Bible in 90 Days

²⁶ You are all God’s children by believing in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ Clearly, all of you who were baptized in Christ’s name have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There are neither Jews nor Greeks, slaves nor free people, males nor females. You are all the same in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants and heirs, as God promised.

You Are God’s Children

4 Let me explain further. As long as an heir is a child, he is no better off than a slave, even though he owns everything. ² He is placed under the control of guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. ³ It was the same way with us. When we were children, we were slaves to the principles of this world. ⁴ But when the right time came, God sent his Son ⌞into the world⌟. A woman gave birth to him, and he came under the control of the laws given to Moses. ⁵ God sent him to pay for the freedom of those who were controlled by these laws so that we would be adopted as his children. ⁶ Because you are God’s children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into us to call out, “Abba! ^[a] Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer slaves but God’s children. Since you are God’s children, God has also made you heirs.

⁸ When you didn’t know God, you were slaves to things which are really not gods at all. ⁹ But now you know God, or rather, God knows you. So how can you turn back again to the powerless and bankrupt principles of this world? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again? ¹⁰ You religiously observe days, months, seasons, and years! ¹¹ I’m afraid for you. Maybe the hard work I spent on you has been wasted.

What Happened to Your Positive Attitude?

¹² Brothers and sisters, I beg you to become like me. After all, I became like you were.

You didn’t do anything wrong to me. ¹³ You know that the first time I brought you the Good News I was ill. ¹⁴ Even though my illness was difficult for you, you didn’t despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were God’s messenger ^[b] or Christ Jesus himself. ¹⁵ What happened to your positive attitude? It’s a fact that if it had been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ Can it be that I have become your enemy for telling you the truth?

¹⁷ These people ⌞who distort the Good News⌟ are devoted to you, but not in a good way. They don’t want you to associate with me so that you will be devoted only to them. ¹⁸ (Devotion to a good cause is always good, even when I’m not with you.)

¹⁹ My children, I am suffering birth pains for you again until Christ is formed in you. ²⁰ I wish I were with you right now so that I could change the tone of my voice. I’m completely puzzled by what you’ve done!

You Are Children of the Promise

²¹ Those who want to be controlled by Moses’ laws should tell me something. Are you really listening to what Moses’ Teachings say? ²² Scripture says that Abraham had two sons, one by a woman who was a slave and the other by a free woman. ²³ Now, the son of the slave woman was conceived in a natural way, but the son of the free woman was conceived through a promise ⌞made to Abraham⌟.

²⁴ I’m going to use these historical events as an illustration. The women illustrate two arrangements.^[c] The one woman, Hagar, is the arrangement made on Mount Sinai. Her children are born into slavery. ²⁵ Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She is like Jerusalem today because she and her children are slaves. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷ Scripture says:

²⁸ Now you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise like Isaac.

²⁹ Furthermore, at that time the son who was conceived in a natural way persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That’s exactly what’s happening now. ³⁰ But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, because the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman.” ³¹ Brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave woman but of the free woman.

Live in the Freedom That Christ Gives You

5 Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. Therefore, be firm ⌞in this freedom⌟, and don’t become slaves again.

² I, Paul, can guarantee that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. ³ Again, I insist that everyone who allows himself to be circumcised must realize that he obligates himself to do everything Moses’ Teachings demand. ⁴ Those of you who try to earn God’s approval by obeying his laws have been cut off from Christ. You have fallen out of God’s favor.^{[d] 5} However, in our spiritual nature, faith causes us to wait eagerly for the confidence that comes with God’s approval. ⁶ As far as our relationship to Christ Jesus is concerned, it doesn’t matter whether we are circumcised or not. But what matters is a faith that expresses itself through love.

⁷ You were doing so well. Who stopped you from being influenced by the truth? ⁸ The arguments of the person who is influencing you do not come from the one who is calling you. ⁹ A little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough. ¹⁰ The Lord gives me confidence that you will not disagree with this. However, the one who is confusing you will suffer God’s judgment regardless of who he is. ¹¹ Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the cross wouldn’t be offensive anymore. ¹² I wish those troublemakers would castrate themselves.

¹³ You were indeed called to be free, brothers and sisters. Don’t turn this freedom into an excuse for your corrupt nature to express itself. Rather, serve each other through love. ¹⁴ All of Moses’ Teachings are summarized in a single statement, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” ¹⁵ But if you criticize and attack each other, be careful that you don’t destroy each other.

¹⁶ Let me explain further. Live your life as your spiritual nature directs you. Then you will never follow through on what your corrupt nature wants. ¹⁷ What your corrupt nature wants is contrary to what your spiritual nature wants, and what your spiritual nature wants is contrary to what your corrupt nature wants. They are opposed to each other. As a result, you don’t always do what you intend to do. ¹⁸ If your spiritual nature is your guide, you are not subject to Moses’ laws.

