Without ever shrinking from your opponents. To them this will be a sign of their Destruction and of your Salvation--a sign from God.

make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love [toward one another], knit together in spirit, intent on one purpose [and living a life that reflects your faith and spreads the gospel—the good news regarding salvation through faith in Christ].

so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

For it is God who is the cause of your desires and of your acts, for his good pleasure.

Because for the work of Christ he was nigh to death, not regarding his life, to supply the want of your service towards me.

for we [who are born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, set apart for His purpose and] are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory and take pride and exult in Christ Jesus and place no confidence [in what we have or who we are] in the flesh—

circumcised, as I was, on the eighth day, a member of the race of Israel and of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew sprung from Hebrews; as to the Law a Pharisee;

But more than that, I count everything as loss compared to the priceless privilege and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord [and of growing more deeply and thoroughly acquainted with Him—a joy unequaled]. For His sake I have lost everything, and I consider it all garbage, so that I may gain Christ,

That I may have knowledge of him, and of the power of his coming back from the dead, and a part with him in his pains, becoming like him in his death;

The end of such men is Ruin; for their appetites are their God, and they glory in their shame; their minds are given up to earthly things.

I know both how to live in humble circumstances and how to live amid abundance. I am fully initiated into all the mysteries both of fulness and of hunger, of abundance and of want.

Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

He is the likeness of the unseen God, born first before all the creation ??16 for it was by him that all things were created both in heaven and on earth, both the seen and the unseen, including Thrones, angelic Lords, celestial Powers and Rulers; all things have been created by him and for him;

For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him.

so as to set you consecrated and unblemished and irreproachable in his presence ??23 that is, if you adhere to the foundations and stability of the faith, instead of moving away from the hope you have learned in the gospel, that gospel which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I Paul was made a minister.

[and He will do this] if you continue in the faith, well-grounded and steadfast, and not shifting away from the [confident] hope [that is a result] of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which [gospel] I, Paul, was made a minister.

For I would have you know in how severe a struggle I am engaged on behalf of you and the brethren in Laodicea and of all who have not known me personally,

That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

in which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge.

Let no one defraud you of your prize, priding himself on his humility and on his worship of the angels, and taking his stand on the visions he has seen, and idly puffed up with his unspiritual thoughts.

I am sending him to you for the express purpose of letting you know my circumstances, and of cheering your hearts.

Epaphras, who is one of yourselves, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, sends greetings to you, always wrestling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand firm--Christians of ripe character and of clear conviction as to everything which is God's will.

I can testify to his exertions on your behalf and on behalf of those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

And on account of this we also give thanks to God incessantly, because, receiving the word of God from us by hearing, you received it not as the word of men, but, as it truly is, the word of God, who indeed works in you who believe.

But when Timotheus reached me a moment ago, on his return from you, bringing me the good news of your faith and love and of how you always remember me kindly, longing to see me as I long to see you,

That ye should walk reputably toward those without, and, of no one, have, need.

And of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need to write to you.

For you are all sons of light and of the day: we are not of the night or of the dark.

So then let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does], but let us keep wide awake [alert and cautious] and let us be sober [self-controlled, calm, and wise].

But let us, who are of the day, be serious, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and on our heads, the hope of salvation.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. {The end of the First Epistle unto the Thessalonians, Sent from Athens.}

I ought always to thank God for you, brothers, as is fitting because of the abundant growth of your faith and of the overflowing love with which every one of you is filled toward one another.

taking vengeance with flaming fire on those who don’t know God and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and ye in him, according to the grace of our God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we ask you, brethren, in regard to the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of our gathering together unto him,

And on this account God sends to them the working of delusion, that they should believe a lie:

Now we command you, believers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by His authority, that you withdraw and keep away from every brother or sister who leads an undisciplined life and does not live in accordance with the tradition and teaching that you have received from us.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen. {The end of the Second Epistle unto the Thessalonians, Sent from Athens.}

Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the command of God our Saviour, and of Christ Jesus our hope,

It was my desire, when I went on into Macedonia, that you might make a stop at Ephesus, to give orders to certain men not to put forward a different teaching,

Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

for want of which, some have lost themselves in frivolous disputes,

stedfast is the word, and of all acceptation worthy, that Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners -- first of whom I am;

for one is God, one also is mediator of God and of men, the man Christ Jesus,

And for this matter I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying [when I say this]—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

stedfast is the word, and of all acceptation worthy;

Fix [your] attention on yourself and on your teaching. Continue in them, for [by] doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

And on top of that, they learn to be idle, going around from house to house; and not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things they should not be.

