Let each one of us [make it a practice to] please his neighbor for his good, to build him up spiritually.

For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,

also [greet] the church in their house. Greet Epenetus my dear [friend], who is {the first convert} of Asia for Christ.

Greet Ampliatus, my dear [friend] in the Lord.

Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.

and my dear Stachys. salute Apelles, an approved christian. salute the family of Aristobulus.

Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet my beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.

Every one has heard of your ready obedience. It is true that I am very happy about you, but I want you to be well versed in all that is good, and innocent of all that is bad.

God is faithful [He is reliable, trustworthy and ever true to His promise—He can be depended on], and through Him you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

true, I baptized the family of Stephanas: but I don't know that I baptized any other besides.

For since, according to God's [true] wisdom, the world did not know about Him through its wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe [in Christ] through the "foolishness" of the message preached.

Yet we speak true wisdom among the perfect: though not the wisdom of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who come to nought.

A material man will not accept what the Spirit of God offers. It seems mere folly to him, and he cannot understand it, because it takes spiritual insight to see its true value.

But the spiritual man is alive to all true values, but his own true value no unspiritual man can see.

While there exist among you jealousy and party feeling, is it not true that you are worldly, and are acting merely as other men do?

the true character of each individual's work will become manifest. For the day of Christ will disclose it, because that day is soon to come upon us clothed in fire, and as for the quality of every one's work-- the fire is the thing which will test it.

If any one tear down God's sanctuary, God will tear him down; for the sanctuary of God is holy, and that is what you are.

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool [discarding his worldly pretensions and acknowledging his lack of wisdom], so that he may become [truly] wise.

[You behave as if] you are already filled [with spiritual wisdom and in need of nothing more]. Already you have become rich [in spiritual gifts]! You [in your conceit] have ascended your thrones and become kings without us; and how I wish [that it were true and] that you did reign as kings, so that we might reign with you.

I am not writing these [things] to shame you, but admonishing [you] as my dear children.

Because of this, I have sent to you Timothy, who is my dear and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

Now some of you have become arrogant, thinking that I would not [dare to] come to you.

Let us then keep the feast, not with old leaven, and not with the leaven of evil thoughts and acts, but with the unleavened bread of true thoughts and right feelings.

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

It is true, food is meant for the stomach, and the stomach for the food, but God will put an end to both of them. But the body is not meant for immorality, but for the service of the Lord, and the Lord is for the body to serve.

Stay away from [any involvement in] sexual immorality. Every sin a person commits is outside [the realm] of his body; but the one who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. [Note: Possibly this means that sex, because it requires the deepest and most complete commitment of human involvement, becomes a unique sin when its true purpose and expression are violated].

Now about virgins I have no orders from the Lord: but I give my opinion as one to whom the Lord has given mercy to be true to him.

Now about things offered to images: we all seem to ourselves to have knowledge. Knowledge gives pride, but love gives true strength.

If any one imagines that he already possesses any true knowledge, he has as yet attained to no knowledge of the kind to which he ought to have attained;

It is true that a particular kind of food will not bring us into God's presence; we are neither inferior to others if we abstain from it, nor superior to them if we eat it.

You have been put to no test but such as is common to man: and God is true, who will not let any test come on you which you are not able to undergo; but he will make with the test a way out of it, so that you may be able to go through it.

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

For first of all, it has come to my ears that when you come together in the church, there are divisions among you, and I take the statement to be true in part.

Again, when you meet together, there is no true eating of the Lord's Supper;

But if we were true judges of ourselves, punishment would not come on us.

and to another the working of miracles, and to another prophecy [foretelling the future, speaking a new message from God to the people], and to another discernment of spirits [the ability to distinguish sound, godly doctrine from the deceptive doctrine of man-made religions and cults], to another various kinds of [unknown] tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues.

It takes no pleasure in wrongdoing, but has joy in what is true;

For our knowledge is only in part, and the prophet's word gives only a part of what is true:

And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God’s love for me], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love.

[This is true] even of inanimate objects which make sounds, such as a flute or harp. If they do not make distinguishable sounds, how will anyone know what tune [or signal] is being played?

We are even discovered to be false witnesses [misrepresenting] God, because we testified concerning Him that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.

Again, what good will they be doing who are baptized on behalf of the dead? If it is true that the dead do not rise, why are people baptized on their behalf?

(Not a day but I am at death's door! I swear it by my pride in you, brothers, through Christ Jesus our Lord.)

Be sober-minded [be sensible, wake up from your spiritual stupor] as you ought, and stop sinning; for some [of you] have no knowledge of God [you are disgracefully ignorant of Him, and ignore His truths]. I say this to your shame.

But when this has taken place, then that which was said in the Writings will come true, Death is overcome by life.

So then, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, [because you] know that your labor is not [in] vain in the Lord.

I mean to visit you after my tour in Macedonia, for I am going to make a tour through Macedonia.

But I shall stay at Ephesus till Pentecost. For a great and effectual door is opened to me,

For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

Let everything you do be done in love [motivated and inspired by God’s love for us].

My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

It is true that we have our full share of the sufferings of the Christ, but through the Christ we have also our full share of consolation.