¹⁹ Now, the effects of the corrupt nature are obvious: illicit sex, perversion, promiscuity, ²⁰ idolatry, drug use, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, conflict, factions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild partying, and similar things. I’ve told you in the past and I’m telling you again that people who do these kinds of things will not inherit God’s kingdom.

²² But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There are no laws against things like that. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their corrupt nature along with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by our spiritual nature, then our lives need to conform to our spiritual nature. ²⁶ We can’t allow ourselves to act arrogantly and to provoke or envy each other.

Help Carry Each Other’s Burdens

6 Brothers and sisters, if a person gets trapped by wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should help that person turn away from doing wrong. Do it in a gentle way. At the same time watch yourself so that you also are not tempted. ² Help carry each other’s burdens. In this way you will follow Christ’s teachings. ³ So if any one of you thinks you’re important when you’re really not, you’re only fooling yourself. ⁴ Each of you must examine your own actions. Then you can be proud of your own accomplishments without comparing yourself to others. ⁵ Assume your own responsibility.

We Will Harvest What We Plant

⁶ The person who is taught God’s word should share all good things with his teacher. ⁷ Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God. Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest. ⁸ If you plant in ⌞the soil of⌟ your corrupt nature, you will harvest destruction. But if you plant in ⌞the soil of⌟ your spiritual nature, you will harvest everlasting life. ⁹ We can’t allow ourselves to get tired of living the right way. Certainly, each of us will receive ⌞everlasting life⌟ at the proper time, if we don’t give up. ¹⁰ Whenever we have the opportunity, we have to do what is good for everyone, especially for the family of believers.

Paul Summarizes His Teachings about Circumcision

¹¹ Look at how large the letters ⌞in these words⌟ are because I’m writing this myself.

¹² These people who want to make a big deal out of a physical thing are trying to force you to be circumcised. Their only aim is to avoid persecution because of the cross of Christ. ¹³ It’s clear that not even those who had themselves circumcised did this to follow Moses’ laws. Yet, they want you to be circumcised so that they can brag about what was done to your body. ¹⁴ But it’s unthinkable that I could ever brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. By his cross my relationship to the world and its relationship to me have been crucified. ¹⁵ Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation. ¹⁶ Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God.^[e]

¹⁷ From now on, don’t make any trouble for me! After all, I carry the scars of Jesus on my body.

¹⁸ May the good will ^[f] of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters! Amen.

Greeting

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

To God’s holy and faithful people who are united with Christ in the city of Ephesus.^[g]

² Good will ^[h] and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!

God Chose Us Through Christ

³ Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer. ⁴ Before the creation of the world, he chose us through Christ to be holy and perfect in his presence. ⁵ Because of his love he had already decided to adopt us through Jesus Christ. He freely chose to do this ⁶ so that the kindness ^[i] he had given us in his dear Son would be praised and given glory.

⁷ Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness. ⁸ He poured out his kindness by giving us every kind of wisdom and insight ⁹ when he revealed the mystery of his plan to us. He had decided to do this through Christ. ¹⁰ He planned to bring all of history to its goal in Christ. Then Christ would be the head of everything in heaven and on earth. ¹¹ God also decided ahead of time to choose us through Christ according to his plan, which makes everything work the way he intends. ¹² He planned all of this so that we who had already focused our hope on Christ would praise him and give him glory.

¹³ You heard and believed the message of truth, the Good News that he has saved you. In him you were sealed with the Holy Spirit whom he promised. ¹⁴ This Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive our inheritance. We have this guarantee until we are set free to belong to him. God receives praise and glory for this.

Paul’s Prayer for the Ephesians

¹⁵ I, too, have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. For this reason ¹⁶ I never stop thanking God for you. I always remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I pray that the glorious Father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know Christ better. ¹⁸ Then you will have deeper insight. You will know the confidence that he calls you to have and the glorious wealth that God’s people will inherit. ¹⁹ You will also know the unlimited greatness of his power as it works with might and strength for us, the believers. ²⁰ He worked with that same power in Christ when he brought him back to life and gave him the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. ²¹ He is far above all rulers, authorities, powers, lords, and all other names that can be named, not only in this present world but also in the world to come. ²² God has put everything under the control of Christ. He has made Christ the head of everything for the good of the church. ²³ The church is Christ’s body and completes him as he fills everything in every way.

God Saved Us because of His Great Love for Us

2 You were once dead because of your failures and sins. ² You followed the ways of this present world and its spiritual ruler. This ruler continues to work in people who refuse to obey God. ³ All of us once lived among these people, and followed the desires of our corrupt nature. We did what our corrupt desires and thoughts wanted us to do. So, because of our nature, we deserved God’s anger just like everyone else.

⁴ But God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us. ⁵ We were dead because of our failures, but he made us alive together with Christ. (It is God’s kindness ^[j] that saved you.) ⁶ God has brought us back to life together with Christ Jesus and has given us a position in heaven with him. ⁷ He did this through Christ Jesus out of his generosity to us in order to show his extremely rich kindness in the world to come. ⁸ God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God. ⁹ It’s not the result of anything you’ve done, so no one can brag about it. ¹⁰ God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do.

