Reference: Ephesians, Epistle To
Easton
was written by Paul at Rome about the same time as that to the Colossians, which in many points it resembles.
Contents of. The Epistle to the Colossians is mainly polemical, designed to refute certain theosophic errors that had crept into the church there. That to the Ephesians does not seem to have originated in any special circumstances, but is simply a letter springing from Paul's love to the church there, and indicative of his earnest desire that they should be fully instructed in the profound doctrines of the gospel. It contains (1) the salutation (Eph 1:1-2); (2) a general description of the blessings the gospel reveals, as to their source, means by which they are attained, purpose for which they are bestowed, and their final result, with a fervent prayer for the further spiritual enrichment of the Ephesians (Eph 1:3-2:10); (3) "a record of that marked change in spiritual position which the Gentile believers now possessed, ending with an account of the writer's selection to and qualification for the apostolate of heathendom, a fact so considered as to keep them from being dispirited, and to lead him to pray for enlarged spiritual benefactions on his absent sympathizers" (Eph 2:12-3:21); (4) a chapter on unity as undisturbed by diversity of gifts (Eph 4:1-16); (5) special injunctions bearing on ordinary life (Eph 4:17-6:10); (6) the imagery of a spiritual warfare, mission of Tychicus, and valedictory blessing (Eph 6:11-24).
Planting of the church at Ephesus. Paul's first and hurried visit for the space of three months to Ephesus is recorded in Ac 18:19-21. The work he began on this occasion was carried forward by Apollos (Ac 18:24-26) and Aquila and Priscilla. On his second visit, early in the following year, he remained at Ephesus "three years," for he found it was the key to the western provinces of Asia Minor. Here "a great door and effectual" was opened to him (1Co 16:9), and the church was established and strengthened by his assiduous labours there (Ac 20:20,31). From Ephesus as a centre the gospel spread abroad "almost throughout all Asia" (Ac 19:26). The word "mightily grew and prevailed" despite all the opposition and persecution he encountered.
On his last journey to Jerusalem the apostle landed at Miletus, and summoning together the elders of the church from Ephesus, delivered to them his remarkable farewell charge (Ac 20:18-35), expecting to see them no more.
The following parallels between this epistle and the Milesian charge may be traced:
(1.) Ac 20:19 = Eph 4:2. The phrase "lowliness of mind" occurs nowhere else.
(2.) Ac 20:27 = Eph 1:11. The word "counsel," as denoting the divine plan, occurs only here and Heb 6:17.
(3.) Ac 20:32 = Eph 3:20. The divine ability.
(4.) Ac 20:32 = Eph 2:20. The building upon the foundation.
(5.) Ac 20:32 = Eph 1:14,18. "The inheritance of the saints."
Place and date of the writing of the letter. It was evidently written from Rome during Paul's first imprisonment (Eph 3:1; 4:1; 6:20), and probably soon after his arrival there, about the year 62, four years after he had parted with the Ephesian elders at Miletus. The subscription of this epistle is correct.
There seems to have been no special occasion for the writing of this letter, as already noted. Paul's object was plainly not polemical. No errors had sprung up in the church which he sought to point out and refute. The object of the apostle is "to set forth the ground, the cause, and the aim and end of the church of the faithful in Christ. He speaks to the Ephesians as a type or sample of the church universal." The church's foundations, its course, and its end, are his theme. "Everywhere the foundation of the church is the will of the Father; the course of the church is by the satisfaction of the Son; the end of the church is the life in the Holy Spirit." In the Epistle to the Romans, Paul writes from the point of view of justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ; here he writes from the point of view specially of union to the Redeemer, and hence of the oneness of the true church of Christ. "This is perhaps the profoundest book in existence." It is a book "which sounds the lowest depths of Christian doctrine, and scales the loftiest heights of Christian experience;" and the fact that the apostle evidently expected the Ephesians to understand it is an evidence of the "proficiency which Paul's converts had attained under his preaching at Ephesus."
