Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

The old life and the new life

3 God has raised you with Christ to a new life. So you should want more and more the things that belong to heaven. That is where Christ is now. He sits there at God's right side. ² So think about the good things that are there in heaven above. Do not think only about things that are on the earth. ³ Remember that your old nature has died. God is keeping your new life safe with Christ. ⁴ You have that new life because you belong to Christ. One day, Christ will show himself clearly to everyone. Then everyone will see that you are with him. They will see that you also are great, like he is.

⁵ Your old nature likes to do bad things that belong to this earth. But your old nature is dead, so do not do these bad things any more. Do not have sex with someone that you are not married to. Do not think bad, disgusting thoughts. Do not want to have sex in a wrong way. Do not want to do any kinds of bad things. Do not want to have many things for yourselves. That shows that you worship those things as your idol. ⁶ God will certainly punish people who do those kinds of bad things.

⁷ At one time, you lived like that. You did those kinds of bad things. ⁸ But now you must refuse to do all kinds of things like that. Do not become angry with people or shout at them. Do not do anything or say anything that will hurt other people. Do not speak any bad or disgusting words. ⁹ Do not deceive each other with lies. Remember that you have taken off your old nature, like an old coat. As a result, you can stop doing all the bad things that you liked to do before.

¹⁰ Now you have received a new nature. It is God who made it for you so that you can become more and more like him. You will learn to know him better and better. ¹¹ People have this new nature only because they belong to Christ. That is the important thing. Jews are not different from Gentiles. It does not matter whether someone has circumcised you or not. It does not matter which country you come from or how clever you are. It does not matter whether you are a slave or a free person. Christ is all that matters. He lives in every believer.

¹² God has chosen you to be his own special people. You belong to him and he loves you very much. So this is how you should live: Be kind to other people and help them. Do not think that you are better than other people. Instead, respect them and be patient with them. ¹³ Do not become angry with each other. If you think that someone has done something wrong against you, forgive them. Remember that the Lord has forgiven you. So you should also forgive other people. ¹⁴ And you must also love each other. That is the most important thing that you should do. Love holds all these good things completely together.

¹⁵ Christ has given you peace in your minds. So let that peace rule your thoughts. God has chosen you to be like one body, as his people. So he wants you to live together in peace. Thank God for everything that he gives to you. ¹⁶ Let Christ's message always be in your thoughts, with all the good things that it brings. Use that message to teach and to warn each other. Be very wise as you do that. And also sing all kinds of spiritual songs to praise God. Sing psalms and Christian songs. As you sing, thank God from inside yourselves. ¹⁷ Show that you belong to the Lord Jesus with everything that you do and with everything that you say. Always thank God the Father in the way that you serve Jesus.

Do what is right, at home and at work

¹⁸ Wives, obey your husbands. That is the right thing to do, because you belong to the Lord.

¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives. Do not bring trouble to them.

²⁰ Children, always obey your parents. That pleases the Lord.

²¹ Fathers, do not cause your children to be upset. If you do, they might think that they never do anything that is good.

²² Slaves, always obey your human masters. Do not do good work only when they can see you. Some people only work to make other people like them. Instead, serve your masters well because you want to. That will show that you respect the Lord as your master. ²³ Whatever things you are doing, do them well. Remember that you are serving the Lord. You are not only serving people. ²⁴ You know that you will receive the good things that the Lord has promised to his people. He will give you what is right for you. The Lord Jesus Christ is the master that you serve. ²⁵ Remember that God will punish anyone who does wrong things. He always judges people correctly, whoever they are.

4 Masters, be fair to your servants. Give them what is right. Remember that you also serve a master, and he is in heaven.

Paul tells the believers to pray

² Continue to pray seriously. Stay awake, like people who watch carefully. And remember to thank God. ³ Also pray for us. Ask God to make it possible for us to tell people his message. We want people to understand the message about Christ that was a secret before. I am now in a prison because I taught people those things. ⁴ Pray that I will be able to tell people this message clearly. That is what I should do.

⁵ When you are with people who do not believe in Christ, be careful how you live. Use every chance to do good things. ⁶ When you speak to people, always speak kind words. Say things that will help them. Then, when someone asks you a question, you will know how to reply.

Paul finishes his letter

⁷ Our Christian friend, Tychicus, will tell you all the news about me. He works hard to serve the Lord. Like me, he is the Lord's servant. ⁸ I want him to tell you what is happening to us, so that you will feel stronger. That is the reason why I am sending him to you. ⁹ Onesimus will travel with him. As you know, he is one of your own people. He is a good Christian friend who serves Christ well. Onesimus and Tychicus will tell you everything that is happening here.

¹⁰ Aristarchus is also here with me in the prison. He says ‘hello’ to you. Barnabas's cousin, Mark also says ‘hello’ to you. I have already told you about him. So, if he comes to you, be kind to him. ¹¹ Jesus, who is also called Justus, says ‘hello’ to you, too. These three men are the only Jewish believers who are serving God with me. We work together to bring people into the kingdom of God. These men have helped me to be strong.

¹² Epaphras says ‘hello’ to you. He is also one of your people, and he is Jesus Christ's servant. He always prays very strongly for you. He prays that you will continue to grow as believers. He prays that you will completely understand everything that God wants you to do. ¹³ I can tell you this about Epaphras: He has worked very hard for you, and also for the people at Laodicea and at Hierapolis.

¹⁴ Our good friend Luke, the doctor, says ‘hello’ to you. Demas also says ‘hello’. ¹⁵ Say ‘hello’ for me to all the believers at Laodicea. Also say ‘hello’ to Nympha and to the group of believers that meet in her house.

¹⁶ After someone has read this letter to all of you, send it to the believers at Laodicea. Tell them to read it aloud to the church there. You must also read my letter that the believers at Laodicea will send to you.

¹⁷ Say to Archippus, ‘As you serve the Lord, be careful to finish the work that he gave you to do.’

¹⁸ I, Paul, am writing these words at the end of this letter with my own hand. Remember to pray for me while I am in prison. I pray that God will continue to be very kind to you.