The elders who perform their leadership duties well are to be considered worthy of double honor (financial support), especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching [the word of God concerning eternal salvation through Christ].

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels that you guard and keep these rules without bias, doing nothing out of favoritism.

no longer be drinking water, but a little wine be using, because of thy stomach and of thine often infirmities;

constant quarrellings of men corrupted in mind and destitute of the truth, holding gain to be the end of piety.

Be fighting the good fight of the faith; take for yourself the life eternal, for which you were marked out, and of which you gave witness in the eyes of all.

I charge thee in the sight of God, who giveth life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession;

which science, while some professed, they have erred as concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen. {The end of the First Epistle unto Timothy, Sent from Laodicea, which is the Chiefest city of Phrygia Pacatiana.}

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

and has now been made apparent through the Appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus; who has made an end of Death, and has brought Life and Immortality to light by that Good News,

may the Lord give kindness to the house of Onesiphorus, because many times he did refresh me, and of my chain was not ashamed,

(May he have the Lord's mercy in that day); and of all he did for me at Ephesus you have full knowledge.

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

And just as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so also these false teachers withstand the truth--being, as they are, men of debased intellects, and of no real worth so far as faith is concerned.

as well as of my persecutions, and of the sufferings which I met with at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know what persecutions I underwent; and yet the Lord brought me safe out of all!

But thou, abide in those things which thou hast learned, and of which thou hast been fully persuaded, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:

I have made a good fight, I have come to the end of my journey, I have kept the faith:

for Demas forsook me, having loved the present age, and went on to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia,

The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. {The end of the Second Epistle unto Timothy, Written from Rome, when Paul was presented the second time up before the Emperor Nero}

they must be silenced, for they are undermining whole families by teaching objectionable doctrine for the base end of making money.

That old men are to be simple in their tastes, serious, wise, true in faith, in love, and of a quiet mind.

and it schools us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions and to live a life of self-mastery, of integrity, and of piety in this present world,

looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the mighty God, and of our saviour Jesus Christ:

Who gave himself for us, so that he might make us free from all wrongdoing, and make for himself a people clean in heart and on fire with good works.

This is a faithful saying, and on these various points I would have you insist strenuously, in order that those who have their faith fixed on God may be careful to set an example of good actions. For these are not only good in themselves, but are also useful to mankind.

hearing of thy love, and of the faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints;

hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his'son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds;

And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

You placed everything under his feet [Note: This is true of both mankind (Gen. 1:26-28) and of Jesus (Eph. 1:22-23)]. For in subjecting everything to him, God did not leave anything that is not subject to him. But at the present time we do not see what all has been subjected to him.

but Christ [was faithful] as a Son over God's household. And we [Christians] are that household, if we hold on to our confidence [in Christ], and to the boasting [i.e., joy] of our hope [in God], firmly to the end [of our lives].

For we have become sharers with Christ, if we hold firmly onto the confidence [we had in Him] from the beginning until the end [of our lives].

We see, then, that they failed to enter upon it because of their want of faith.

for somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this way:

And on the seventh day
God rested from all His works.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

and, on account of this infirmity, he ought, even as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

and on another occasion also-- 'Thou art a priest for all time of the order of Melchizedek.'

concerning whom we have much discourse and of hard explanation to say, since ye have become dull of hearing,

and of perfect men is the strong food, who because of the use are having the senses exercised, unto the discernment both of good and of evil.

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

With knowledge of the good word of God, and of the powers of the coming time,

but that which produces thorns and thistles is disapproved, and is nigh to a curse, the end of which is to be burned.

But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, and of things that tend to salvation, though we thus speak.

For God is not unjust so that He is unmindful of your labour and of the love which you have manifested towards Himself in having rendered services to His people and in still rendering them.

And it is our desire that each one of you shows the same eagerness [to live for Christ], so as to be fully assured of your hope [in never ending life] until the end [of your days].

For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.

Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.

(for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.