God Has United Jewish and Non-Jewish People

¹¹ Remember that once you were not Jewish physically. Those who called themselves “the circumcised” because of what they had done to their bodies called you “the uncircumcised.” ¹² Also, at that time you were without Christ. You were excluded from citizenship in Israel, and the pledges ^[k] ⌞God made in his⌟ promise were foreign to you. You had no hope and were in the world without God.

¹³ But now through Christ Jesus you, who were once far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ So he is our peace. In his body he has made Jewish and non-Jewish people one by breaking down the wall of hostility that kept them apart. ¹⁵ He brought an end to the commandments and demands found in Moses’ Teachings so that he could take Jewish and non-Jewish people and create one new humanity in himself. So he made peace. ¹⁶ He also brought them back to God in one body by his cross, on which he killed the hostility. ¹⁷ He came with the Good News of peace for you who were far away and for those who were near. ¹⁸ So Jewish and non-Jewish people can go to the Father in one Spirit.

¹⁹ That is why you are no longer foreigners and outsiders but citizens together with God’s people and members of God’s family. ²⁰ You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. ²¹ In him all the parts of the building fit together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² Through him you, also, are being built in the Spirit together with others into a place where God lives.

Paul’s Work of Spreading the Good News

3 This is the reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus ^[l] for those of you who are not Jewish.

² Certainly, you have heard how God gave me the responsibility of bringing his kindness ^[m] to you. ³ You have heard that he let me know this mystery through a revelation. I’ve already written to you about this briefly. ⁴ When you read this, you’ll see that I understand the mystery about Christ. ⁵ In the past, this mystery was not known by people as it is now. The Spirit has now revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This mystery is the Good News that people who are not Jewish have the same inheritance as Jewish people do. They belong to the same body and share the same promise that God made in Christ Jesus. ⁷ I became a servant of this Good News through God’s kindness freely given to me when his power worked ⌞in me⌟.

⁸ I am the least of all God’s people. Yet, God showed me his kindness by allowing me to spread the Good News of the immeasurable wealth of Christ to people who are not Jewish. ⁹ He allowed me to explain the way this mystery works. God, who created all things, kept it hidden in the past. ¹⁰ He did this so that now, through the church, he could let the rulers and authorities in heaven know his infinite wisdom. ¹¹ This was God’s plan for all of history which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² We can go to God with bold confidence through faith in Christ. ¹³ So then, I ask you not to become discouraged by the troubles I suffer for you. In fact, my troubles bring you glory.

Paul Prays That God Would Strengthen Christians

¹⁴ This is the reason I kneel in the presence of the Father ¹⁵ from whom all the family in heaven and on earth receives its name. ¹⁶ I’m asking God to give you a gift from the wealth of his glory. I pray that he would give you inner strength and power through his Spirit. ¹⁷ Then Christ will live in you through faith. I also pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation. ¹⁸ This way, with all of God’s people you will be able to understand how wide, long, high, and deep his love is. ¹⁹ You will know Christ’s love, which goes far beyond any knowledge. I am praying this so that you may be completely filled with God.

²⁰ Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power he can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. ²¹ Glory belongs to God in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time and eternity! Amen.

Christ’s Gifts to the Church

4 I, a prisoner in the Lord, encourage you to live the kind of life which proves that God has called you. ² Be humble and gentle in every way. Be patient with each other and lovingly accept each other. ³ Through the peace that ties you together, do your best to maintain the unity that the Spirit gives. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit. In the same way you were called to share one hope. ⁵ There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over everything, through everything, and in everything.

⁷ God’s favor ^[n] has been given to each of us. It was measured out to us by Christ who gave it. ⁸ That’s why the Scriptures say:

⁹ Now what does it mean that he went up except that he also had gone down to the lowest parts of the earth? ¹⁰ The one who had gone down also went up above all the heavens so that he fills everything.

¹¹ He also gave apostles, prophets, missionaries, as well as pastors and teachers as gifts ⌞to his church⌟. ¹² Their purpose is to prepare God’s people to serve and to build up the body of Christ. ¹³ This is to continue until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge about God’s Son, until we become mature, until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard. ¹⁴ Then we will no longer be little children, tossed and carried about by all kinds of teachings that change like the wind. We will no longer be influenced by people who use cunning and clever strategies to lead us astray. ¹⁵ Instead, as we lovingly speak the truth, we will grow up completely in our relationship to Christ, who is the head. ¹⁶ He makes the whole body fit together and unites it through the support of every joint. As each and every part does its job, he makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Live as God’s People

¹⁷ So I tell you and encourage you in the Lord’s name not to live any longer like other people in the world. Their minds are set on worthless things. ¹⁸ They can’t understand because they are in the dark. They are excluded from the life that God approves of because of their ignorance and stubbornness. ¹⁹ Since they no longer have any sense of shame, they have become promiscuous. They practice every kind of sexual perversion with a constant desire for more.

