Bible in 90 Days

²⁶ You are all God’s children through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ Now if you belong to Christ, then indeed you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.

4 I’m saying that as long as the heirs are minors, they are no different from slaves, though they really are the owners of everything. ² However, they are placed under trustees and guardians until the date set by the parents. ³ In the same way, when we were minors, we were also enslaved by this world’s system. ⁴ But when the fulfillment of the time came, God sent his Son, born through a woman, and born under the Law. ⁵ This was so he could redeem those under the Law so that we could be adopted. ⁶ Because you are sons and daughters, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” ⁷ Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son or daughter, and if you are his child, then you are also an heir through God.

Paul’s concern for the Galatians

⁸ At the time, when you didn’t know God, you were enslaved by things that aren’t gods by nature. ⁹ But now, after knowing God (or rather, being known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless world system? Do you want to be slaves to it again? ¹⁰ You observe religious days and months and seasons and years. ¹¹ I’m afraid for you! Perhaps my hard work for you has been for nothing.

¹² I beg you to be like me, brothers and sisters, because I have become like you! You haven’t wronged me. ¹³ You know that I first preached the gospel to you because of an illness. ¹⁴ Though my poor health burdened you, you didn’t look down on me or reject me, but you welcomed me as if I were an angel from God, or as if I were Christ Jesus! ¹⁵ Where then is the great attitude that you had? I swear that, if possible, you would have dug out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ So then, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? ¹⁷ They are so concerned about you, though not with good intentions. Rather, they want to shut you out so that you would run after them. ¹⁸ However, it’s always good to have people concerned about you with good intentions, and not just when I’m there with you. ¹⁹ My little children, I’m going through labor pains again until Christ is formed in you. ²⁰ But I wish I could be with you now and change how I sound, because I’m at a loss about you.

Slave versus free

²¹ Tell me—those of you who want to be under the Law—don’t you listen to the Law? ²² It’s written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. ²³ The son by the slave woman was conceived the normal way, but the son by the free woman was conceived through a promise. ²⁴ These things are an allegory: the women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to slave children; this is Hagar. ²⁵ Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and she corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because the city is in slavery with her children. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷ It’s written:

²⁸ Brothers and sisters, you are children of the promise like Isaac. ²⁹ But just as it was then, so it is now also: the one who was conceived the normal way harassed the one who was conceived by the Spirit. ³⁰ But what does the scripture say? Throw out the slave woman and her son, because the slave woman’s son won’t share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.^{[b] 31} Therefore, brothers and sisters, we aren’t the slave woman’s children, but we are the free woman’s children. 5 ¹ Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit to the bondage of slavery again.

Arguments against being circumcised

² Look, I, Paul, am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, having Christ won’t help you. ³ Again I swear to every man who has himself circumcised that he is required to do the whole Law. ⁴ You people who are trying to be made righteous by the Law have been estranged from Christ. You have fallen away from grace! ⁵ We eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness through the Spirit by faith. ⁶ Being circumcised or not being circumcised doesn’t matter in Christ Jesus, but faith working through love does matter.

⁷ You were running well—who stopped you from obeying the truth? ⁸ This line of reasoning doesn’t come from the one who calls you. ⁹ A little yeast works through the whole lump of dough. ¹⁰ I’m convinced about you in the Lord that you won’t think any other way. But the one who is confusing you will pay the penalty, whoever that may be. ¹¹ Brothers and sisters, if I’m still preaching circumcision, why am I still being harassed? In that case, the offense of the cross would be canceled. ¹² I wish that the ones who are upsetting you would castrate themselves!

¹³ You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love. ¹⁴ All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.^{[c] 15} But if you bite and devour each other, be careful that you don’t get eaten up by each other!

Two different ways of living

¹⁶ I say be guided by the Spirit and you won’t carry out your selfish desires. ¹⁷ A person’s selfish desires are set against the Spirit, and the Spirit is set against one’s selfish desires. They are opposed to each other, so you shouldn’t do whatever you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are being led by the Spirit, you aren’t under the Law. ¹⁹ The actions that are produced by selfish motives are obvious, since they include sexual immorality, moral corruption, doing whatever feels good, ²⁰ idolatry, drug use and casting spells, hate, fighting, obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry, ²¹ jealousy, drunkenness, partying, and other things like that. I warn you as I have already warned you, that those who do these kinds of things won’t inherit God’s kingdom.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the self with its passions and its desires.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit. ²⁶ Let’s not become arrogant, make each other angry, or be jealous of each other.

