1 Jo es gribu, lai jūs zinātu, cik karsti es cīnos par jums un tiem, kas dzīvo Lāodikejā, kā arī par visiem citiem, kas manu miesīgo vaigu nav redzējuši. 2 Viņu sirdīm jātop stiprinātām ar mīlestības pilnu pamācību, lai viņi bagātīgi iegūtu atziņas pilnību un izprastu Dieva noslēpumu, proti, Kristu, 3 kurā apslēptas visas gudrības un atziņas bagātības. 4 To es saku, lai neviens jūs nemaldinātu skaistiem vārdiem, 5 jo kaut gan es miesīgi esmu tālu, tomēr garā es esmu pie jums un ar prieku redzu, kādā vienībā un kādā spēkā jūs stāvat ticībā uz Kristu. 6 Tad nu Kristu Jēzu pieņēmuši, dzīvojiet Viņā, 7 sakņodamies Viņā, augdami Viņā, stipri kļūdami ticībā, kurā esat mācīti, pāri plūzdami savā pateicībā! 8 Uzmaniet, ka neviens jūs nesagūsta ar savu filozofiju un tukšu maldināšanu, kas balstās uz cilvēku mācībām un pasaules pirmspēkiem, bet ne uz Kristu. 9 Viņā mājo visa Dieva pilnība miesā, 10 un Viņā arī jūs esat kļuvuši pilnīgi, jo Viņš ir galva visām varām un spēkiem; 11 Viņā jūs arī esat apgraizīti, ne cilvēku rokām, bet Kristū apgraizīti, un tā tikuši vaļā no savas grēcīgās dabas, 12 kristībā līdz ar Viņu aprakti un Viņā līdzi uzmodināti, ticēdami Dieva spēkam, kas Viņu uzmodinājis no miroņiem. 13 Jūs, kas bijāt miruši savos pārkāpumos un savā neapgraizīšanā, Viņš līdz ar to darījis dzīvus, piedodams mums mūsu pārkāpumus; 14 Viņš izdeldējis pret mums vērsto parādu rakstu ar visām tā prasībām un paņēmis to no mūsu vidus, pienaglodams pie krusta. 15 Tā Viņš atbruņojis visas pretvaras, tās atklāti kaunā likdams un Kristū uzvaru svinēdams pār viņām. 16 Tāpēc lai neviens jūs netiesā ēdienu un dzērienu dēļ vai sakarā ar svētkiem, jauno mēnesi vai sabatu. 17 Šīs lietas ir nākamo lietu ēna, bet miesa pieder Kristum. 18 Nevienam nav tiesības atņemt jums jūsu balvu, kaut arī tas atrod patiku pazemīgā kalpošanā eņģeļiem un kaut arī tas lepojas ar parādībām, ko viņš redzējis. Tāds bez pamata kļūst iedomīgs savā miesas prātā 19 un neturas pie galvas, no kuras ar saišu un dzīslu palīdzību visa miesa tiek vienota un kopā saturēta un aug Dieva augumā. 20 Ja nu jūs esat ar Kristu nomiruši pasaules pirmspēkiem, ko tad jūs, it kā vēl dzīvodami pasaulē, uzņematies priekšrakstu jūgu, cilvēku baušļus un mācības, 21 kā piemēram: tev nebūs aizskart, tev nebūs baudīt, tev nebūs pieskarties! - 22 Visas šīs lietas ir lemtas iznīcībai, tās tērējot. 23 Tām gan ir gudrības slava tur, kur ir pašizdomāta dievkalpošana, pašpazemošanās un miesas mērdēšana; bet patiesībā tām nav nekādas vērtības, jo tās dod apmierinājumu vienīgi miesai.
1 I want you to know what a struggle I am going through for you, for God's people at Laodicea, and for all of those followers who have never met me. 2 I do it to encourage them. Then as their hearts are joined together in love, they will be wonderfully blessed with complete understanding. And they will truly know Christ. Not only is he the key to God's mystery, 3 but all wisdom and knowledge are hidden away in him. 4 I tell you these things to keep you from being fooled by fancy talk. 5 Even though I am not with you, I keep thinking about you. I am glad to know that you are living as you should and your faith in Christ is strong.
Christ Brings Real Life
6 You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him. 7 Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful.
8 Don't let anyone fool you by using senseless arguments. These arguments may sound wise, but they are only human teachings. They come from the powers of this world and not from Christ.
9 God lives fully in Christ. 10 And you are fully grown because you belong to Christ, who is over every power and authority. 11 Christ has also taken away your selfish desires, just as circumcision removes flesh from the body. 12 And when you were baptized, it was the same as being buried with Christ. Then you were raised to life because you had faith in the power of God, who raised Christ from death. 13 You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God's people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins.
14 God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. 15 There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.
16 Don't let anyone tell you what you must eat or drink. Don't let them say you must celebrate the New Moon festival, the Sabbath, or any other festival. 17 These things are only a shadow of what was to come. But Christ is real!
18 Don't be cheated by people who make a show of acting humble and who worship angels. They brag about seeing visions. But it is all nonsense, because their minds are filled with selfish desires. 19 They are no longer part of Christ, who is the head of the whole body. Christ gives the body its strength, and he uses its joints and muscles to hold it together, as it grows by the power of God.
Christ Brings New Life
20 You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe don't have any power over you. Why do you live as if you had to obey such rules as, 21 “Don't handle this. Don't taste that. Don't touch this.”? 22 After these things are used, they are no longer good for anything. So why be bothered with the rules that humans have made up? 23 Obeying these rules may seem to be the smart thing to do. They appear to make you love God more and to be very humble and to have control over your body. But they don't really have any power over our desires.
