Colossians 1:23

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Εἴ γε ἐπιμένετε τῇ πίστει τεθεμελιωμένοι καὶ ἑδραῖοι, καὶ μὴ μετακινούμενοι ἀπὸ τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, οὗ ἠκούσατε, τοῦ κηρυχθέντος ἐν πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει τῇ ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν· οὗ ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ Παῦλος διάκονος·

Transliteration

If indeed you epimenete in the pistei having been tethemeliōmenoi and hedraioi, and not being metakinoumenoi from the elpidos of the euangeliou, which you ēkousate, the having been kērychthentos in all the ktisei the under the ouranon; of which egenomēn I Paulos diakonos;

Grammar Details

• *epimenete*: present, active, indicative, 2nd person plural - you continue
• *pistei*: dative, feminine, singular - faith, sphere
• *tethemeliōmenoi*: perfect, passive, participle, nominative, masculine, plural - having been founded
• *hedraioi*: nominative, masculine, plural - steadfast
• *metakinoumenoi*: present, passive, participle, nominative, masculine, plural - being moved away
• *elpidos*: genitive, feminine, singular - of hope, source
• *euangeliou*: genitive, neuter, singular - of gospel, possessive
• *ēkousate*: aorist, active, indicative, 2nd person plural - you heard
• *kērychthentos*: aorist, passive, participle, genitive, neuter, singular - having been proclaimed
• *ktisei*: dative, feminine, singular - creation, sphere
• *ouranon*: accusative, masculine, singular - heaven, location
• *egenomēn*: aorist, middle, indicative, 1st person singular - I became
• *Paulos*: nominative, masculine, singular - proper name
• *diakonos*: nominative, masculine, singular - servant

Word Meanings

• *epimenete*: continue/remain/persist
• *pistei*: faith/trust/belief
• *tethemeliōmenoi*: having been founded/established/grounded
• *hedraioi*: steadfast/firm/stable
• *metakinoumenoi*: being moved away/shifted/removed
• *elpidos*: hope/expectation
• *euangeliou*: gospel/good news
• *kērychthentos*: having been proclaimed/preached/announced
• *ktisei*: creation/creature/what is created
• *ouranon*: heaven/sky
• *egenomēn*: became/was made/came to be
• *diakonos*: servant/minister/deacon