Caring and sharing

6 Brothers and sisters, if a person is caught doing something wrong, you who are spiritual should restore someone like this with a spirit of gentleness. Watch out for yourselves so you won’t be tempted too. ² Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. ³ If anyone thinks they are important when they aren’t, they’re fooling themselves. ⁴ Each person should test their own work and be happy with doing a good job and not compare themselves with others. ⁵ Each person will have to carry their own load.

⁶ Those who are taught the word should share all good things with their teacher. ⁷ Make no mistake, God is not mocked. A person will harvest what they plant. ⁸ Those who plant only for their own benefit will harvest devastation from their selfishness, but those who plant for the benefit of the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit. ⁹ Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up. ¹⁰ So then, let’s work for the good of all whenever we have an opportunity, and especially for those in the household of faith.

Final greeting

¹¹ Look at the large letters I’m making with my own handwriting! ¹² Whoever wants to look good by human standards will try to get you to be circumcised, but only so they won’t be harassed for the cross of Christ. ¹³ Those who are circumcised don’t observe the Law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised, so they can boast about your physical body.^[d]

¹⁴ But as for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except for the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through him, and I have been crucified to the world. ¹⁵ Being circumcised or not being circumcised doesn’t mean anything. What matters is a new creation. ¹⁶ May peace and mercy be on whoever follows this rule and on God’s Israel.

¹⁷ From now on, no one should bother me because I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.

¹⁸ Brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Greeting

1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will.

To the holy and faithful people in Christ Jesus in Ephesus.^[e]

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

The believers’ blessings

³ Bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that comes from heaven. ⁴ God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless in God’s presence before the creation of the world. ⁵ God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan ⁶ and to honor his glorious grace that he has given to us freely through the Son whom he loves. ⁷ We have been ransomed through his Son’s blood, and we have forgiveness for our failures based on his overflowing grace, ⁸ which he poured over us with wisdom and understanding. ⁹ God revealed his hidden design^[f] to us, which is according to his goodwill and the plan that he intended to accomplish through his Son. ¹⁰ This is what God planned for the climax of all times:^[g] to bring all things together in Christ, the things in heaven along with the things on earth. ¹¹ We have also received an inheritance in Christ. We were destined by the plan of God, who accomplishes everything according to his design. ¹² We are called to be an honor to God’s glory because we were the first to hope in Christ. ¹³ You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ. ¹⁴ The Holy Spirit is the down payment on our inheritance, which is applied toward our redemption as God’s own people, resulting in the honor of God’s glory.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians

¹⁵ Since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, this is the reason that ¹⁶ I don’t stop giving thanks to God for you when I remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation that makes God known to you. ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, ¹⁹ and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers. This power is conferred by the energy of God’s powerful strength. ²⁰ God’s power was at work in Christ when God raised him from the dead and sat him at God’s right side in the heavens, ²¹ far above every ruler and authority and power and angelic power, any power that might be named not only now but in the future. ²² God put everything under Christ’s feet and made him head of everything in the church, ²³ which is his body. His body, the church, is the fullness of Christ, who fills everything in every way.

Saved from sin to life

2 At one time you were like a dead person because of the things you did wrong and your offenses against God. ² You used to live like people of this world. You followed the rule of a destructive spiritual power. This is the spirit of disobedience to God’s will that is now at work in persons whose lives are characterized by disobedience. ³ At one time you were like those persons. All of you used to do whatever felt good and whatever you thought you wanted so that you were children headed for punishment just like everyone else.

^4-5 However, God is rich in mercy. He brought us to life with Christ while we were dead as a result of those things that we did wrong. He did this because of the great love that he has for us. You are saved by God’s grace! ⁶ And God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus. ⁷ God did this to show future generations the greatness of his grace by the goodness that God has shown us in Christ Jesus.

⁸ You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith.^[h] This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. ⁹ It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. ¹⁰ Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.

