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.
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And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he him self went into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. And though they besought him to remain with them a longer time, he did not consent, read more. but took leave of them, saying: I must, by all means, keep this coming feast in Jerusalem: but I will return to you, if God be willing. And he sailed from Ephesus,
And a certain Jew, named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. He was instructed in the way of the Lord; and, being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, knowing only the immersion of John. read more. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him, and taught him the way of God more accurately.
and you see and hear, that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost the whole of Asia, this Paul, by his persuasions, has drawn away a great multitude, saying, that they which are made with hands are not gods.
And when they had come to him, he said to them: You know, from the first day on which I came into Asia, how I have been with you during the whole time, serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials, which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;
serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials, which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; and that I have kept back nothing that was profitable, but have preached to you, and taught you both publicly, and from house to house,
and that I have kept back nothing that was profitable, but have preached to you, and taught you both publicly, and from house to house, bearing full testimony both to Jews and to Greeks, of the repentance that leads to God, and of the faith that leads to our Lord Jesus Christ. read more. And now, behold, I am going, bound in spirit, to Jerusalem, not knowing what shall befall me there, except that in every city the Holy Spirit testifies to me, saying, That bonds and afflictions await me. But I esteem this a matter of no importance, nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry that I have received from the Lord Jesus, to bear full testimony to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. For this reason I solemnly affirm to you this day, that I am clean from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.
For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore, take heed to yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, that you be shepherds to the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood. read more. For I know this, that, after my departure, rapacious wolves will enter in among you, who will not spare the flock; and men will arise from among yourselves, speaking perverse things, that they may draw off disciples after them. Therefore watch, remembering that for three years, by day and by night, I ceased not to warn every one of you with tears.
Therefore watch, remembering that for three years, by day and by night, I ceased not to warn every one of you with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace; to Him who is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all the sanctified.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace; to Him who is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all the sanctified.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace; to Him who is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all the sanctified.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace; to Him who is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all the sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. read more. You yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. In all things I have taught you by ex ample, that by thus laboring, you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus; for he himself said, It is more blessed to give, than to receive.
for a great and effective door is opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints that are in Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus: grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace,
for a dispensation at the fullness of the times, in order that he might bring together for himself all things in the Christ, both those which are in the heavens, and those which are on earth; in him in whom we have obtained our portion, having been predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
which is the earnest of our inheritance, given for the redemption of his possession to the praise of his glory. For this reason I also, since I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love to all the saints,
that, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the glorious riches of his inheritance in the saints,
having been builded upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone,
For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of the Christ Jesus on account of you Gentiles, if, indeed, you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God, which was given to me for your benefit,
Now to him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to his power which works in us,
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called;
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called; with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love,
with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love,
with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, earnestly endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
earnestly endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as you have been called in one hope of your calling;
There is one body and one Spirit, even as you have been called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one immersion; read more. one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in you all. But grace has been given to each one of us, according to the measure of the gift of the Christ. For which reason, the scripture says: When he ascended on high, he led captive a multitude of captives, and gave gifts to men. But this He ascended what does it mean, but that he also descended into the lower earthly regions? He that descended is also he that ascended high above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he himself gave some to be apostles, and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the complete instruction of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of the Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature that fully develops the Christ; that we might no longer be children, tossed and carried about by every wind of teaching, through the artifice of men, through craftiness used by them for the deliberate planning of deceit; but speaking truthfully in love, we might grow up in all things, into him who is the head, even the Christ, from whom the whole body, compactly fitted together, and united by every helping joint, according to the energy in the measure of each part, makes increase of the body, for the building up of itself in love.
from whom the whole body, compactly fitted together, and united by every helping joint, according to the energy in the measure of each part, makes increase of the body, for the building up of itself in love.
that, as to your former life, you put off the old man, which is corrupt, according to its deceitful desires, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, read more. and put on the new man, which, according to the will of God, is created in righteousness and true holiness.