For I do not want you to be uninformed about the sorrow that I suffered in Asia, because I was so crushed beyond any power to endure that I was in dire despair of life itself.

He rescued us from so great a threat of death, and will continue to rescue us. On Him we have set our hope. And He will again rescue us [from danger and draw us near],

For our glory is in this, in the knowledge which we have that our way of life in the world, and most of all in relation to you, has been holy and true in the eyes of God; not in the wisdom of the flesh, but in the grace of God.

But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.

I call God to witness, and may I die if it is not true, that the reason of my not coming yet to Corinth, was to avoid using any severity towards you.

I do not mean that we are to dictate to you with regard to your faith; on the contrary, we work with you for your true happiness; indeed, it is through your faith that you are standing firm.

So I wrote as I did, for fear that, if I had come, I should have been pained by those who ought to have made me glad; for I felt sure that it was true of you all that my joy was in every case yours also.

For I wrote you in sore distress and misery of heart, with many a tear ??not to pain you but to convince you of my love, my special love for you.

Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,

For we are not like the great number who make use of the word of God for profit: but our words are true, as from God, being said as before God in Christ.

And we have given up the secret things of shame, not walking in false ways, and not making use of the word of God with deceit; but by the revelation of what is true, as before God, we have the approval of every man's sense of right and wrong.

For we must all of us appear before Christ's judgement-seat in our true characters, in order that each may then receive an award for his actions in this life, in accordance with what he has done, whether it be good or whether it be worthless.

Therefore, because we know the fear inspired by the Lord, it is true that we are trying to win men, but our motives are plain to God; and I hope that in your inmost hearts they are plain to you also.

but we commend ourselves in every way as servants of God: in great endurance, in sufferings, in hardships, in distresses,

In a clean heart, in knowledge, in long waiting, in being kind, in the Holy Spirit, in true love,

In the true word, in the power of God; with the arms of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;

As unknown, yet well-known; as at death's door, yet, see, we are living; as chastised, yet not killed;

Therefore [since we] have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of body and spirit, accomplishing holiness in the fear of God.

So though I sent you a letter, it was not only because of the man who did the wrong, or because of him to whom the wrong was done, but so that your true care for us might be made clear in the eyes of God.

For if I have boasted to him at all concerning you, I was not disappointed. But just as everything we ever said to you was true, so our boasting [about you] to Titus has proved true also.

Make clear then to them, as representatives of the churches, the quality of your love, and that the things which we have said about you are true.

But I have sent the brothers, so that the good things we said about you may be seen to be true, and that, as I said, you may be ready:

But this is true, he that sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that sows in the spirit of blessing shall reap also in blessing:

now I ask that when I am present I may not have to be bold with the confidence that (I expect) I will dare to use against some who consider us to be behaving according to human standards.

For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the world. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down arguments

We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ,

So if I boast a little too much about our authority, which the Lord gave us to build you up and not to tear you down, I will not be ashamed of it.

Because, The letters, it is true (saith one), are weighty and strong, but, the presence of the body, is weak, and, the discourse, contemptible; -

For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

Christ knows that it is true when I say that I will not be stopped from boasting of this anywhere in Greece.

What I am doing now I shall continue to do, that I may cut away the ground from under those who are wishing for some ground for attacking me, so that as regards the thing of which they boast they may appear in their true characters, just as we do.

For such men are false apostles; they are deceitful workers, who disguise themselves as [true] apostles of Christ.

To my shame, I must say, we have been too weak [in comparison to those pseudo-apostles who take advantage of you].But in whatever anyone else dares to boast—I am speaking foolishly—I also dare to boast.

Are they 'Servants of Christ'? Though it is madness to talk like this, I am more so than they! I have had more of toil, more of imprisonment! I have been flogged times without number. I have been often at death's door.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be praise for ever, is witness that the things which I say are true.

and I was [actually] let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and slipped through his fingers.

It is necessary to boast, though nothing is gained by it; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

For if I had a desire to take credit to myself, it would not be foolish, for I would be saying what is true: but I will not, for fear that I might seem to any man more than he sees me to be, or has word from me that I am.

The signs that characterize the true Apostle have been done among you, accompanied by unwearied fortitude, and by tokens and marvels and displays of power.

Have you been thinking all this time that we are defending ourselves to you? We are speaking in Christ before God, and all [these things], dear friends, [are] for your edification.

For though it is true that He was crucified through weakness, yet He now lives through the power of God. We also are weak, sharing His weakness, but with Him we shall be full of life to deal with you through the power of God.

Test yourselves to discover whether you are true believers: put your own selves under examination. Or do you not know that Jesus Christ is within you, unless you are insincere?

Because we are able to do nothing against what is true, but only for it.

For this reason I am writing this while I am away from you: When I come I do not want to be severe in using the authority the Lord gave me to build you up and not to tear you down.

although it is really not a different one, but rather some people are causing you trouble by trying to pervert the [true] Gospel of Christ.

For am I seeking [to gain] the favor of men or of God? Or, am I striving to please people [by what I do]? If I were still [trying] to please people, I would not be a [true] servant of Christ.

Now God is witness that the things which I am writing to you are true.