²⁰ But that is not what you learned from Christ’s teachings. ²¹ You have certainly heard his message and have been taught his ways. The truth is in Jesus. ²² You were taught to change the way you were living. The person you used to be will ruin you through desires that deceive you. ²³ However, you were taught to have a new attitude. ²⁴ You were also taught to become a new person created to be like God, with a life that truly has God’s approval and is holy.

²⁵ So then, get rid of lies. Speak the truth to each other, because we are all members of the same body.

²⁶ Be angry without sinning. Don’t go to bed angry. ²⁷ Don’t give the devil any opportunity ⌞to work⌟.

²⁸ Thieves must quit stealing and, instead, they must work hard. They should do something good with their hands so that they’ll have something to share with those in need.

²⁹ Don’t say anything that would hurt ⌞another person⌟. Instead, speak only what is good so that you can give help wherever it is needed. That way, what you say will help those who hear you. ³⁰ Don’t give God’s Holy Spirit any reason to be upset with you. He has put his seal on you for the day you will be set free ⌞from the world of sin⌟.

³¹ Get rid of your bitterness, hot tempers, anger, loud quarreling, cursing, and hatred. ³² Be kind to each other, sympathetic, forgiving each other as God has forgiven you through Christ.

Imitate God

5 Imitate God, since you are the children he loves. ² Live in love as Christ also loved us. He gave his life for us as an offering and sacrifice, a soothing aroma to God.

³ Don’t let sexual sin, perversion of any kind, or greed even be mentioned among you. This is not appropriate behavior for God’s holy people. ⁴ It’s not right that dirty stories, foolish talk, or obscene jokes should be mentioned among you either. Instead, give thanks ⌞to God⌟. ⁵ You know very well that no person who is involved in sexual sin, perversion, or greed (which means worshiping wealth) can have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Don’t let anyone deceive you with meaningless words. It is because of sins like these that God’s anger comes to those who refuse to obey him. ⁷ Don’t be partners with them.

⁸ Once you lived in the dark, but now the Lord has filled you with light. Live as children who have light. ⁹ Light produces everything that is good, that has God’s approval, and that is true. ¹⁰ Determine which things please the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the useless works that darkness produces. Instead, expose them for what they are. ¹² It is shameful to talk about what some people do in secret. ¹³ Light exposes the true character of everything ¹⁴ because light makes everything easy to see. That’s why it says:

¹⁵ So then, be very careful how you live. Don’t live like foolish people but like wise people. ¹⁶ Make the most of your opportunities because these are evil days. ¹⁷ So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord wants. ¹⁸ Don’t get drunk on wine, which leads to wild living. Instead, be filled with the Spirit ^{[p] 19} by reciting psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs for your own good. Sing and make music to the Lord with your hearts. ²⁰ Always thank God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Advice to Wives and Husbands

²¹ Place yourselves under each other’s authority out of respect for Christ.

²² Wives, place yourselves under your husbands’ authority as you have placed yourselves under the Lord’s authority. ²³ The husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. It is his body, and he is its Savior. ²⁴ As the church is under Christ’s authority, so wives are under their husbands’ authority in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. ²⁶ He did this to make the church holy by cleansing it, washing it using water along with spoken words. ²⁷ Then he could present it to himself as a glorious church, without any kind of stain or wrinkle—holy and without faults. ²⁸ So husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ No one ever hated his own body. Instead, he feeds and takes care of it, as Christ takes care of the church. ³⁰ We are parts of his body. ³¹ That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will be one. ³² This is a great mystery. (I’m talking about Christ’s relationship to the church.) ³³ But every husband must love his wife as he loves himself, and wives should respect their husbands.

Advice to Children and Parents

6 Children, obey your parents because you are Christians.^[q] This is the right thing to do. ² “Honor your father and mother ³ that everything may go well for you, and you may have a long life on earth.” This is an important commandment with a promise.^[r]

⁴ Fathers, don’t make your children bitter about life. Instead, bring them up in Christian discipline and instruction.

Advice to Slaves and Masters

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with proper respect. Be as sincere as you are when you obey Christ. ⁶ Don’t obey them only while you’re being watched, as if you merely wanted to please people. But obey like slaves who belong to Christ, who have a deep desire to do what God wants them to do. ⁷ Serve eagerly as if you were serving your heavenly master and not merely serving human masters. ⁸ You know that your heavenly master will reward all of us for whatever good we do, whether we’re slaves or free people.

⁹ Masters, treat your slaves with respect. Don’t threaten a slave. You know that there is one master in heaven who has authority over both of you, and he doesn’t play favorites.

Put On All the Armor That God Supplies

¹⁰ Finally, receive your power from the Lord and from his mighty strength. ¹¹ Put on all the armor that God supplies. In this way you can take a stand against the devil’s strategies. ¹² This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent. We are wrestling with rulers, authorities, the powers who govern this world of darkness, and spiritual forces that control evil in the heavenly world. ¹³ For this reason, take up all the armor that God supplies. Then you will be able to take a stand during these evil days.^[s] Once you have overcome all obstacles, you will be able to stand your ground.