The reconciliation of God’s people

¹¹ So remember that once you were Gentiles by physical descent, who were called “uncircumcised” by Jews who are physically circumcised. ¹² At that time you were without Christ. You were aliens rather than citizens of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of God’s promise. In this world you had no hope and no God. ¹³ But now, thanks to Christ Jesus, you who once were so far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴ Christ is our peace. He made both Jews and Gentiles into one group. With his body, he broke down the barrier of hatred that divided us. ¹⁵ He canceled the detailed rules of the Law so that he could create one new person out of the two groups, making peace. ¹⁶ He reconciled them both as one body to God by the cross, which ended the hostility to God.

¹⁷ When he came, he announced the good news of peace to you who were far away from God and to those who were near. ¹⁸ We both have access to the Father through Christ by the one Spirit. ¹⁹ So now you are no longer strangers and aliens. Rather, you are fellow citizens with God’s people, and you belong to God’s household. ²⁰ As God’s household, you are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. ²¹ The whole building is joined together in him, and it grows up into a temple that is dedicated to the Lord. ²² Christ is building you into a place where God lives through the Spirit.

Paul, apostle to the Gentiles

3 This is why I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ for you Gentiles.

² You’ve heard, of course, about the responsibility to distribute God’s grace, which God gave to me for you, right? ³ God showed me his secret plan^[i] in a revelation, as I mentioned briefly before (⁴ when you read this, you’ll understand my insight into the secret plan^[j] about Christ). ⁵ Earlier generations didn’t know this hidden plan that God has now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets through the Spirit. ⁶ This plan is that the Gentiles would be coheirs and parts of the same body, and that they would share with the Jews in the promises of God in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ⁷ I became a servant of the gospel because of the grace that God showed me through the exercise of his power.

⁸ God gave his grace to me, the least of all God’s people, to preach the good news about the immeasurable riches of Christ to the Gentiles. ⁹ God sent me to reveal the secret plan^[k] that had been hidden since the beginning of time by God, who created everything. ¹⁰ God’s purpose is now to show the rulers and powers in the heavens the many different varieties of his wisdom through the church. ¹¹ This was consistent with the plan he had from the beginning of time that he accomplished through Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² In Christ we have bold and confident access to God through faith in him.^{[l] 13} So then, I ask you not to become discouraged by what I’m suffering for you, which is your glory.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians

¹⁴ This is why I kneel before the Father. ¹⁵ Every ethnic group in heaven or on earth is recognized by him. ¹⁶ I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. ¹⁷ I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, ¹⁸ I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. ¹⁹ I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God.

²⁰ Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; ²¹ glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen.

Unity of the body of Christ

4 Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. ² Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, ³ and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. ⁴ You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. ⁵ There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.

⁷ God has given his grace to each one of us measured out by the gift that is given by Christ. ⁸ That’s why scripture says, When he climbed up to the heights, he captured prisoners, and he gave gifts to people.^[m]

⁹ What does the phrase “he climbed up” mean if it doesn’t mean that he had first gone down into the lower regions, the earth? ¹⁰ The one who went down is the same one who climbed up above all the heavens so that he might fill everything.

¹¹ He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. ¹² His purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ ¹³ until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴ As a result, we aren’t supposed to be infants any longer who can be tossed and blown around by every wind that comes from teaching with deceitful scheming and the tricks people play to deliberately mislead others. ¹⁵ Instead, by speaking the truth with love, let’s grow in every way into Christ, ¹⁶ who is the head. The whole body grows from him, as it is joined and held together by all the supporting ligaments. The body makes itself grow in that it builds itself up with love as each one does its part.

The old and new life

¹⁷ So I’m telling you this, and I insist on it in the Lord: you shouldn’t live your life like the Gentiles anymore. They base their lives on pointless thinking, ¹⁸ and they are in the dark in their reasoning. They are disconnected from God’s life because of their ignorance and their closed hearts. ¹⁹ They are people who lack all sense of right and wrong, and who have turned themselves over to doing whatever feels good and to practicing every sort of corruption along with greed.