Relation between this epistle and that to the Colossians (q.v.). "The letters of the apostle are the fervent outburst of pastoral zeal and attachment, written without reserve and in unaffected simplicity; sentiments come warm from the heart, without the shaping out, pruning, and punctilious arrangement of a formal discourse. There is such a fresh and familiar transcription of feeling, so frequent an introduction of coloquial idiom, and so much of conversational frankness and vivacity, that the reader associates the image of the writer with every paragraph, and the ear seems to catch and recognize the very tones of living address." "Is it then any matter of amazement that one letter should resemble another, or that two written about the same time should have so much in common and so much that is peculiar? The close relation as to style and subject between the epistles to Colosse and Ephesus must strike every reader. Their precise relation to each other has given rise to much discussion. The great probability is that the epistle to Colosse was first written; the parallel passages in Ephesians, which amount to about forty-two in number, having the appearance of being expansions from the epistle to Colosse. Compare:
The style of this epistle is exceedingly animated, and corresponds with the state of the apostle's mind at the time of writing. Overjoyed with the account which their messenger had brought him of their faith and holiness (Eph 1:15), and transported with the consideration of the unsearchable wisdom of God displayed in the work of man's redemption, and of his astonishing love towards the Gentiles in making them partakers through faith of all the benefits of Christ's death, he soars high in his sentiments on those grand subjects, and gives his thoughts utterance in sublime and copious expression.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
When they reached Ephesus he left them there. He went to the synagogue there and had a discussion with the Jews. They asked him to stay longer, but he would not consent. read more. He bade them goodbye, saying, "I will come back to you again if it is God's will." Then he sailed from Ephesus.
A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, skilful in the use of the Scriptures. He had had some instruction about the Way of the Lord, and he talked with burning zeal and taught painstakingly about Jesus, though he knew of no baptism but John's. read more. He spoke very confidently in the synagogue at first, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained the Way of God to him more correctly.
and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but almost all over Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and drawn away numbers of people, telling them that gods made by human hands are not gods at all.
When they came, he said to them, "You know well enough how I lived among you all the time from the first day I set foot in Asia, and how I served the Lord most humbly and with tears, through all the trials that I encountered because of the plots of the Jews.
and how I served the Lord most humbly and with tears, through all the trials that I encountered because of the plots of the Jews. I never shrank from telling you anything that was for your good, nor from teaching you in public or at your houses,
I never shrank from telling you anything that was for your good, nor from teaching you in public or at your houses, but earnestly urged Greeks as well as Jews to turn to God in repentance and to believe in our Lord Jesus. read more. I am here now on my way to Jerusalem, for the Spirit compels me to go there, though I do not know what will happen to me there, except that in every town I visit, the holy Spirit warns me that imprisonment and persecution are awaiting me. But my life does not matter, if I can only finish my race and do the service intrusted to me by the Lord Jesus, of declaring the good news of God's favor. Now I know perfectly well that none of you among whom I went about preaching the Kingdom of God will ever see my face again. Therefore I declare to you today that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I have not shrunk from letting you know God's purpose without reserve.
for I have not shrunk from letting you know God's purpose without reserve. Take care of yourselves and of the whole flock, of which the holy Spirit has made you guardians, and be shepherds of the church of God, which he got at the cost of his own life. read more. I know that after I am gone savage wolves will get in among you and will not spare the flock, and from your own number men will appear and teach perversions of the truth in order to draw the disciples away after them. So you must be on your guard and remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning any of you, even with tears.
So you must be on your guard and remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning any of you, even with tears. Now I commit you to the Lord, and to the message of his favor, which will build you up and give you a place among those whom God has consecrated.
Now I commit you to the Lord, and to the message of his favor, which will build you up and give you a place among those whom God has consecrated.
Now I commit you to the Lord, and to the message of his favor, which will build you up and give you a place among those whom God has consecrated.
Now I commit you to the Lord, and to the message of his favor, which will build you up and give you a place among those whom God has consecrated. I have never coveted anyone's gold or silver or clothes. read more. You know well enough that these hands of mine provided for my needs and my companions. I showed you in every way that by hard work like that we must help those who are weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for he said, 'It makes one happier to give than to be given to.' "
for I have a great and promising opportunity here, as well as many opponents.
Paul, by God's will an apostle of Christ Jesus, to God's people who are steadfast in Christ Jesus; God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.
