far above every other government, authority, power, and dominion, yea, far above every other title that can be conferred, not only in this world but in the world to come.

For it is by His unmerited favor through faith that you have been saved; it is not by anything that you have done, it is the gift of God.

It is not the result of what anyone can do, so that no one can boast of it.

which in the earlier ages, so different from the present, was not made known to mankind as fully as now, but through the Spirit it has been revealed to His Holy apostles and prophets --

So I beg you not to lose heart over the sorrows that I am suffering for your sake, for they bring you honor.

so that we may not be babies any longer, or like sailors tossed about and driven around by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men through their cunning in inventing new methods of error.

But this is not the way you have learned what Christ means,

If you do get angry, you must stop sinning in your anger. Do not ever let the sun go down on your anger;

But sexual vice and any form of immorality or sensual greed must not so much as be mentioned among you, as that is the only course becoming in God's people;

So you must be very careful how you live, not thoughtlessly but thoughtfully,

not serving them as though they were watching you, but as true slaves of Christ, trying to carry out the will of God.

Heartily and cheerfully keep on working as slaves, as though it were for the Lord and not for men,

For our contest is not with human foes alone, but with the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark world; that is, with the spirit-forces of evil challenging us in the heavenly contest.