and be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Let no one deceive you with vain words: for on account of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, be not partakers with them. read more. For you were formerly darkness; but now you are light in the Lord: walk as children of light;
See, then, that you walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise men, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the wiles of the devil: for our conflict is not with flesh and blood, but with the principalities, with the authorities, with the rulers of the darkness of this world, with the wicked spirits in the heavenly regions. read more. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand them in the evil day, and having overcome them all, to stand firm. Stand, therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and wearing the breastplate of righteousness, and having your feet shod with that preparation for defense supplied by the gospel of peace; taking up, over all, the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one: and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying with all prayer and supplication, at all times, in the Spirit; and to this end being watchful in all perseverance, and supplication for all the saints: and for me, that speech may be given me, in opening my mouth with boldness, that I may make known the mystery of the gospel,
and for me, that speech may be given me, in opening my mouth with boldness, that I may make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. But that you, also, may know my affairs, how I do, Tychicus, my beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make known all things to you; read more. him I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.
him I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. read more. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins;
and by him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace by the blood of his cross; by him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
of which I was made a minister according to the commission from God, which was given to me for you, that I might fully preach the word of God,
when you were buried with him in immersion, in which you were also raised with him by your faith in the energy of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, being dead to your offenses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all your offenses;
and not holding the head, from which the whole body gathering vigor, and firmly united by joints and bands, increases with the increase of God.
on account of these things the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience, in which things you also formerly walked when you lived in them. read more. But now do you also put away all these anger, wrath, malice, reviling, obscene language from your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed for knowledge, ac cording to the image of him that created him;
Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, a merciful disposition, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering: bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if any one have a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do you:
bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if any one have a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do you: and over all these put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. read more. And let the peace of God, to which you are called in one body, rule in your hearts, and be thankful. Let the word of the Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, by teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with gratitude in your hearts to the Lord.
praying at the same time also for us, that God may open for us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of the Christ, for which I am in bonds, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. read more. Walk in wisdom toward those who are without, redeeming the time.
I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your condition, and comfort your hearts;
Wherefore, God, being more abundantly willing to show to the heirs of his promise the immutability of his purpose, inter posed 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.
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that you are enriched by him in every thing, in all speech, and in all knowledge,
but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, even that which had been hidden, which God predestined before the ages, for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for, had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. read more. But, as it is written: Eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and into the heart of man have not entered the things which God has prepared for them that love him. But God has revealed them to us through his Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
But God has revealed them to us through his Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of man, but the spirit of man which is in him? Even so, the things of God no one knows, but the Spirit of God.
For we are fellow-laborers for God: you are God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of God that is given to me, as a wise master-builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on this. But let every one take heed how he builds on this. read more. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which, is Jesus Christ.
Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Because the loaf is one, we, the many, are one body, for we are all partakers of the one loaf.
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit;
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord; read more. and there are diversities of operations, but the same God, who makes them all effectual in all.
For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ. For by one Spirit we all were immersed into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and we all have been made to drink of one Spirit. read more. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say: Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it, for this reason, no part of the body? And if the ear shall say: Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it, for this reason, no part of the body?
And God has placed some in the church, first, apostles; secondly, prophets; thirdly, teachers; then mighty deeds; then gifts of healing; helps, governments, kinds of tongues.
Then comes the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down every principality and authority and power: for he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. read more. The last enemy, Death, shall be destroyed. For he has put all things under his feet. But when the scripture says, that all things are put under him, it is evident that he is excepted, who did put all things under him. And when all things shall have been put under him, then, also, shall the Son himself be subjected to him that did put all things under him, that God may be the all in all.
PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints that are in Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
for a dispensation at the fullness of the times, in order that he might bring together for himself all things in the Christ, both those which are in the heavens, and those which are on earth;
in whom you also hoped after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom, after you also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, given for the redemption of his possession to the praise of his glory. read more. For this reason I also, since I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love to all the saints,
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the acknowledgment of him,
which he made active in the Christ when he raised him from the dead, and caused him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all his members with all things,
that he might show, in the ages to come, the exceeding riches of his grace by his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For which reason, remember that you were formerly Gen tiles, by natural descent, and that you are called Uncircumcision by the Circumcision; so called, from a mark made in the flesh by hands; that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the community of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and having no God in the world:
and that he might reconcile both, in one body, to God, through the cross, having by it put to death the cause of enmity;
for, through him, we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
for, through him, we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, read more. having been builded upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone,
having been builded upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone, in whom the whole building, compactly fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord;
in whom the whole building, compactly fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are builded together, for a dwelling-place of God by his Spirit.
which, in other generations, was not made known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in the Christ, through the gospel,
to the end that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known, through the church, to the principalities and authorities in the heavenly regions, according to the arrangement of the ages, which he established by Christ Jesus our Lord,
For which cause I beseech you not to grow faint on account of my afflictions for you, which are your glory.
that he may grant to you, according to the riches of his glory, to be mightily strengthened by his Spirit in the inner man,
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called; with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, read more. earnestly endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
earnestly endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as you have been called in one hope of your calling; read more. one Lord, one faith, one immersion; one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in you all. But grace has been given to each one of us, according to the measure of the gift of the Christ.
And he himself gave some to be apostles, and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the complete instruction of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of the Christ, read more. till we all come to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature that fully develops the Christ;
from whom the whole body, compactly fitted together, and united by every helping joint, according to the energy in the measure of each part, makes increase of the body, for the building up of itself in love.
For which reason, putting away lying, speak, every one, truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. Be angry, and yet do not sin: let not the sun go down on your wrath, read more. nor give place to the devil. Let him that steals, steal no more: but rather let labor, working with his hands that which is good, that he may have something to give to him that has need. Let no impure speech come out of your mouth, but whatever is good for needful edification, that it may give grace to the hearers: and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, with which you have been sealed for the day of redemption.
and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, with which you have been sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and clamor and impious speaking be put away from you, with all malice: read more. and be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
and walk in love, as the Christ also loved us, and gave him self for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet odor.
and walk in love, as the Christ also loved us, and gave him self for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet odor.
(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord: for the husband is the head of the wife, as the Christ also is the head of the church; and he is the savior of the body. read more. But as the church is subject to the Christ, so, also, let the wives be subject to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, as the Christ also loved the church, and delivered himself up for it,
Husbands, love your wives, as the Christ also loved the church, and delivered himself up for it, that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the bath of water through the word,
that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the bath of water through the word, in order that he might present it to himself a glorious church, having neither stain, nor wrinkle, nor any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
in order that he might present it to himself a glorious church, having neither stain, nor wrinkle, nor any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
And you masters, do the same things to them, leaving off threatening, knowing that you yourselves have a master in heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in his mighty power. read more. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the wiles of the devil: for our conflict is not with flesh and blood, but with the principalities, with the authorities, with the rulers of the darkness of this world, with the wicked spirits in the heavenly regions. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand them in the evil day, and having overcome them all, to stand firm.
Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand them in the evil day, and having overcome them all, to stand firm. Stand, therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and wearing the breastplate of righteousness, read more. and having your feet shod with that preparation for defense supplied by the gospel of peace; taking up, over all, the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one: and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying with all prayer and supplication, at all times, in the Spirit; and to this end being watchful in all perseverance, and supplication for all the saints:
praying with all prayer and supplication, at all times, in the Spirit; and to this end being watchful in all perseverance, and supplication for all the saints:
But that you, also, may know my affairs, how I do, Tychicus, my beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make known all things to you; him I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of the Christ, that, whether I come and see you, or be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving together for the faith of the gospel,
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of the Christ, that, whether I come and see you, or be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving together for the faith of the gospel,
For which reason God has highly exalted him, and, also, bestowed on him a name that is above every name;
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh;
But our citizenship is in heaven, whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Be anxious about nothing, but in every thing, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God:
But I have all, and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus your gifts, a sweet odor, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.
And when this letter has been read among you, cause that it be read in the church of the Laodiceans also; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea;
as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction.
And all that dwell upon the earth will worship him, those whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world.
Let us rejoice and be glad, and give glory to him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.
And he carried me away in spirit to a mountain, great and high, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.