It is through union with him and through his blood that we have been delivered and our offenses forgiven,
and in arranging, when the time should have fully come, that everything in heaven and on earth should be unified in Christ??11 the Christ through whom it is our lot to have been predestined by the design of him who in everything carries out the purpose of his will,
which is the advance installment of our inheritance, so that we may get full possession of it, and praise his glory for it. This is why I, for my part, since I have heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus that prevails among you and among all God's people,
enlightening the eyes of your mind so that you may know what the hope is to which he calls you, and how gloriously rich his inheritance is among God's people,
You are built upon the apostles and prophets as your foundation, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone.
This is why I, Paul, whom Jesus the Christ has made a prisoner for the sake of you heathen??2 if at least you have heard how I dealt with the mercy of God that was given me for you,
To him who by the exertion of his power within us can do unutterably more than all we ask or imagine,
So I, the prisoner for the Lord's sake, appeal to you to live lives worthy of the summons you have received;
So I, the prisoner for the Lord's sake, appeal to you to live lives worthy of the summons you have received; with perfect humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another lovingly.
with perfect humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another lovingly.
with perfect humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another lovingly. Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the tie of peace.
Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the tie of peace. There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope that belongs to the summons you received.
There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope that belongs to the summons you received. There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism, read more. one God and Father of all, who is above us all, pervades us all, and is within us all. But each one of us has been given mercy in Christ's generous measure. So it says, "When he went up on high, he led a host of captives, And gave gifts to mankind." What does "he went up" mean, except that he had first gone down to the under parts of the earth? It is he who went down who has also gone up above all the heavens, to fill the universe. And he has given us some men as apostles, some as prophets, some as missionaries, some as pastors and teachers, in order to fit his people for the work of service, for building the body of Christ, until we all attain unity in faith, and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and reach mature manhood, and that full measure of development found in Christ. We must not be babies any longer, blown about and swung around by every wind of doctrine through the trickery of men with their ingenuity in inventing error. We must lovingly hold to the truth and grow up into perfect union with him who is the head??hrist himself. For it is under his control that the whole system, adjusted and united by each ligament of its equipment, develops in proportion to the functioning of each particular part, and so builds itself up through love.
For it is under his control that the whole system, adjusted and united by each ligament of its equipment, develops in proportion to the functioning of each particular part, and so builds itself up through love.
You must lay aside with your former habits your old self which is going to ruin through its deceptive passions. You must adopt a new attitude of mind, read more. and put on the new self which has been created in likeness to God, with all the uprightness and holiness that belong to the truth.
You must be kind to one another, you must be tender-hearted, and forgive one another just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Whatever anyone may say in the way of worthless arguments to deceive you, these are the things that are bringing God's anger down upon the disobedient. Therefore have nothing to do with them. read more. For once you were sheer darkness, but now, as Christians, you are light itself. You must live like children of light,
Be very careful, then, about the way you live. Do not act thoughtlessly, but like sensible men, and make the most of your opportunity, for these are evil times.
and speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and sacred songs. Sing praise to God with all your hearts;
You must put on God's armor, so as to be able to stand up against the devil's stratagems. For we have to struggle, not with enemies of flesh and blood, but with the hierarchies, the authorities, the master-spirits of this dark world, the spirit-forces of evil on high. read more. So you must take God's armor, so that when the evil day comes you will be able to make a stand, and when it is all over to hold your ground. Stand your ground, then, with the belt of truth around your waist, and put on uprightness as your coat of mail, and on your feet put the readiness the good news of peace brings. Besides all these, take faith for your shield, for with it you will be able to put out all the flaming missiles of the evil one, and take salvation for your helmet, and for your sword the Spirit, which is the voice of God. Use every kind of prayer and entreaty, and at every opportunity pray in the Spirit. Be on the alert about it; devote yourselves constantly to prayer for all God's people and for me, that when I open my lips I may be given a message, so that I may boldly make known the secret of the good news,
and for me, that when I open my lips I may be given a message, so that I may boldly make known the secret of the good news, for the sake of which I am an envoy, and in prison. Pray that, when I tell it, I may have the courage to speak as I ought.
for the sake of which I am an envoy, and in prison. Pray that, when I tell it, I may have the courage to speak as I ought.
for the sake of which I am an envoy, and in prison. Pray that, when I tell it, I may have the courage to speak as I ought. In order that you also may know how I am, our dear brother Tychicus, a faithful helper in the Lord's service, will tell you all about it. read more. That is the very reason I am sending him, to let you know how I am, and to cheer your hearts.
