²⁶ Moreover, I will give you a ^(A)new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the ^(B)heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will ^(C)put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and ^[a]follow My ordinances.

⁴⁴ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me ^(A)draws him; and I will ^(B)raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written ^(C)in the Prophets: ‘^(D)And they shall all be ^(E)taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were ^[a]pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “^[b]Brothers, ^(A)what are we to do?”

¹⁸ to ^(A)open their eyes so that they may turn from ^(B)darkness to light, and from the ^[a]power of ^(C)Satan to God, that they may receive ^(D)forgiveness of sins and an ^(E)inheritance among those who have been sanctified by ^(F)faith in Me.’

Be like Christ

2 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any ^(A)fellowship of the Spirit, if any ^[a](B)affection and compassion, ^2 (C)make my joy complete ^[b]by ^(D)being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. ³ Do nothing ^[c]from ^[d](E)selfishness or ^(F)empty conceit, but with humility ^(G)consider one another as more important than yourselves; ^4 (H)do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. ^5 (I)Have this attitude ^[e]in yourselves which was also in ^(J)Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, as He already ^(K)existed in the ^(L)form of God, ^(M)did not consider equality with God something to be ^[f]grasped, ⁷ but ^[g](N)emptied Himself by taking the form of a ^(O)bond-servant and ^[h](P)being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, ^(Q)He humbled Himself by becoming ^(R)obedient to the point of death: ^(S)death ^[i]on a cross. ^9 (T)For this reason also God ^(U)highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him ^(V)the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus ^(W)every knee will bow, of ^(X)those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ^(Y)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹² So then, my beloved, ^(Z)just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own ^(AA)salvation with ^(AB)fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is ^(AC)God who is at work in you, both to ^[j]desire and to work ^(AD)for His good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things without ^(AE)complaining or arguments; ¹⁵ so that you will ^[k]prove yourselves to be ^(AF)blameless and innocent, ^(AG)children of God above reproach in the midst of a ^(AH)crooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^[l](AI)appear as ^[m]lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding firmly the word of life, so that on ^(AJ)the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not ^(AK)run in vain nor ^(AL)labor in vain. ¹⁷ But even if I am being ^(AM)poured out as a drink offering upon ^(AN)the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. ¹⁸ You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ But I hope, ^[n]in the Lord Jesus, to ^(AO)send ^(AP)Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. ²⁰ For I have no one else ^(AQ)of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. ²¹ For they all ^(AR)seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. ²² But you know ^(AS)of his proven character, that ^(AT)he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel ^(AU)like a child serving his father. ^23 (AV)Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; ²⁴ and ^(AW)I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly. ²⁵ But I thought it necessary to send to you ^(AX)Epaphroditus, my brother and ^(AY)fellow worker and ^(AZ)fellow soldier, who is also your ^[o](BA)messenger and ^(BB)minister to my need, ²⁶ because he was longing ^[p]for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. ²⁷ For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸ Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. ^29 (BC)Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and ^(BD)hold people like him in high regard, ³⁰ because he came close to death ^[q](BE)for the work of Christ, risking his life to ^(BF)compensate ^[r]for your absence in your service to me.

⁹ who ^(A)saved us and ^(B)called us with a holy ^(C)calling, ^(D)not according to our works, but according to His own ^(E)purpose and grace, which was granted to us in ^(F)Christ Jesus from ^(G)all eternity,

Stand Firm

^13 (A)But we should always give thanks to God for you, ^(B)brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because ^(C)God has chosen you ^[a]from the beginning ^(D)for salvation ^[b](E)through sanctification ^[c]by the Spirit and faith in the truth. ¹⁴ It was for this He ^(F)called you through ^(G)our gospel, ^[d]that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.