¹⁴ So then, take your stand! Fasten truth around your waist like a belt. Put on God’s approval as your breastplate. ¹⁵ Put on your shoes so that you are ready to spread the Good News that gives peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all these, take the Christian faith as your shield. With it you can put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Also take salvation as your helmet and God’s word as the sword that the Spirit supplies.

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit ^[t] in every situation. Use every kind of prayer and request there is. For the same reason be alert. Use every kind of effort and make every kind of request for all of God’s people. ¹⁹ Also pray that God will give me the right words to say. Then I will speak boldly when I reveal the mystery of the Good News. ²⁰ Because I have already been doing this as Christ’s representative, I am in prison. So pray that I speak about this Good News as boldly as I have to.

Greetings from Paul

²¹ I’m sending Tychicus to you. He is our dear brother and a faithful deacon in the Lord’s work. He will tell you everything that is happening to me so that you will know how I’m getting along. ²² That’s why I’m sending him to you so that you may know how we’re doing and that he may encourage you.

²³ May God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give our brothers and sisters peace and love along with faith. ²⁴ His favor ^[u] is with everyone who has an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Greeting

1 From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.

To God’s people in the city of Philippi and their bishops and deacons—to everyone who is united with Christ Jesus.

² Good will ^[v] and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!

Paul’s Prayer for the Philippians

³ I thank my God for all the memories I have of you. ⁴ Every time I pray for all of you, I do it with joy. ⁵ I can do this because of the partnership we’ve had with you in the Good News from the first day ⌞you believed⌟ until now. ⁶ I’m convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷ You have a special place in my heart. So it’s right for me to think this way about all of you. All of you are my partners. Together we share God’s favor,^[w] whether I’m in prison or defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. ⁸ God is my witness that, with all the compassion of Christ Jesus, I long ⌞to see⌟ every one of you.

⁹ I pray that your love will keep on growing because of your knowledge and insight. ¹⁰ That way you will be able to determine what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. ¹¹ Jesus Christ will fill your lives with everything that God’s approval produces. Your lives will then bring glory and praise to God.

Nothing Matters Except That People Are Told about Christ

¹² I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what happened to me has helped to spread the Good News. ¹³ As a result, it has become clear to all the soldiers who guard the emperor and to everyone else that I am in prison because of Christ. ¹⁴ So through my being in prison, the Lord has given most of our brothers and sisters confidence to speak God’s word more boldly and fearlessly than ever.

¹⁵ Some people tell the message about Christ because of their jealousy and envy. Others tell the message about him because of their good will. ¹⁶ Those who tell the message about Christ out of love know that God has put me here to defend the Good News. ¹⁷ But the others are insincere. They tell the message about Christ out of selfish ambition in order to stir up trouble for me while I’m in prison. ¹⁸ But what does it matter? Nothing matters except that, in one way or another, people are told the message about Christ, whether with honest or dishonest motives, and I’m happy about that.

Paul Honors Christ Whether He Lives or Dies

Yes, I will continue to be happy ¹⁹ for another reason. I know that I will be set free through your prayers and through the help that comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. ²⁰ I eagerly expect and hope that I will have nothing to be ashamed of. I will speak very boldly and honor Christ in my body, now as always, whether I live or die. ²¹ Christ means everything to me in this life, and when I die I’ll have even more. ²² If I continue to live in this life, my work will produce more results. I don’t know which I would prefer. ²³ I find it hard to choose between the two. I would like to leave this life and be with Christ. That’s by far the better choice. ²⁴ But for your sake it’s better that I remain in this life. ²⁵ Since I’m convinced of this, I know that I will continue to live and be with all of you. This will help you to grow and be joyful in your faith. ²⁶ So by coming to you again, I want to give you even more reason to have pride in Christ Jesus with me.

Fighting for the Faith

²⁷ Live as citizens who reflect the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come to see you or whether I stay away, I’ll hear all about you. I’ll hear that you are firmly united in spirit, united in fighting for the faith that the Good News brings. ²⁸ So don’t let your opponents intimidate you in any way. This is God’s way of showing them that they will be destroyed and that you will be saved. ²⁹ God has given you the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him. ³⁰ You are involved in the same struggle that you saw me having. Now you hear that I’m still involved in it.

Have the Same Attitude as Christ

2 So then, as Christians, do you have any encouragement? Do you have any comfort from love? Do you have any spiritual relationships? Do you have any sympathy and compassion? ² Then fill me with joy by having the same attitude and the same love, living in harmony, and keeping one purpose in mind. ³ Don’t act out of selfish ambition or be conceited. Instead, humbly think of others as being better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t be concerned only about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others. ⁵ Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

¹² My dear friends, you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you but even more now that I’m absent. In the same way continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. ¹³ It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining or arguing. ¹⁵ Then you will be blameless and innocent. You will be God’s children without any faults among people who are crooked and corrupt. You will shine like stars among them in the world ¹⁶ as you hold firmly to the word of life. Then I can brag on the day of Christ that my effort was not wasted and that my work produced results. ¹⁷ My life is being poured out as a part of the sacrifice and service ⌞I offer to God⌟ for your faith. Yet, I am filled with joy, and I share that joy with all of you. ¹⁸ For this same reason you also should be filled with joy and share that joy with me.