That is the very reason I am sending him, to let you know how I am, and to cheer your hearts. God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give the brothers peace and love, with faith. read more. God's blessing be with all who have an unfailing love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
by whom we have been ransomed from captivity through having our sins forgiven.
and through him to reconcile to God all things on earth or in heaven, making this peace through his blood shed on the cross.
In it, by divine appointment, I became a worker, that I might preach among you the message of God in its fulness??26 that secret, hidden from the ages and generations, but now disclosed to those who are consecrated to him,
when in your baptism you were buried with him, and raised to life with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. Yes, you who were dead through your misdeeds and physically uncircumcised, God raised to life with Christ. He forgave us all our misdeeds,
Such people lose their connection with the head, from which the whole body through its ligaments and sinews must be governed and united if it is to grow in the divine way.
It is on account of these things that God's anger is coming. And you once practiced them as others do, when you lived that old earthly life. read more. But now you too must put them all aside??nger, rage, spite, rough, abusive talk??hese must be banished from your lips. You must not lie to one another. For you have stripped off your old self with its ways and have put on that new self newly made in the likeness of its Creator, to know him fully.
As persons chosen by God, then, consecrated and dearly loved, you must clothe yourselves with tenderness of heart, kindness, humility, gentleness, forbearance. You must bear with one another and forgive one another, if anyone has reason to be offended with anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive.
You must bear with one another and forgive one another, if anyone has reason to be offended with anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive. And over all these put on love, which completes them and fastens them all together. read more. Let the ruling principle in your hearts be Christ's peace, for in becoming members of one body you have been called under its sway. And you must be thankful. Let the message of Christ live in your hearts in all its wealth of wisdom. Teach it to one another and train one another in it with thankfulness, with psalms, hymns, and sacred songs, and sing to God with all your hearts.
Pray for me too, that God may give me an opening for the message, and let me tell the secret of Christ on account of which I am kept in prison until I can make clear to the authorities why I cannot help telling it. read more. Use wisdom in dealing with outsiders, making the most of your opportunities.
I am sending him to you for the express purpose of letting you know my circumstances, and of cheering your hearts.
Therefore, God in his desire to make it perfectly clear to those to whom he made his promise, that his purpose was unalterable, bound himself with an oath,
Hastings
This Epistle belongs to the group of Epistles of the Captivity, and was almost certainly, if genuine, written from Rome, and sent by Tychicus at the same time as the Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon (see Colossians).
1. Destination.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
For you have grown rich in everything through union with him??n power of expression and in capacity for knowledge.
But it is a mysterious divine wisdom that we impart, hitherto kept secret, and destined by God before the world began for our glory. It is a wisdom unknown to any of the authorities of this world, for otherwise they would never have crucified our glorious Lord. read more. But, as the Scripture says, there are things "Which no eye ever saw and no ear ever heard, And never occurred to the human mind, Which God has provided for those who love him." For God revealed them to us through his Spirit, for the Spirit fathoms everything, even the depths of God himself.
For God revealed them to us through his Spirit, for the Spirit fathoms everything, even the depths of God himself. For what human being can understand a man's thoughts except the man's own spirit within him? Just so no one understands the thoughts of God but the spirit of God.
For we are fellow-laborers for God, and you are God's farm, God's building. Like an expert builder, I laid a foundation, as God commissioned me to do, and now someone else is building upon it. But let everyone be careful how he does so. read more. For no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is laid, that is, Jesus Christ himself.
Do you know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit makes its home in you?
Because there is one loaf, we, many as we are, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
Endowments vary, but the Spirit is the same,
Endowments vary, but the Spirit is the same, and forms of service vary, but it is the same Lord who is served, read more. and activities vary, but God who produces them all in us all is the same.
