Pauline Epistles in 30 Days

¹Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—

²the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

³regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,

⁴and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

⁵Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

⁶And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world.

⁹God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

¹⁰in my prayers at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to you.

¹¹For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,

¹²that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

¹³I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹⁴I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.

¹⁵That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

¹⁶I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.

¹⁷For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

²¹But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.

²²And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction,

²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

²⁴and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

²⁵God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.

²⁶He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁷Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith.

²⁸For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

²⁹Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,

³⁰since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

³¹Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.

¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

³Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope.

⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

⁶For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.

⁸But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!

¹⁰For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!

¹¹Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

¹²Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.

¹³For sin was in the world before the law was given; but sin is not taken into account when there is no law.

¹⁴Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not sin in the way that Adam transgressed. He is a pattern of the One to come.

¹⁵But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many!

¹⁶Again, the gift is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment that followed one sin brought condemnation, but the gift that followed many trespasses brought justification.

¹⁷For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

¹⁸So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men.

¹⁹For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

²⁰The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,

²¹so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase?

²Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?

³Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

⁴We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.

⁵For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.

⁶We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

⁷For anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.

⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.

¹⁰The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.

¹¹So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires.

¹³Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.

¹⁴For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!

¹⁶Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness?

¹⁷But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed.

¹⁸You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

¹⁹I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.

²⁰For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness.

²¹What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death.

²²But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

²For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.

³For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,

⁴so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

⁵Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

⁶The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace,

⁷because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

⁸Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.

⁹You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

¹⁰But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

¹¹And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

¹²Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.

¹³For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

¹⁶The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

¹⁷And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.

¹⁸I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.

¹⁹The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God.

²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope

²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.

²³Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

²⁴For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see?

²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.

²⁷And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

²⁸And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

²⁹For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

³⁰And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

³¹What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

³²He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

³³Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

³⁴Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.

³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

³⁶As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.

⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function,

⁵so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.

⁶We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith;

⁷if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;

⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

⁹Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.

¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

¹¹Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.

¹³Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.

¹⁸If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.

¹⁹Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

²⁰On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

¹⁸For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

¹⁹For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

²⁰Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

²¹For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

²²Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,

²³but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

²⁶Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.

²⁷But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

²⁸He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,

²⁹so that no one may boast in His presence.

³⁰It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

³¹Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

¹Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.

²You know that when you were pagans, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.

³Therefore I inform you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴There are different gifts, but the same Spirit.

⁵There are different ministries, but the same Lord.

⁶There are different ways of working, but the same God works all things in all people.

⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

⁸To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by the same Spirit,

⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,

¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

¹¹All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who apportions them to each one as He determines.

¹²The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.

¹³For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.

¹⁴For the body does not consist of one part, but of many.

¹⁵If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.

¹⁶And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.

¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

¹⁸But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design.

¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be?

²⁰As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.”

²²On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

²³and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty,

²⁴whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,

²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another.

²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it.

²⁸And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.

²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?

³⁰Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

³¹But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal.

²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

³If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.

⁶Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth.

⁷It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be restrained; where there is knowledge, it will be dismissed.

⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

¹⁰but when the perfect comes, the partial passes away.

¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside childish ways.

¹²Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.

¹Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm.

²By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

³For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

⁵and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.

⁶After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

⁷Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

⁸And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one of untimely birth.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

¹¹Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

¹²But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹³If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith.

¹⁵In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead, but He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.

¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised.

¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

¹⁹If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.

²⁰But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

²¹For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

²²For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

²³But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.

²⁴Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power.

²⁵For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

²⁶The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

²⁷For “God has put everything under His feet.” Now when it says that everything has been put under Him, this clearly does not include the One who put everything under Him.

²⁸And when all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all.

²⁹If these things are not so, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?

³⁰And why do we endanger ourselves every hour?

³¹I face death every day, brothers, as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord.

³²If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

³³Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

³⁴Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.

³⁵But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”

³⁶You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

³⁷And what you sow is not the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or something else.

³⁸But God gives it a body as He has designed, and to each kind of seed He gives its own body.

³⁹Not all flesh is the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another, and fish another.

⁴⁰There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the splendor of the heavenly bodies is of one degree, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is of another.

⁴¹The sun has one degree of splendor, the moon another, and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

⁴²So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable.

⁴³It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.

⁴⁴It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

⁴⁵So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual.

⁴⁷The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.

⁴⁸As was the earthly man, so also are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.

⁴⁹And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so also shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly man.