Paul Will Send Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ I hope that the Lord Jesus will allow me to send Timothy to you soon so that I can receive some encouraging news about you. ²⁰ I don’t have anyone else like Timothy. He takes a genuine interest in your welfare. ²¹ Everyone else looks after his own interests, not after those of Jesus Christ. ²² But you know what kind of person Timothy proved to be. Like a father and son we worked hard together to spread the Good News. ²³ I hope to send him as soon as I see how things are going to turn out for me. ²⁴ But the Lord gives me confidence that I will come ⌞to visit you⌟ soon.

²⁵ I feel that I must send Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier—back to you. You sent him as your personal representative to help me in my need. ²⁶ He has been longing to see all of you and is troubled because you heard that he was sick. ²⁷ Indeed, he was so sick that he almost died. But God had mercy not only on him but also on me and kept me from having one sorrow on top of another. ²⁸ So I’m especially eager to send him to you. In this way you will have the joy of seeing him again and I will feel relieved. ²⁹ Give him a joyful Christian welcome. Make sure you honor people like Epaphroditus highly. ³⁰ He risked his life and almost died for the work of Christ in order to make up for the help you couldn’t give me.

Run Straight toward the Goal

3 Now then, brothers and sisters, be joyful in the Lord. It’s no trouble for me to write the same things to you, and it’s for your safety. ² Beware of dogs! Beware of those who do evil things. Beware of those who insist on circumcision. ³ We are the ⌞true⌟ circumcised people ⌞of God⌟ because we serve God’s Spirit and take pride in Christ Jesus. We don’t place any confidence in physical things, ⁴ although I could have confidence in my physical qualifications. If anyone else thinks that he can trust in something physical, I can claim even more. ⁵ I was circumcised on the eighth day. I’m a descendant of Israel. I’m from the tribe of Benjamin. I’m a pure-blooded Hebrew. When it comes to following Jewish laws, I was a Pharisee. ⁶ When it comes to being enthusiastic, I was a persecutor of the church. When it comes to winning God’s approval by obeying Jewish laws, I was perfect.

⁷ These things that I once considered valuable, I now consider worthless for Christ. ⁸ It’s far more than that! I consider everything else worthless because I’m much better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It’s because of him that I think of everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ ⁹ and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith ¹⁰ that knows Christ. Faith knows the power that his coming back to life gives and what it means to share his suffering. In this way I’m becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ with the confidence that I’ll come back to life from the dead.

¹² It’s not that I’ve already reached the goal or have already completed the course. But I run to win that which Jesus Christ has already won for me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I can’t consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride, and ¹⁴ I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ Whoever has a mature faith should think this way. And if you think differently, God will show you how to think. ¹⁶ However, we should be guided by what we have learned so far.

Imitate Me

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, imitate me, and pay attention to those who live by the example we have given you. ¹⁸ I have often told you, and now tell you with tears in my eyes, that many live as the enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ In the end they will be destroyed. Their own emotions are their god, and they take pride in the shameful things they do. Their minds are set on worldly things. ²⁰ We, however, are citizens of heaven. We look forward to the Lord Jesus Christ coming from heaven as our Savior. ²¹ Through his power to bring everything under his authority, he will change our humble bodies and make them like his glorified body.

Paul’s Advice

4 So, brothers and sisters, I love you and miss you. You are my joy and my crown. Therefore, dear friends, keep your relationship with the Lord firm!

² I encourage both Euodia and Syntyche to have the attitude the Lord wants them to have. ³ Yes, I also ask you, Syzugus, my true partner, to help these women. They fought beside me to spread the Good News along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

Always Be Joyful

⁴ Always be joyful in the Lord! I’ll say it again: Be joyful! ⁵ Let everyone know how considerate you are. The Lord is near. ⁶ Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. ⁷ Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable. ⁹ Practice what you’ve learned and received from me, what you heard and saw me do. Then the God who gives this peace will be with you.

Thanks for Your Gifts

¹⁰ The Lord has filled me with joy because you again showed interest in me. You were interested but did not have an opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I’m not saying this because I’m in any need. I’ve learned to be content in whatever situation I’m in. ¹² I know how to live in poverty or prosperity. No matter what the situation, I’ve learned the secret of how to live when I’m full or when I’m hungry, when I have too much or when I have too little. ¹³ I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, it was kind of you to share my troubles.