²⁰ But you didn’t learn that sort of thing from Christ. ²¹ Since you really listened to him and you were taught how the truth is in Jesus, ²² change the former way of life that was part of the person you once were, corrupted by deceitful desires. ²³ Instead, renew the thinking in your mind by the Spirit ²⁴ and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness.

²⁵ Therefore, after you have gotten rid of lying, Each of you must tell the truth to your neighbor^[n] because we are parts of each other in the same body. ²⁶ Be angry without sinning.^[o] Don’t let the sun set on your anger. ²⁷ Don’t provide an opportunity for the devil. ²⁸ Thieves should no longer steal. Instead, they should go to work, using their hands to do good so that they will have something to share with whoever is in need.

²⁹ Don’t let any foul words come out of your mouth. Only say what is helpful when it is needed for building up the community so that it benefits those who hear what you say. ³⁰ Don’t make the Holy Spirit of God unhappy—you were sealed by him for the day of redemption. ³¹ Put aside all bitterness, losing your temper, anger, shouting, and slander, along with every other evil. ³² Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ.

5 Therefore, imitate God like dearly loved children. ² Live your life with love, following the example of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us. He was a sacrificial offering that smelled sweet to God.

³ Sexual immorality, and any kind of impurity or greed, shouldn’t even be mentioned among you, which is right for holy persons. ⁴ Obscene language, silly talk, or vulgar jokes aren’t acceptable for believers. Instead, there should be thanksgiving. ⁵ Because you know for sure that persons who are sexually immoral, impure, or greedy—which happens when things become gods—those persons won’t inherit the kingdom of Christ and God.

Be children of light

⁶ Nobody should deceive you with stupid ideas. God’s anger comes down on those who are disobedient because of this kind of thing. ⁷ So you shouldn’t have anything to do with them. ⁸ You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so live your life as children of light. ⁹ Light produces fruit that consists of every sort of goodness, justice, and truth. ¹⁰ Therefore, test everything to see what’s pleasing to the Lord, ¹¹ and don’t participate in the unfruitful actions of darkness. Instead, you should reveal the truth about them. ¹² It’s embarrassing to even talk about what certain persons do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed to the light is revealed by the light. ¹⁴ Everything that is revealed by the light is light. Therefore, it says, Wake up, sleeper!^[p] Get up from the dead,^[q] and Christ will shine on you.^[r]

Be filled with the Spirit

¹⁵ So be careful to live your life wisely, not foolishly. ¹⁶ Take advantage of every opportunity because these are evil times. ¹⁷ Because of this, don’t be ignorant, but understand the Lord’s will. ¹⁸ Don’t get drunk on wine, which produces depravity. Instead, be filled with the Spirit in the following ways: ¹⁹ speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; sing and make music to the Lord in your hearts; ²⁰ always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; ²¹ and submit to each other out of respect for Christ. ²² For example, wives should submit to their husbands as if to the Lord. ²³ A husband is the head of his wife like Christ is head of the church, that is, the savior of the body. ²⁴ So wives submit to their husbands in everything like the church submits to Christ. ²⁵ As for husbands, love your wives just like Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. ²⁶ He did this to make her holy by washing her in a bath of water with the word. ²⁷ He did this to present himself with a splendid church, one without any sort of stain or wrinkle on her clothes, but rather one that is holy and blameless. ²⁸ That’s how husbands ought to love their wives—in the same way as they do their own bodies. Anyone who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ No one ever hates his own body, but feeds it and takes care of it just like Christ does for the church ³⁰ because we are parts of his body. ³¹ This is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two of them will be one body.^{[s] 32} Marriage is a significant allegory,^[t] and I’m applying it to Christ and the church. ³³ In any case, as for you individually, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and wives should respect^[u] their husbands.

6 As for children, obey your parents in the Lord, because it is right. ² The commandment Honor your father and mother is the first one with a promise attached: ³ so that things will go well for you, and you will live for a long time in the land.^{[v] 4} As for parents, don’t provoke your children to anger, but raise them with discipline and instruction about the Lord.

