Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.

When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,

Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;

Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information.

and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your number. They will inform you about the whole situation here.

Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.