¹⁵ You Philippians also know that in the early days, when I left the province of Macedonia to spread the Good News, you were the only church to share your money with me. You gave me what I needed, and you received what I gave you. ¹⁶ Even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs twice. ¹⁷ It’s not that I’m looking for a gift. The opposite is true. I’m looking for your resources to increase. ¹⁸ You have paid me in full, and I have more than enough. Now that Epaphroditus has brought me your gifts, you have filled my needs. Your gifts are a soothing aroma, a sacrifice that God accepts and with which he is pleased. ¹⁹ My God will richly fill your every need in a glorious way through Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Glory belongs to our God and Father forever! Amen.

²¹ Greet everyone who believes in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings to you. ²² All God’s people here, especially those in the emperor’s palace, greet you. ²³ May the good will ^[x] of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Greeting

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

² To God’s holy and faithful people, our brothers and sisters who are united with Christ in the city of Colossae.

Good will ^[y] and peace from God our Father are yours!

Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in our prayers for you. ⁴ We thank God because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. ⁵ You have these because of the hope which is kept safe for you in heaven. Some time ago you heard about this hope in the Good News which is the message of truth. ⁶ This Good News is present with you now. It is producing results and spreading all over the world as it did among you from the first day you heard it. At that time you came to know what God’s kindness ^[z] truly means. ⁷ You learned about this Good News from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant. He is taking your place here as a trustworthy deacon for Christ ⁸ and has told us about the love that the Spirit has given you.

⁹ For this reason we have not stopped praying for you since the day we heard about you. We ask ⌞God⌟ to fill you with the knowledge of his will through every kind of spiritual wisdom and insight. ¹⁰ We ask this so that you will live the kind of lives that prove you belong to the Lord. Then you will want to please him in every way as you grow in producing every kind of good work by this knowledge about God. ¹¹ We ask him to strengthen you by his glorious might with all the power you need to patiently endure everything with joy. ¹² You will also thank the Father, who has made you able to share the light, which is what God’s people inherit.

What God Has Done Through Christ

¹³ God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves. ¹⁴ His Son paid the price to free us, which means that our sins are forgiven.

¹⁹ God was pleased to have all of himself live in Christ. ²⁰ God was also pleased to bring everything on earth and in heaven back to himself through Christ. He did this by making peace through Christ’s blood sacrificed on the cross.

²¹ Once you were separated from God. The evil things you did showed your hostile attitude. ²² But now Christ has brought you back to God by dying in his physical body. He did this so that you could come into God’s presence without sin, fault, or blame. ²³ This is on the condition that you continue in faith without being moved from the solid foundation of the hope that the Good News contains. You’ve heard this Good News of which I, Paul, became a servant. It has been spread throughout all creation under heaven.

Paul Describes His Work

²⁴ I am happy to suffer for you now. In my body I am completing whatever remains of Christ’s sufferings. I am doing this on behalf of his body, the church. ²⁵ I became a servant of the church when God gave me the work of telling you his entire message. ²⁶ In the past God hid this mystery, but now he has revealed it to his people. ²⁷ God wanted his people throughout the world to know the glorious riches of this mystery—which is Christ living in you, giving you the hope of glory.

²⁸ We spread the message about Christ as we instruct and teach everyone with all the wisdom there is. We want to present everyone as mature Christian people. ²⁹ I work hard and struggle to do this while his mighty power works in me.

2 I want you to know how hard I work for you, for the people of Laodicea, and for people I have never met. ² Because they are united in love, I work so that they may be encouraged by all the riches that come from a complete understanding of Christ. He is the mystery of God. ³ God has hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ. ⁴ I say this so that no one will mislead you with arguments that merely sound good. ⁵ Although I’m absent from you physically, I’m with you in spirit. I’m happy to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

⁶ You received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to live as Christ’s people. ⁷ Sink your roots in him and build on him. Be strengthened by the faith that you were taught, and overflow with thanksgiving.

Beware of Requirements Invented by Humans

⁸ Be careful not to let anyone rob you ⌞of this faith⌟ through a shallow and misleading philosophy. Such a person follows human traditions and the world’s way of doing things rather than following Christ.

⁹ All of God lives in Christ’s body, ¹⁰ and God has made you complete in Christ. Christ is in charge of every ruler and authority. ¹¹ In him you were also circumcised. It was not a circumcision performed by human hands. But it was a removal of the corrupt nature in the circumcision performed by Christ. ¹² This happened when you were placed in the tomb with Christ through baptism. In baptism you were also brought back to life with Christ through faith in the power of God,^[aa] who brought him back to life.

¹³ You were once dead because of your failures and your uncircumcised corrupt nature. But God made you alive with Christ when he forgave all our failures. ¹⁴ He did this by erasing the charges that were brought against us by the written laws God had established. He took the charges away by nailing them to the cross. ¹⁵ He stripped the rulers and authorities ⌞of their power⌟ and made a public spectacle of them as he celebrated his victory in Christ.

¹⁶ Therefore, let no one judge you because of what you eat or drink or about the observance of annual holy days, New Moon Festivals, or weekly days of rest—holy days. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body ⌞that casts the shadow⌟ belongs to Christ.

