauthority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of bthe Son of His love, 14 ain whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Firstborn of All Creation
15 Who is the aimage of the binvisible God, the cfirstborn of all creation.
16 For ain Him all things were created, aboth in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether bthrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—call things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 And He ais before all things,
And in Him all things hold together.
18 And He is the ahead of bthe body, the church;
Who is cthe beginning, dthe firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19 For in Him all athe fullness of God bwas pleased to dwell,
20 And through Him to areconcile all things to Himself, having made bpeace through cthe blood of His cross—through Him—dwhether things on earth or things in heaven.
21 And although you were aformerly alienated and enemies in mind and in evil deeds, 22 but now He areconciled you in the bbody of His flesh through death, in order to cpresent you before Him dholy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly agrounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the bhope of the gospel, which you have heard, which was proclaimed cin all creation under heaven, dand of which I, Paul, was made a eminister.
24 aNow I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and bI fill up what is lacking of Christ’s afflictions in my flesh, on behalf of cHis body, which is the church, 25 aof which I was made a minister according to the bstewardship from God given to me for you, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, athe mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom aGod willed to make known what is bthe riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is cChrist in you, the dhope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, aadmonishing every man and teaching every man with all bwisdom, so that we may cpresent every man dcomplete in Christ. 29 For this purpose I also alabor, bstriving caccording to His working, which He works in me in power.