⁵ As for slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling and with sincere devotion to Christ. ⁶ Don’t work to make yourself look good and try to flatter people, but act like slaves of Christ carrying out God’s will from the heart. ⁷ Serve your owners enthusiastically, as though you were serving the Lord and not human beings. ⁸ You know that the Lord will reward every person who does what is right, whether that person is a slave or a free person. ⁹ As for masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Stop threatening them, because you know that both you and your slaves have a master in heaven. He doesn’t distinguish between people on the basis of status.

Put on the armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. ¹¹ Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. ¹² We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. ¹³ Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. ¹⁴ So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, ¹⁵ and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. ¹⁶ Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.

¹⁸ Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time. Stay alert by hanging in there and praying for all believers. ¹⁹ As for me, pray that when I open my mouth, I’ll get a message that confidently makes this secret plan^[w] of the gospel known. ²⁰ I’m an ambassador in chains for the sake of the gospel. Pray so that the Lord will give me the confidence to say what I have to say.

Final greeting

²¹ Tychicus, my loved brother and faithful servant of the Lord, can inform you about my situation and what I’m doing. ²² I’ve sent him for this reason—so that you will know about us. He can reassure you.

²³ May there be peace with the brothers and sisters as well as love with the faith that comes from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ May grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ forever.

Greeting

1 From Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.

To all those in Philippi who are God’s people in Christ Jesus, along with your supervisors^[x] and servants.^[y]

² May the grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Thanksgiving and prayer

³ I thank my God every time I mention you in my prayers. ⁴ I’m thankful for all of you every time I pray, and it’s always a prayer full of joy. ⁵ I’m glad because of the way you have been my partners in the ministry of the gospel from the time you first believed it until now. ⁶ I’m sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷ I have good reason to think this way about all of you because I keep you in my heart. You are all my partners in God’s grace, both during my time in prison and in the defense and support of the gospel. ⁸ God is my witness that I feel affection for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.

⁹ This is my prayer: that your love might become even more and more rich with knowledge and all kinds of insight. ¹⁰ I pray this so that you will be able to decide what really matters and so you will be sincere and blameless on the day of Christ. ¹¹ I pray that you will then be filled with the fruit of righteousness, which comes from Jesus Christ, in order to give glory and praise to God.

Priority of the gospel

¹² Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that the things that have happened to me have actually advanced the gospel. ¹³ The whole Praetorian Guard and everyone else knows that I’m in prison for Christ. ¹⁴ Most of the brothers and sisters have had more confidence through the Lord to speak the word boldly and bravely because of my jail time. ¹⁵ Some certainly preach Christ with jealous and competitive motives, but others preach with good motives. ¹⁶ They are motivated by love, because they know that I’m put here to give a defense of the gospel; ¹⁷ the others preach Christ because of their selfish ambition. They are insincere, hoping to cause me more pain while I’m in prison.

¹⁸ What do I think about this? Just this: since Christ is proclaimed in every possible way, whether from dishonest or true motives, I’m glad and I’ll continue to be glad. ¹⁹ I’m glad because I know that this will result in my release through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. ²⁰ It is my expectation and hope that I won’t be put to shame in anything. Rather, I hope with daring courage that Christ’s greatness will be seen in my body, now as always, whether I live or die. ²¹ Because for me, living serves Christ and dying is even better. ²² If I continue to live in this world, I get results from my work. ²³ But I don’t know what I prefer. I’m torn between the two because I want to leave this life and be with Christ, which is far better. ²⁴ However, it’s more important for me to stay in this world for your sake. ²⁵ I’m sure of this: I will stay alive and remain with all of you to help your progress and the joy of your faith, ²⁶ and to increase your pride in Christ Jesus through my presence when I visit you again.

Live worthy of the gospel

²⁷ Most important, live together in a manner worthy of Christ’s gospel. Do this, whether I come and see you or I’m absent and hear about you. Do this so that you stand firm, united in one spirit and mind as you struggle together to remain faithful to the gospel. ²⁸ That way, you won’t be afraid of anything your enemies do. Your faithfulness and courage are a sign of their coming destruction and your salvation, which is from God. ²⁹ God has generously granted you the privilege, not only of believing in Christ but also of suffering for Christ’s sake. ³⁰ You are having the same struggle that you saw me face and now hear that I’m still facing.