For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, many as they are, form one body, so it is with Christ. For we have all??ews or Greeks, slaves or free men??een baptized in one spirit to form one body, and we have all been saturated with one Spirit. read more. For the body does not consist of one part but of many. If the foot says, "As I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, "As I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," that does not make it any less a part of the body.
And God has placed people in the church, first as apostles, second as inspired preachers, third as teachers, then wonder-workers; then come ability to cure the sick, helpfulness, administration, ecstatic speaking.
After that will come the end, when he will turn over the kingdom to God his Father, bringing to an end all other government, authority, and power, for he must retain the kingdom until he puts all his enemies under his feet. read more. The last enemy to be overthrown will be death, for everything is to be reduced to subjection and put under Christ's feet. But when it says that everything is subject to him, he is evidently excepted who reduced it all to subjection to him. And when everything is reduced to subjection to him, then the Son himself will also become subject to him who has reduced everything to subjection to him, so that God may be everything to everyone.
Paul, by God's will an apostle of Christ Jesus, to God's people who are steadfast in Christ Jesus;
and in arranging, when the time should have fully come, that everything in heaven and on earth should be unified in Christ??11 the Christ through whom it is our lot to have been predestined by the design of him who in everything carries out the purpose of his will,
You also have heard the message of the truth, the good news of your salvation, and believed in him, and through union with him you have been marked with the seal of the holy Spirit that was promised, which is the advance installment of our inheritance, so that we may get full possession of it, and praise his glory for it. read more. This is why I, for my part, since I have heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus that prevails among you and among all God's people,
The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, grant you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation through the knowledge of himself,
he exerted in raising Christ from the dead, and seating him at his right hand in heaven,
which is his body, filled by him who fills everything everywhere.
to show the incomparable wealth of his mercy throughout the ages to come by his goodness to us through Christ Jesus.
So remember that you were once physically heathen, and called uncircumcised by those who called themselves circumcised, though only physically, by human hands. At that time you had no connection with Christ, you were aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the agreements about God's promise; with no hope and no God in all the world.
and to kill the feud between them with his cross and in one body reconcile them both to God with it.
for it is through him that we both with one Spirit are now able to approach the Father.
for it is through him that we both with one Spirit are now able to approach the Father. So you are no longer foreigners or strangers, but you are fellow-citizens of God's people and members of his family. read more. You are built upon the apostles and prophets as your foundation, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone.
You are built upon the apostles and prophets as your foundation, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. Through him every part of the building is closely united and grows into a temple sacred through its relation to the Lord,
Through him every part of the building is closely united and grows into a temple sacred through its relation to the Lord, and you are yourselves built up into a dwelling for God through the Spirit.
(which in past ages was not disclosed to mankind as fully as it has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets) that through union with Christ Jesus the heathen are fellow-heirs with the Jews, belong to the same body and share the promise with them, through the good news
so that the many-sided wisdom of God may now through the church be made known to the rulers and authorities in heaven, fulfilling the eternal purpose which God carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So I ask that what I am having to suffer for your sake may not make me lose heart, for it does you honor.
and beg him out of his wealth of glory to strengthen you mightily through his Spirit in your inner nature
So I, the prisoner for the Lord's sake, appeal to you to live lives worthy of the summons you have received; with perfect humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another lovingly. read more. Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the tie of peace.
Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the tie of peace.
Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the tie of peace. There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope that belongs to the summons you received. read more. There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above us all, pervades us all, and is within us all. But each one of us has been given mercy in Christ's generous measure.
And he has given us some men as apostles, some as prophets, some as missionaries, some as pastors and teachers, in order to fit his people for the work of service, for building the body of Christ, read more. until we all attain unity in faith, and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and reach mature manhood, and that full measure of development found in Christ.
For it is under his control that the whole system, adjusted and united by each ligament of its equipment, develops in proportion to the functioning of each particular part, and so builds itself up through love.
So you must lay aside falsehood and each tell his neighbor the truth, for we are parts of one another. Be angry, but do not sin. The sun must not go down upon your anger; read more. you must not give the devil a chance. The man who stole must not steal any more; he must work with his hands at honest toil instead, so as to have something to share with those who are in need. No bad word must ever pass your lips, but only words that are good and suited to improve the occasion, so that they will be a blessing to those who hear them. You must not offend God's holy Spirit, with which you have been marked for the Day of Redemption.
