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We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
Colossians 1:3 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
  • BSB We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
  • NKJV We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
  • NASB We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
  • NLT We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Paul tells the Colossians he constantly thanks God and prays for them. His ministry is saturated with gratitude and intercession.

Overview

Paul begins, as often, with thanksgiving, modeling that prayer should overflow with gratitude for God's work in others. He addresses God as 'the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,' a phrase that ties the Father's identity to the Son. Such constant prayer shows genuine pastoral love even for a church Paul had not personally founded.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • 1 Th 1:2We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
  • 2 Tim 1:3I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
  • Col 1:9For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
  • Rom 1:8–9First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
  • 1 Cor 1:4I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
  • Phil 1:3–5I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
  • 1 Th 3:10–13Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?
  • Col 1:13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
  • Eph 1:15Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
  • Phil 4:6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
  • Eph 3:14–19For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
  • 2 Th 2:16–17Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
  • Phil 1:9–11And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Colossians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Colossians 1:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ColossiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The image of the invisible God, firstborn over creation, in whom all things hold together and all the fullness of God dwells bodily — supreme over every power.

How Colossians 1:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.