Imitate Christ

2 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort in love, any sharing in the Spirit, any sympathy, ² complete my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, being united, and agreeing with each other. ³ Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others. ⁵ Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:

Carry out your salvation

¹² Therefore, my loved ones, just as you always obey me, not just when I am present but now even more while I am away, carry out your own salvation with fear and trembling. ¹³ God is the one who enables you both to want and to actually live out his good purposes. ¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling and arguing ¹⁵ so that you may be blameless and pure, innocent children of God surrounded by people who are crooked and corrupt. Among these people you shine like stars in the world ¹⁶ because you hold on to the word of life. This will allow me to say on the day of Christ that I haven’t run for nothing or worked for nothing. ¹⁷ But even if I am poured out like a drink offering upon the altar of service for your faith, I am glad. I’m glad with all of you. ¹⁸ You should be glad about this in the same way. Be glad with me!

Sending Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to see you soon so that I may be encouraged by hearing about you. ²⁰ I have no one like him. He is a person who genuinely cares about your well-being. ²¹ All the others put their own business ahead of Jesus Christ’s business. ²² You know his character, how he labors with me for the gospel like a son works with his father. ²³ So he is the one that I hope to send as soon as I find out how things turn out here for me. ²⁴ I trust in the Lord that I also will visit you soon.

²⁵ I think it is also necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. He is my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier; and he is your representative who serves my needs. ²⁶ He misses you all, and he was upset because you heard he was sick. ²⁷ In fact, he was so sick that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him—and not just on him but also on me, because his death would have caused me great sorrow. ²⁸ Therefore, I am sending him immediately so that when you see him again you can be glad and I won’t worry. ²⁹ So welcome him in the Lord with great joy and show great respect for people like him. ³⁰ He risked his life and almost died for the work of Christ, and he did this to make up for the help you couldn’t give me.

Values and priorities

3 So then, my brothers and sisters, be glad in the Lord. It’s no trouble for me to repeat the same things to you because they will help keep you on track. ² Watch out for the “dogs.” Watch out for people who do evil things. Watch out for those who insist on circumcision, which is really mutilation. ³ We are the circumcision. We are the ones who serve by God’s Spirit and who boast in Christ Jesus. We don’t put our confidence in rituals performed on the body, ⁴ though I have good reason to have this kind of confidence. If anyone else has reason to put their confidence in physical advantages, I have even more:

⁷ These things were my assets, but I wrote them off as a loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but what I lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him. In Christ I have a righteousness that is not my own and that does not come from the Law but rather from the faithfulness of Christ. It is the righteousness of God that is based on faith. ¹⁰ The righteousness that I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings. It includes being conformed to his death ¹¹ so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead.

¹² It’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already been perfected, but I pursue it, so that I may grab hold of it because Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me. ¹⁴ The goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ So all of us who are spiritually mature should think this way, and if anyone thinks differently, God will reveal it to him or her. ¹⁶ Only let’s live in a way that is consistent with whatever level we have reached.

Imitate Paul

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, become imitators of me and watch those who live this way—you can use us as models. ¹⁸ As I have told you many times and now say with deep sadness, many people live as enemies of the cross. ¹⁹ Their lives end with destruction. Their god is their stomach, and they take pride in their disgrace because their thoughts focus on earthly things. ²⁰ Our citizenship is in heaven. We look forward to a savior that comes from there—the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ He will transform our humble bodies so that they are like his glorious body, by the power that also makes him able to subject all things to himself.

Stand firm in the Lord

4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters whom I love and miss, who are my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord.

Loved ones, ² I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to come to an agreement in the Lord. ³ Yes, and I’m also asking you, loyal friend, to help these women who have struggled together with me in the ministry of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the scroll of life.

⁴ Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! ⁵ Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. ⁶ Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. ⁷ Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.

⁸ From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise. ⁹ Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us. The God of peace will be with you.

Paul’s thanks for gifts

¹⁰ I was very glad in the Lord because now at last you have shown concern for me again. (Of course you were always concerned but had no way to show it.) ¹¹ I’m not saying this because I need anything, for I have learned how to be content in any circumstance. ¹² I know the experience of being in need and of having more than enough; I have learned the secret to being content in any and every circumstance, whether full or hungry or whether having plenty or being poor. ¹³ I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength. ¹⁴ Still, you have done well to share my distress.

