How I wish I could be with you now, that I might change my tone; for I am perplexed about you.

Now all this is an allegory, for these women are the two covenants; one from Mount Sinai, which is Hagar bearing children into bondage

but just as in old times the son born by the flesh used to persecute the son born by the power of the Spirit, so also it is now.

So, brothers, we are the children of no slave woman, but of free woman. For freedom did not Christ set us free;

Listen to me! I, Paul, declare to you that if you are to continue to follow the rite of circumcision, Christ will be no profit to you.

As for me, I am fully trusting you in the Lord that you will be no otherwise minded; but he who is trying to unsettle you will have to bear his punishment, whoever he may be.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest; such, for instance, as fornication, impurity, indecency,

against such there is no law.

For in Jesus Christ neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

From this time forth let no one trouble me, for I bear branded in my body the marks of Jesus, my Master.

in which you passed your lives after the way of this world, under the sway of the Prince of the Powers of the Air, the spirit who is now working among the sons of disobedience.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near in the blood of Christ.

In his own body he abolished the cause of our enmity, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, in order to make the two into one new man in himself, so making peace.

Take notice then that no longer are you strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household.

which was not disclosed to the sons of men in former generations, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets,

and should make all men see the new dispensation of that secret purpose, hidden from eternity in the God who founded the universe,

in order that now his manifold wisdom should, through the church, be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly sphere,

and may know the love of Christ which transcends all knowing, so that you may be filled with all the "plenitude" of God.

Now unto him who, according to his might that is at work within us, is able to do infinitely more than all we ask or even think,

Now surely this "he ascended" implies that he also descended into the lower part of the earth.

So we shall no longer be children, tossed up and down, and blown about by every wind of teaching, tricked by the craft of men in the snares of misleading error;

This then I tell you and implore you in the Master's name, to pass your lives no longer as the Gentiles do in the perverseness of their minds;

and to be made new in the spirit of your mind,

and to put on the new self, created after God's likeness, in the uprightness and holiness of the truth.

Give the devil no place.

Let him who stole steal no more, but let him work, and in honest industry toil with his hands, so that he may have something to give to the needy.

From your lips let no evil words come forth, but such as occasion warrants, such as are good for upbuilding and give a blessing to the hearers.

For be well assured that no one guilty of fornication or impurity or covetousness which is idolatry, has any heritage in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no man deceive you with empty arguments, for it is these vices that bring down the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience;

For you were once darkness, but are now in the Lord.

and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of the darkness, but rather expose them.

For this reason do not be thoughtless, but learn to know what the Lord's will is.

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it as Christ does the church;

because you know that whatever good any man does, the same shall he receive from the Lord, whether he be slave or free man.

And you masters, show the same spirit to your slaves, and stop threatening them; for you know that your masters and theirs is in heaven, and that there is no respect of persons with him.

But that you also may know my affairs and how I do, Tychicus, my beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may cheer your hearts.

from the first day you heard it until now.

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has turned out rather to help than to the hindrance of the gospel.

These latter out of their love, because they know that I am set here for the defense of the gospel;

For I know that these things will turn out to my salvation through your prayers and a rich supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

So it is my keen expectation and hope that I shall never feel ashamed, but that with fearless courage, now as hither to, Christ may be magnified in my body, whether by my life or by my death.

But now, if life in the flesh, if this be the fruit of my toil??hat to choose I do not know,

And because I am convinced of this, I know that I shall live, and go on working side by side with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

Only do lead lives worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come to see you or hear reports concerning you in my absence, I may know that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one soul, enlisted in a common struggle for the faith of the gospel,

and in no way terrorized by its enemies. For you fearlessness is a clear indication of coming ruin for them, but of salvation for you at the hands of God.

while you wage the same conflict which you once saw in me, and now hear that I maintain.

that in the name of Jesus every knee in heaven, on earth, and under the earth should bend,

And so, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, with reverence and self-distrust work out your own salvation;

Nay, even if my life is to be poured out as a libation upon the sacrifice and service of you faith,

Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you before long, so that I may be of good comfort when I learn the news concerning you.

For I have no other like him with a genuine concern for your welfare,

And you know Timothy's worth, how he has shared my servitude in furtherance of the gospel, like a son helping his father.

And indeed he was sick nigh unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also so that I should not have sorrow upon sorrow.

