an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth

I myself am satisfied about you, my brethren, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.

None of the rulers of this age understood it; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. But the spiritual man judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

But the spiritual man judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as carnal men, as infants in Christ.

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ;

More than that, I count everything to be loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesall things were created through him and for him. read more. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might have the first place in everything.

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might have the first place in everything. For all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him read more. and through him, to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to human tradition, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to human tradition, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

For in him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and you have been made complete in him, who is the head over all rule and authority.

and you have been made complete in him, who is the head over all rule and authority. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;

In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;

In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our sins,

When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our sins, having canceled the certificate of debt, which stood against us with its decrees. He took what was hostile away from us, nailing it to the cross.

having canceled the certificate of debt, which stood against us with its decrees. He took what was hostile away from us, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them through him.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them through him. Therefore let no one judge you in questions of food or drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day.

Therefore let no one judge you in questions of food or drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. These things are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

These things are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you for the prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, puffed up without cause by his fleshly mind,

Let no one disqualify you for the prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, puffed up without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you still belonged to it, do you submit to regulations such as,

If with Christ you died to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you still belonged to it, do you submit to regulations such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!"

"Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (referring to things which are all destined perish with use), according to human commandments and teachings?

(referring to things which are all destined perish with use), according to human commandments and teachings? These indeed have an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

These indeed have an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than the divine trainingwhich is by faith.

For bodily training is of some value, but godliness is of value in all things, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,

By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. read more. I wrote to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I wrote to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I wrote to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, of which you have heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

So you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

Nevertheless I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I will not lay upon you any other burden;

"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation:

To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

For in him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

By this you know the Spirit of God: every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, of which you have heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already.