¹⁵ You Philippians know from the time of my first mission work in Macedonia how no church shared in supporting my ministry except you. ¹⁶ You sent contributions repeatedly to take care of my needs even while I was in Thessalonica. ¹⁷ I’m not hoping for a gift, but I am hoping for a profit that accumulates in your account. ¹⁸ I now have plenty and it is more than enough. I am full to overflowing because I received the gifts that you sent from Epaphroditus. Those gifts give off a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice that pleases God. ¹⁹ My God will meet your every need out of his riches in the glory that is found in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Let glory be given to God our Father forever and always. Amen.

Final greeting

²¹ Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters with me send you their greeting. ²² All God’s people here, especially those in Caesar’s household, send you their greeting. ²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits.

Greeting

1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother.

² To the holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

Thanksgiving and prayer for the Colossians

³ We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. ⁴ We’ve done this since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all God’s people. ⁵ You have this faith and love because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You previously heard about this hope through the true message, the good news, ⁶ which has come to you. This message has been bearing fruit and growing among you since the day you heard and truly understood God’s grace, in the same way that it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world. ⁷ You learned it from Epaphras, who is the fellow slave we love and Christ’s faithful minister for your sake. ⁸ He informed us of your love in the Spirit.

⁹ Because of this, since the day we heard about you, we haven’t stopped praying for you and asking for you to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, with all wisdom and spiritual understanding. ¹⁰ We’re praying this so that you can live lives that are worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him in every way: by producing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ by being strengthened through his glorious might so that you endure everything and have patience; ¹² and by giving thanks with joy to the Father. He made it so you could take part in the inheritance, in light granted to God’s holy people. ¹³ He rescued us from the control of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. ¹⁴ He set us free through the Son and forgave our sins.

Hymn about Christ’s work

²¹ Once you were alienated from God and you were enemies with him in your minds, which was shown by your evil actions. ²² But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death, to present you before God as a people who are holy, faultless, and without blame. ²³ But you need to remain well established and rooted in faith and not shift away from the hope given in the good news that you heard. This message has been preached throughout all creation under heaven. And I, Paul, became a servant of this good news.

Paul’s service for the church

²⁴ Now I’m happy to be suffering for you. I’m completing what is missing from Christ’s sufferings with my own body. I’m doing this for the sake of his body, which is the church. ²⁵ I became a servant of the church by God’s commission, which was given to me for you, in order to complete God’s word. ²⁶ I’m completing it with a secret plan^[ab] that has been hidden for ages and generations but which has now been revealed to his holy people. ²⁷ God wanted to make the glorious riches of this secret plan^[ac] known among the Gentiles, which is Christ living in you, the hope of glory. ²⁸ This is what we preach as we warn and teach every person with all wisdom so that we might present each one mature in Christ. ²⁹ I work hard and struggle for this goal with his energy, which works in me powerfully.

2 I want you to know how much I struggle for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who haven’t known me personally. ² My goal is that their hearts would be encouraged and united together in love so that they might have all the riches of assurance that come with understanding, so that they might have the knowledge of the secret plan^[ad] of God, namely Christ. ³ All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him. ⁴ I’m telling you this so that no one deceives you with convincing arguments, ⁵ because even though I am absent physically, I’m with you in spirit. I’m happy to see the discipline and stability of your faith in Christ.

Error threatening the church

⁶ So live in Christ Jesus the Lord in the same way as you received him. ⁷ Be rooted and built up in him, be established in faith, and overflow with thanksgiving just as you were taught. ⁸ See to it that nobody enslaves you with philosophy and foolish deception, which conform to human traditions and the way the world thinks and acts rather than Christ. ⁹ All the fullness of deity lives in Christ’s body. ¹⁰ And you have been filled by him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. ¹¹ In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by human hands. The circumcision of Christ is realized in the stripping away of the whole self dominated by sin. ¹² You were buried with him through baptism and raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ When you were dead because of the things you had done wrong and because your body wasn’t circumcised, God made you alive with Christ and forgave all the things you had done wrong. ¹⁴ He destroyed the record of the debt we owed, with its requirements that worked against us. He canceled it by nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ When he disarmed the rulers and authorities, he exposed them to public disgrace by leading them in a triumphal parade.