For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and make our boast in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in outward rites,

I long to know him in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, by sharing the likeness of his death;

For there are many??s I used often to tell you, and am now telling you even with tears??ho live and walk as the enemies of the cross of Christ.

Moreover, I greatly rejoiced in the Lord that now once more your care for me blossomed afresh; though indeed you did take thought in this matter, but you lacked the opportunity of expression.

I know how to live humbly, and I also know how to bear prosperity. In every place and under all circumstances I have been initiated into the secret of fulness and of hunger, of prosperity and of want.

And you very well know, Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I had left Macedonia, no church but yourselves had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving.

But I give you a receipt in full for all things abound. I am amply supplied with what you sent by Epaphroditus??n odor of sweet fragrance, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.

Now unto our God and Father be the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

And just as it is spreading through the whole world, bearing fruit and increasing, so also is it among you, from the day in which you heard it, and came truly to know the grace of God,

he has now in his human body reconciled to God by his death, in order that he may bring you into his presence, holy and unblemished and irreproachable.

I am now rejoicing in my sufferings on your behalf; and I am filling up in my own body what is yet lacking of the sufferings of Christ in behalf of the church, his Body.

that secret truth, which, although hidden from ages and generations of old, has now been made manifest to his saints.

For I would have you know how great a contest I am waging for you and the brethren in Laodicea, and for all who have never seen my face.

Therefore do not permit any one to sit in judgment on you in regard to what you may eat or drink, or in regard to feast-days or new moons or sabbaths.

Let no man at his will defraud you of your prize through his false humility and worship of the angels, taking his stand on the visions he has seen, and vainly puffed up by his material mind;

For these precepts, although they have a show of wisdom with their self-imposed devotions and fastings and bodily austerities, are of no real value against the indulgence of the carnal appetites.

But now you also must renounce them all. Anger, passion, and ill-will must be put away; slander, too, and foul talk, so that they may never soil your lips.

and put on that new self which is continually made over according to the likeness of its Creator, into full understanding.

In it that new creation there is no "Greek and Jew," "circumcised and uncircumcised," "barbarian," "Scythian," "slave," "free man," but Christ is all, and in us all.

You know that from the Lord you will receive reward of the inheritance, for you are the Lord Christ's slaves.

For he who wrongs another will be paid back for his wrong-doing, and there will be no favoritism.

I have sent him with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, one of your own number, for this very purpose, to let you know how I am, and to cheer your hearts.

For I know, O brothers, beloved of God, that he has chosen you;

for my gospel did not come to you in word only, but in power also, and in the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. For you know also the manner in which I behaved myself among you for your sakes.

For the word of the Lord has been sounded forth from you, and its sound has been heard not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place where the tidings of your faith toward God have been spread abroad, so that I have no need to speak of it.

For you yourselves know, brothers, that my visit to you did not fail of its purpose;

For as you well know, I never resorted to flattery, nor to any pretext for enriching myself. God is my witness!

Now was I seeking glory from men, either yourselves or others, although I might have exercised authority as Christ's apostle.

You know how I was wont to treat each of you as a father treats his children,

And so, when I could no longer bear it, I made up my mind to be left behind at Athens, all alone.

So that no one should be shaken by these troubles??or you know well that we are appointed to troubles.

For even when I was with you I used to tell you beforehand that I was to suffer affliction; and so it proved, as you know.

So, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to find out about your faith, fearing that the tempter had tempted you and that my labor had been in vain.

But now that Timothy has returned from you to me, and has brought good news of your faith and love, and that you are still holding me in affectionate remembrance, always longing to see me as I also am longing to see you.

For now I am really living, if you are standing firm in the Lord.

Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct my path to you.

For you know what charges I laid upon you through the Lord Jesus.

Not in the passion of lust, like the Gentiles who know not God.

That no man overreach or take advantage of his brother in such matters, because "the Lord takes vengeance" in all these things, as also I repeatedly forewarned you and testified to you.

But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, about those who are falling asleep. You must not sorrow like other men, who have no hope.

For this I tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are living, who survive unto the coming of the Lord, will in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep.

Now as to the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you.

You yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.

While men are saying "Peace and safety," then, like birth-pangs upon a woman with child, destruction will come upon them suddenly. In no wise will they escape.

They are an evidence of the righteous judgment of God, who will count you worthy of his kingdom, in behalf of which you are even now suffering.

and give to you, who are now troubled, rest, along with me at the unveiling "apocalypse" of the Lord Jesus from heaven, with his mighty angels,