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that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and came to truly appreciate God’s grace.
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You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,
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The Centrality of Christ
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
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He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
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He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.
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Paul’s Ministry
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for his body, that is, the church.
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God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
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and you have been filled by him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
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These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ.
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All these regulations refer to what is destined to perish by being used up; they are human commands and doctrines.
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The Life of the New Man
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
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For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
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When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
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Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.
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Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient,
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In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.
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Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
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Christ in Your Home
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
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For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.
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He is coming with Onesimus, a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.
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and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.
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Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills.
