Col.2.6

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him.

Col.2.6

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,

Col.2.6

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

Col.2.6

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him.

Col.2.7

You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

Col.2.7

rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Col.2.7

rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Col.2.7

Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.

Col.2.8

Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ.

Col.2.8

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Col.2.8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

Col.2.8

Don't let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ.

Col.2.9

Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him.

Col.2.9

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

Col.2.9

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

Col.2.9

For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body,

Col.2.10

When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

Col.2.10

and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

Col.2.10

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Col.2.10

and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe.

Col.2.11

Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in--insiders-not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin.

Col.2.11

In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,

Col.2.11

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

Col.2.11

When you came to Christ, you were "circumcised," but not by a physical procedure. It was a spiritual procedure--the cutting away of your sinful nature.

Col.2.12

If it's an initiation ritual you're after, you've already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ.

Col.2.12

having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

Col.2.12

buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

Col.2.12

For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

Col.2.13

When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive--right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven,

Col.2.13

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,

Col.2.13

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,

Col.2.13

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.

Col.2.14

the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross.

Col.2.14

having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

Col.2.14

having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Col.2.14

He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross.

Col.2.15

He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.

Col.2.15

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Col.2.15

Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Col.2.15

In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.

Col.2.16

So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days.

Col.2.16

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

Col.2.16

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,

Col.2.16

So don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new-moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.

Col.2.17

All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.

Col.2.17

These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Col.2.17

which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

Col.2.17

For these rules were only shadows of the real thing, Christ himself.

Col.2.18

Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are.

Col.2.18

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

Col.2.18

Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

Col.2.18

Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on self-denial. And don't let anyone say you must worship angels, even though they say they have had visions about this. These people claim to be so humble, but their sinful minds have made them proud.

Col.2.19

They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.

Col.2.19

He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Col.2.19

and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

Col.2.19

But they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For we are joined together in his body by his strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God.

Col.2.20

So, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it?

Col.2.20

Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:

Col.2.20

Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations--

Col.2.20

You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as,

Col.2.21

"Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!"

Col.2.21

"Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"?

Col.2.21

"Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,"

Col.2.21

"Don't handle, don't eat, don't touch."

Col.2.22

Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention?

Col.2.22

These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

Col.2.22

which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men?

Col.2.22

Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them.

Col.2.23

Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.

Col.2.23

Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Col.2.23

These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Col.2.23

These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person's evil thoughts and desires.