⁵⁰Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—

⁵²in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

⁵³For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵“Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

⁵⁷But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

¹Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.

²Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

³And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

⁴The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

⁵For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

⁶For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.

⁸We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;

⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

¹¹For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.

¹²So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹³And in keeping with what is written, “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,

¹⁴knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence.

¹⁵All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow, to the glory of God.

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.

¹⁷For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.

¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

¹For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

²For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,

³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.

⁴For while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.

⁵And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.

⁶Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord.

⁷For we walk by faith, not by sight.

⁸We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

⁹So we aspire to please Him, whether we are at home in this body or away from it.

¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

¹¹Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.

¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again. Instead, we are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you can answer those who take pride in appearances rather than in the heart.

¹³If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.

¹⁴For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.

¹⁵And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.

¹⁶So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

¹⁷Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

²⁰Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.

²¹God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

¹I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to gain, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.

²I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows.

³And I know that this man—whether in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows—

⁴was caught up to Paradise. The things he heard were inexpressible, things that man is not permitted to tell.

⁵I will boast about such a man, but I will not boast about myself, except in my weaknesses.

⁶Even if I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me,

⁷or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

⁹But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.

¹⁰That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, accompanied by Barnabas. I took Titus along also.

²I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain.

³Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

⁴This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.

⁵We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

⁶But as for the highly esteemed—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—those leaders added nothing to me.

⁷On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.

⁸For the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in my apostleship to the Gentiles.

⁹And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

¹⁰They only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

¹¹When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.

¹²For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group.

¹³The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

¹⁴When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

¹⁵We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile “sinners”

¹⁶know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

¹⁷But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, does that make Christ a minister of sin? Certainly not!

¹⁸If I rebuild what I have already torn down, I prove myself to be a lawbreaker.

¹⁹For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God.

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

²¹I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

¹O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.

²I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?

³Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh?

⁴Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing?

⁵Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?

⁶So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

⁷Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham.

⁸The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”

⁹So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

¹⁰All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

¹¹Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”

¹²The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”

¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

¹⁴He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

¹⁵Brothers, let me put this in human terms. Even a human covenant, once it is ratified, cannot be canceled or amended.

¹⁶The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.

¹⁷What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise.

¹⁸For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God freely granted it to Abraham through a promise.

¹⁹Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator.

²⁰A mediator is unnecessary, however, for only one party; but God is one.

²¹Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law.

²²But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

²³Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.

²⁴So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

²⁵Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

²⁶You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁷For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

¹It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.

²Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.

³Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

⁴You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

⁵But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the hope of righteousness.

⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What matters is faith expressing itself through love.

⁷You were running so well. Who has obstructed you from obeying the truth?

⁸Such persuasion does not come from the One who calls you.

⁹A little leaven works through the whole batch of dough.

¹⁰I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.

¹¹Now, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.

¹²As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves!

¹³For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.

¹⁴The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹⁵But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.

¹⁶So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

¹⁷For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.

¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;

²⁰idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,

²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

²³gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.

²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

²Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

⁴For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love

⁵He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,

⁶to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.

⁷In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

⁸that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

⁹And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ

¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.

¹¹In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,

¹²in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory.

¹³And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

¹⁴who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.

¹⁵For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

¹⁷that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.

¹⁸I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,

¹⁹and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,

²⁰which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,

²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

²²And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,

²³which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

¹And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

²in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

³All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.

⁴But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,

⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

⁶And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

⁷in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.

¹⁰For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

¹¹Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—

¹²remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

¹⁴For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility

¹⁵by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace

¹⁶and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility.

¹⁷He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

¹⁸For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

¹⁹Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,

²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.

²¹In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

²²And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.

¹As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:

²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

³and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;

⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

⁸This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”

⁹What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth?

¹⁰He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

¹¹And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

¹²to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,

¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.

¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.

¹⁶From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.

¹⁷So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.

¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.

¹⁹Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.

²⁰But this is not the way you came to know Christ.

²¹Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him—in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus—

²²to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

²³to be renewed in the spirit of your minds;

²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.

²⁶“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold.

²⁸He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.

²⁹Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

³²Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

¹³Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.

¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed,

¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace.

¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,

²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.

²¹Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know about me and what I am doing.

²²I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.

²³Peace to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁴Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

¹Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

²Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³I thank my God every time I remember you.

⁴In every prayer for all of you, I always pray with joy,

⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

⁶being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

⁷It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me.

⁸God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

¹⁰so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel.

¹³As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

¹⁴And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.

¹⁶The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.