You must not offend God's holy Spirit, with which you have been marked for the Day of Redemption. You must give up all bitterness, rage, anger, and loud, abusive talk, and all spite. read more. You must be kind to one another, you must be tender-hearted, and forgive one another just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
and lead loving lives, just as Christ loved you and gave himself for you, as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
and lead loving lives, just as Christ loved you and gave himself for you, as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
for light leads to perfect goodness, uprightness, and truth;
You married women must subordinate yourselves to your husbands, as you do to the Lord, for a husband is the head of his wife, just as Christ is the head of the church, which is his body, and is saved by him. read more. Just as the church is in subjection to Christ, so married women must be, in everything, to their husbands. You who are husbands must love your wives, just as Christ loves the church and gave himself for her,
You who are husbands must love your wives, just as Christ loves the church and gave himself for her, to consecrate her, after cleansing her with the bath in water through her confession of him,
to consecrate her, after cleansing her with the bath in water through her confession of him, in order to bring the church to himself in all her beauty, without a flaw or a wrinkle or anything of the kind, but to be consecrated and faultless.
in order to bring the church to himself in all her beauty, without a flaw or a wrinkle or anything of the kind, but to be consecrated and faultless.
You who are masters, too, must treat your slaves in the same way, and cease to threaten them, for you know that their Master and yours is in heaven, and that he will show no partiality. Henceforth you must grow strong through union with the Lord and through his mighty strength. read more. You must put on God's armor, so as to be able to stand up against the devil's stratagems. For we have to struggle, not with enemies of flesh and blood, but with the hierarchies, the authorities, the master-spirits of this dark world, the spirit-forces of evil on high. So you must take God's armor, so that when the evil day comes you will be able to make a stand, and when it is all over to hold your ground.
So you must take God's armor, so that when the evil day comes you will be able to make a stand, and when it is all over to hold your ground. Stand your ground, then, with the belt of truth around your waist, and put on uprightness as your coat of mail, read more. and on your feet put the readiness the good news of peace brings. Besides all these, take faith for your shield, for with it you will be able to put out all the flaming missiles of the evil one, and take salvation for your helmet, and for your sword the Spirit, which is the voice of God. Use every kind of prayer and entreaty, and at every opportunity pray in the Spirit. Be on the alert about it; devote yourselves constantly to prayer for all God's people
Use every kind of prayer and entreaty, and at every opportunity pray in the Spirit. Be on the alert about it; devote yourselves constantly to prayer for all God's people
In order that you also may know how I am, our dear brother Tychicus, a faithful helper in the Lord's service, will tell you all about it. That is the very reason I am sending him, to let you know how I am, and to cheer your hearts.
Whatever happens, show yourselves citizens worthy of the good news of the Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am kept away and only hear news of you, I may know that you are standing firm with one spirit, one purpose, fighting side by side for faith in the good news.
Whatever happens, show yourselves citizens worthy of the good news of the Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am kept away and only hear news of you, I may know that you are standing firm with one spirit, one purpose, fighting side by side for faith in the good news.
That is why God has so greatly exalted him, and given him the name above all others,
We are the true circumcision, who worship God by his Spirit, priding ourselves only on Christ Jesus, and not relying on physical advantages,
But the commonwealth to which we belong is in heaven, and from it we are eagerly awaiting the coming of a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have no anxiety about anything, but make all your wants known to God in prayer and entreaty, and with thanksgiving.
You have paid me in full, and more too. I am fully supplied with what I have received from you through Epaphroditus. It is like fragrant incense, just such a sacrifice as God welcomes and approves.
When this letter has been read to you, have it read to the church at Laodicea also, and see that you read the letter that is coming from there.
speaking of it as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which ignorant, unsteadfast people twist to their own ruin, just as they do the rest of the Scriptures.
All the inhabitants of the earth whose names have not from the foundation of the world been written in the slain Lamb's book of life, will worship it.
Let us be glad and triumphant and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
He carried me away in a trance to a great, high mountain, and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God,
The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the Lamb's twelve apostles.