¹⁸ Let no one who delights in ⌞false⌟ humility and the worship of angels tell you that you don’t deserve a prize. Such a person, whose sinful mind fills him with arrogance, gives endless details of the visions he has seen. ¹⁹ He doesn’t hold on to ⌞Christ,⌟ the head. Christ makes the whole body grow as God wants it to, through support and unity given by the joints and ligaments.

²⁰ If you have died with Christ to the world’s way of doing things, why do you let others tell you how to live? It’s as though you were still under the world’s influence. ²¹ People will tell you, “Don’t handle this! Don’t taste or touch that!” ²² All of these things deal with objects that are only used up anyway. ²³ These things look like wisdom with their self-imposed worship, ⌞false⌟ humility, and harsh treatment of the body. But they have no value for holding back the constant desires of your corrupt nature.

Live as God’s People

3 Since you were brought back to life with Christ, focus on the things that are above—where Christ holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. ² Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things. ³ You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ Christ is your life. When he appears, then you, too, will appear with him in glory.

⁵ Therefore, put to death whatever is worldly in you: your sexual sin, perversion, passion, lust, and greed (which is the same thing as worshiping wealth). ⁶ It is because of these sins that God’s anger comes on those who refuse to obey him.^{[ab] 7} You used to live that kind of sinful life. ⁸ Also get rid of your anger, hot tempers, hatred, cursing, obscene language, and all similar sins. ⁹ Don’t lie to each other. You’ve gotten rid of the person you used to be and the life you used to live, ¹⁰ and you’ve become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like its Creator. ¹¹ Where this happens, there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, uncivilized person, slave, or free person. Instead, Christ is everything and in everything.

¹² As holy people whom God has chosen and loved, be sympathetic, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. ¹³ Put up with each other, and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ Above all, be loving. This ties everything together perfectly. ¹⁵ Also, let Christ’s peace control you. God has called you into this peace by bringing you into one body. Be thankful. ¹⁶ Let Christ’s word with all its wisdom and richness live in you. Use psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to teach and instruct yourselves about ⌞God’s⌟ kindness.^[ac] Sing to God in your hearts. ¹⁷ Everything you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Advice for Wives and Husbands, Parents and Children, Slaves and Masters

¹⁸ Wives, place yourselves under your husbands’ authority. This is appropriate behavior for the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives, and don’t be harsh with them.

²⁰ Children, always obey your parents. This is pleasing to the Lord. ²¹ Fathers, don’t make your children resentful, or they will become discouraged.

²² Slaves, always obey your earthly masters. Don’t obey them only while you’re being watched, as if you merely wanted to please people. Be sincere in your motives out of respect for your real master. ²³ Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly as though you were working for your real master and not merely for humans. ²⁴ You know that your real master will give you an inheritance as your reward. It is Christ, your real master, whom you are serving. ²⁵ The person who does wrong will be paid back for the wrong he has done. God does not play favorites.

4 Masters, be just and fair to your slaves because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Advice for All Christians

² Keep praying. Pay attention when you offer prayers of thanksgiving. ³ At the same time also pray for us. Pray that God will give us an opportunity to speak the word so that we may tell the mystery about Christ. It is because of this mystery that I am a prisoner. ⁴ Pray that I may make this mystery as clear as possible. This is what I have to do.

⁵ Be wise in the way you act toward those who are outside ⌞the Christian faith⌟. Make the most of your opportunities.

⁶ Everything you say should be kind and well thought out so that you know how to answer everyone.

Greetings from Paul and His Coworkers

⁷ I’m sending Tychicus to you. He is our dear brother, trustworthy deacon, and partner in the Lord’s work. He will tell you everything that is happening to me. ⁸ I’m sending him to you so that you may know how we are doing and so that he may encourage you. ⁹ I’m sending Onesimus with him. Onesimus is from your city and is our faithful and dear brother. They will tell you about everything that’s happening here.

¹⁰ Aristarchus, who is a prisoner like me, sends greetings. So does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have received instructions about Mark. If he comes to you, welcome him. ¹¹ Jesus, called Justus, also greets you. They are the only converts from the Jewish religion who are working with me for God’s kingdom. They have provided me with comfort. ¹² Epaphras, a servant of Christ Jesus from your city, greets you. He always prays intensely for you. He prays that you will continue to be mature and completely convinced of everything that God wants. ¹³ I assure you that he works hard for you and the people in Laodicea and Hierapolis. ¹⁴ My dear friend Luke, the physician, and Demas greet you. ¹⁵ Greet our brothers and sisters in Laodicea, especially Nympha and the church that meets in her house.

¹⁶ After you have read this letter, read it in the church at Laodicea. Make sure that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

¹⁷ Tell Archippus to complete all the work that he started as the Lord’s servant.

¹⁸ I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. Remember that I’m a prisoner. God’s good will ^[ad] be with you.