the open secret, covered up from the people of former ages and generations, but now uncovered to God's people,

And through your union with Him you once received, not a hand-performed circumcision but one performed by Christ, in stripping you of your lower nature,

canceled the note that stood against us, with its requirements, and has put it out of our way by nailing it to the cross.

These were but the shadow of what was coming; the reality belongs to Christ.

Such practices have the outward expression of wisdom, with their self-imposed devotions, their self-humiliation, their torturings of the body, but they are of no value; they really satisfy the lower nature.

So once for all put to death your lower, earthly nature with respect to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is real idolatry.

But now you too must once for all put them all aside -- anger, rage, malice, and abusive, filthy talk from your lips.

and have put on the new self which is in the process of being made new in the likeness of its Creator, so that you may attain a perfect knowledge of Him.

In this new relation there is no Greek and Jew, no circumcised and uncircumcised, no barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is everything and in us all.

And over all these qualities put on love, which is the tie of perfection that binds us together.

Slaves, practice obedience to your earthly masters in everything, not as though they were watching you and as though you were merely pleasing men, but with sincerity of heart, because you fear the Lord.

For the man who wrongs another will be paid back the wrong he has done; and there are no exceptions.