¹⁷The former, however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains.

¹⁸What then is the issue? Just this: that in every way, whether by false motives or true, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,

¹⁹because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance.

²⁰I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

²¹For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

²²But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know.

²³I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.

²⁴But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,

²⁶so that through my coming to you again your exultation in Christ Jesus will resound on account of me.

²⁷Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending together as one for the faith of the gospel,

²⁸without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God.

²⁹For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,

³⁰since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

¹Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,

²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.

³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.

⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:

⁶Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

⁷but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.

⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.

⁹Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

¹³For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.

¹⁴Do everything without complaining or arguing,

¹⁵so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

¹⁶as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

¹⁷But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.

¹⁸So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

¹⁹Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I learn how you are doing.

²⁰I have nobody else like him who will genuinely care for your needs.

²¹For all the others look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

²²But you know Timothy’s proven worth, that as a child with his father he has served with me to advance the gospel.

²³So I hope to send him as soon as I see what happens with me.

²⁴And I trust in the Lord that I myself will come soon.

²⁵But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.

²⁶For he has been longing for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.

²⁷He was sick indeed, nearly unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁸Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less anxious.

²⁹Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him,

³⁰because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for your deficit of service to me.

¹Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

²Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh!

³For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—

⁴though I myself could have such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more:

⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;

⁶as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.

⁷But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.

⁸More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

⁹and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.

¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,

¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵All of us who are mature should embrace this point of view. And if you think differently about some issue, God will reveal this to you as well.

¹⁶Nevertheless, we must live up to what we have already attained.

¹⁷Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who walk according to the pattern we set for you.

¹⁸For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

¹⁹Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.

²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

²¹who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

²To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

³We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

⁴because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—

⁵the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel

⁶that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.

⁷You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,

⁸and who also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

⁹For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

¹⁰so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

¹¹being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully

¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

¹³He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,

¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

¹⁶For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.

¹⁷He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

¹⁸And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.

¹⁹For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,

²⁰and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds.

²²But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—

²³if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

²⁵I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God,

²⁶the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints.

²⁷To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

²⁸We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

²⁹To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.

¹Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

⁵Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.

⁶Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

⁷When you lived among them, you also used to walk in these ways.

⁸But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

⁹Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,

¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

¹²Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

¹³Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.

¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.

¹⁶Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

¹⁸Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.

²¹Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become discouraged.

²²Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord.

²³Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men,

²⁴because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

²⁵Whoever does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

¹Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.

²For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

³For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;

⁴each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

⁵not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;

⁶and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.

⁷For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.

⁸Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.

⁹Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.

¹⁰And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more

¹¹and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.

¹²Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.

¹³Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.

¹⁴For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

¹⁵By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.

¹⁶For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.

¹⁷After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words.

¹This is a trustworthy saying: If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble task.

²An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

³not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.

⁴An overseer must manage his own household well and keep his children under control, with complete dignity.

⁵For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God?

⁶He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil.

⁷Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.

⁸Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.

⁹They must hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

¹⁰Additionally, they must first be tested. Then, if they are above reproach, let them serve as deacons.

¹¹In the same way, the women must be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all things.

¹²A deacon must be the husband of but one wife, a good manager of his children and of his own household.

¹³For those who have served well as deacons acquire for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these things

¹⁵in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

¹⁶By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.

¹But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.

²For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

³unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,

⁴traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

⁶They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions,

⁷who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.

⁹But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.

¹⁰You, however, have observed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance,

¹¹my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.

¹²Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

¹³while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁴But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them.

¹⁵From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

¹⁷so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

¹But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine.

²Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance.

³Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good.

⁴In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children,

⁵to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.

⁶In the same way, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

⁷In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,

⁸and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.

⁹Slaves are to submit to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,

¹⁰not stealing from them, but showing all good faith, so that in every respect they will adorn the teaching about God our Savior.

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.

¹²It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

¹³as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹⁴He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

¹⁵Speak these things as you encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

¹Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,

²to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:

³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I always thank my God, remembering you in my prayers,

⁵because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.

⁶I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ.

⁷I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

⁸So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper,

⁹I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.

¹⁰I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in chains.

¹¹Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

¹²I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.

¹³I would have liked to keep him with me, so that on your behalf he could minister to me in my chains for the gospel.

¹⁴But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.

¹⁵For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for good—

¹⁶no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.

¹⁷So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.

¹⁸But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.

¹⁹I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.

²⁰Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

²¹Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

²²In the meantime, prepare a guest room for me, because I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings,

²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

²⁵The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.