Referenced Verses

• Heb 3:14 : 14 For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence firm until the end.
• Col 1:5-6 : 5 Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.
• Matt 24:13-14 : 13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
• Acts 2:5 : 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem.
• Rom 10:18 : 18 But I ask, have they not heard? Yes, they have: Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.
• Heb 10:38 : 38 But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him.
• Heb 3:6 : 6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. We are of his house, if in fact we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope we take pride in.
• Rev 2:10 : 10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown into prison so you may be tested, and you will experience suffering for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself.
• Gal 6:9 : 9 So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up.
• 1 Thess 3:5 : 5 So when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter somehow tempted you and our toil had proven useless.
• Eph 3:17 : 17 that Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love,
• Acts 14:22 : 22 They strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying,“We must enter the kingdom of God through many persecutions.”
• Mark 16:15 : 15 He said to them,“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
• Luke 8:13-15 : 13 Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in a time of testing fall away. 14 As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing the word, cling to it with an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with steadfast endurance.
• Luke 22:32 : 32 but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
• John 8:30-32 : 30 While he was saying these things, many people believed in him. 31 Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him,“If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
• John 15:6 : 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up.
• John 15:9-9 : 9 “Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
• Ps 125:5 : 5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, may the LORD remove them, along with those who behave wickedly! May Israel experience peace!
• Ezek 18:26 : 26 When a righteous person turns back from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing, he will die for it; because of the wrongdoing he has done, he will die.
• 2 Cor 3:6 : 6 who made us adequate to be servants of a new covenant not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
• Col 1:25 : 25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship from God– given to me for you– in order to complete the word of God,
• Col 2:7 : 7 rooted and built up in him and firm in your faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
• 1 John 3:1-3 : 1 (See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called God’s children– and indeed we are! For this reason the world does not know us: because it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is. 3 And everyone who has this hope focused on him purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure).
• 1 Pet 1:5 : 5 who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
• 2 Pet 2:18-22 : 18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words they are able to entice, with fleshly desires and with debauchery, people who have just escaped from those who reside in error. 19 Although these false teachers promise such people freedom, they themselves are enslaved to immorality. For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved. 20 For if after they have escaped the filthy things of the world through the rich knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again get entangled in them and succumb to them, their last state has become worse for them than their first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment that had been delivered to them. 22 They are illustrations of this true proverb:“A dog returns to its own vomit,” and“A sow, after washing herself, wallows in the mire.”
• 1 John 2:27 : 27 Now as for you, the anointing that you received from him resides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie. Just as it has taught you, you reside in him.
• 1 Pet 1:3 : 3 New Birth to Joy and Holiness Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
• Heb 4:14 : 14 Jesus Our Compassionate High Priest Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.
• Heb 6:19 : 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain,
• 1 Thess 3:3 : 3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.
• Eph 1:18 : 18 – since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened– so that you can know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
• Eph 2:21 : 21 In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
• Eph 3:7-8 : 7 I became a servant of this gospel according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the exercise of his power. 8 To me– less than the least of all the saints– this grace was given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ
• Eph 4:16 : 16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body builds itself up in love.
• 2 Tim 4:5-6 : 5 You, however, be self-controlled in all things, endure hardship, do an evangelist’s work, fulfill your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out as an offering, and the time for me to depart is at hand.
• Titus 3:7 : 7 And so, since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life.”
• 1 Thess 5:8 : 8 But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation.
• 2 Thess 2:16 : 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope,
• 1 Tim 1:12 : 12 I am grateful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful in putting me into ministry,
• 1 Tim 2:7 : 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle– I am telling the truth; I am not lying– and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
• 2 Cor 4:1 : 1 Paul’s Perseverance in Ministry Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as God has shown us mercy, we do not become discouraged.
• 2 Cor 5:18-20 : 18 And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf,“Be reconciled to God!”
• 2 Cor 6:1 : 1 God’s Suffering Servants Now because we are fellow workers, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
• 2 Cor 11:23 : 23 Are they servants of Christ?(I am talking like I am out of my mind!) I am even more so: with much greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with more severe beatings, facing death many times.
• Gal 4:11 : 11 I fear for you that my work for you may have been in vain.
• Gal 5:5 : 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness.
• Gal 5:7 : 7 You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth?
• Acts 20:24 : 24 But I do not consider my life worth anything to myself, so that I may finish my task and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.
• Acts 26:16 : 16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance as a servant and witness to the things you have seen and to the things in which I will appear to you.
• Rom 2:7 : 7 eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality,
• Rom 5:5 : 5 And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
• Rom 15:16 : 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I serve the gospel of God like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
• 1 Cor 3:5 : 5 What is Apollos, really? Or what is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, and each of us in the ministry the Lord gave us.
• 1 Cor 4:1-3 : 1 The Apostles’ Ministry One should think about us this way– as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Now what is sought in stewards is that one be found faithful. 3 So for me, it is a minor matter that I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
• 1 Cor 15:58 : 58 So then, dear brothers and sisters, be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
• Hos 6:3-4 : 3 So let us search for him! Let us seek to know the LORD! He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn, as certainly as the winter rain comes, as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.” 4 Transitory Faithfulness and Imminent Judgment What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, O Judah? For your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist; it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew!
• Zeph 1:6 : 6 and those who turn their backs on the LORD and do not want the LORD’s help or guidance.”
• Matt 7:24-25 : 24 Hearing and Doing“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation had been laid on rock.
• Lam 3:66 : 66 Pursue them in anger and eradicate them from under the LORD’s heaven.
• Deut 2:25 : 25 This very day I will begin to fill all the people of the earth with dread and to terrify them when they hear about you. They will shiver and shake in anticipation of your approach.”
• Deut 4:19 : 19 When you look up to the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars– the whole heavenly creation– you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, for the LORD your God has assigned them to all the people of the world.
• Ps 92:13-14 : 13 Planted in the LORD’s house, they grow in the courts of our God. 14 They bear fruit even when they are old; they are filled with vitality and have many leaves.
• Acts 1:17 : 17 for he was counted as one of us and received a share in this ministry.”
• Acts 1:25 : 25 to assume the task of this service and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”
• Luke 6:48 : 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.
• Acts 4:12 : 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.”
• Acts 11:23 : 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts,
• 2 Tim 1:11-12 : 11 For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher. 12 Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom my faith is set and I am convinced that he is able to protect what has been entrusted to me until that day.