¹⁶ So don’t let anyone judge you about eating or drinking or about a festival, a new moon observance, or sabbaths. ¹⁷ These religious practices are only a shadow of what was coming—the body that cast the shadow is Christ. ¹⁸ Don’t let anyone who wants to practice harsh self-denial and worship angels rob you of the prize. They go into detail about what they have seen in visions and have become unjustifiably arrogant by their selfish way of thinking. ¹⁹ They don’t stay connected to the head. The head nourishes and supports the whole body through the joints and ligaments, so the body grows with a growth that is from God.

²⁰ If you died with Christ to the way the world thinks and acts, why do you submit to rules and regulations as though you were living in the world? ²¹ “Don’t handle!” “Don’t taste!” “Don’t touch!” ²² All these things cease to exist when they are used. Such rules are human commandments and teachings. ²³ They look like they are wise with this self-made religion and their self-denial by the harsh treatment of the body, but they are no help against indulging in selfish immoral behavior.

Your life hidden in Christ

3 Therefore, if you were raised with Christ, look for the things that are above where Christ is sitting at God’s right side. ² Think about the things above and not things on earth. ³ You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

⁵ So put to death the parts of your life that belong to the earth, such as sexual immorality, moral corruption, lust, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). ⁶ The wrath of God is coming upon disobedient people because of these things. ⁷ You used to live this way, when you were alive to these things. ⁸ But now set aside these things, such as anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene language. ⁹ Don’t lie to each other. Take off the old human nature with its practices ¹⁰ and put on the new nature, which is renewed in knowledge by conforming to the image of the one who created it. ¹¹ In this image there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all people.

¹² Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other. ¹⁴ And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. ¹⁵ The peace of Christ must control your hearts—a peace into which you were called in one body. And be thankful people. ¹⁶ The word of Christ must live in you richly. Teach and warn each other with all wisdom by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him.

¹⁸ Wives, submit to your husbands in a way that is appropriate in the Lord. ¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and don’t be harsh with them. ²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, because this pleases the Lord. ²¹ Parents, don’t provoke your children in a way that ends up discouraging them.

²² Slaves, obey your masters on earth in everything. Don’t just obey like people pleasers when they are watching. Instead, obey with the single motivation of fearing the Lord. ²³ Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people. ²⁴ You know that you will receive an inheritance as a reward. You serve the Lord Christ. ²⁵ But evildoers will receive their reward for their evil actions. There is no discrimination.

4 Masters, be just and fair to your slaves, knowing that you yourselves have a master in heaven.

² Keep on praying and guard your prayers with thanksgiving. ³ At the same time, pray for us also. Pray that God would open a door for the word so we can preach the secret plan^[ae] of Christ—which is why I’m in chains. ⁴ Pray that I might be able to make it as clear as I ought to when I preach. ⁵ Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. ⁶ Your speech should always be gracious and sprinkled with insight so that you may know how to respond to every person.

Final greeting

⁷ Tychicus, our dearly loved brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave in the Lord, will inform you about everything that has happened to me. ⁸ This is why I sent him to you, so that you’ll know all about us and so he can encourage your hearts. ⁹ I sent him with Onesimus, our faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will let you know about everything here.

¹⁰ Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, says hello to you. So does Mark, Barnabas’ cousin (you received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him). ¹¹ Jesus, called Justus, also says hello. These are my only fellow workers for God’s kingdom who are Jewish converts. They have been an encouragement to me. ¹² Epaphras, who is one of you, says hello. He’s a slave of Christ Jesus who always wrestles for you in prayers so that you will stand firm and be fully mature and complete in the entire will of God. ¹³ I can vouch for him that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. ¹⁴ Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas say hello.

¹⁵ Say hello to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, along with Nympha and the church that meets in her house. ¹⁶ After this letter has been read to you publicly, make sure that the church in Laodicea reads it and that you read the one from Laodicea. ¹⁷ And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry that you received in the Lord.”

¹⁸ I, Paul, am writing this greeting personally. Remember that I’m in prison. Grace be with you.