Now the practices of the lower nature are clear enough: Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,

envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I now warn you, as I have done before, that those who practice such things shall not be heirs of the kingdom of God.

gentleness, self-control. There is no law against such things.

For neither circumcision nor the lack of it has any value, but only a new creation.

Now peace and mercy be on all who walk by this rule; that is, on the true Israel of God.

by having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, so that you may know what the hope is to which He calls you, how glorious rich God's portion in His people is,

It is not the result of what anyone can do, so that no one can boast of it.

At that time you were without any connection with Christ; you were aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the sacred compacts made by God's promise, with no hope, and no God in the world.

But now through your union with Christ Jesus you who were once far away have through the blood of Christ been brought near.

through His human nature He has put a stop to the hostility between us, namely, the law with its commands and decrees, in order to create one new humanity out of the two parties and so make peace through union with Himself, and in one body

for it is by Him through one Spirit that both of us now have an introduction to the Father.

So you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow-citizens of God's people and members of His family;

which in the earlier ages, so different from the present, was not made known to mankind as fully as now, but through the Spirit it has been revealed to His Holy apostles and prophets --

so that the many phases of God's wisdom may now through the church be made known to the rulers and authorities in heaven,

yes, to come at last to know the love of Christ, although it far surpasses human understanding, so that you may be filled with the perfect fullness of God.

so that we may not be babies any longer, or like sailors tossed about and driven around by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men through their cunning in inventing new methods of error.

So I mean this and now testify to it in the name of the Lord: You must now stop living as the heathen usually do, in the frivolity of their minds,

and to have a new attitude of mind

and put on the new self which has been created in the likeness of God, which fruits in right and holy living inspired by the truth.

The man who used to steal must now stop stealing; rather, he must keep on working and toiling with his own hands at some honest vocation, so as to have something to contribute to the needy.

there must be no indecency, silly talk or suggestive jesting, for they are unbecoming. There should be thanksgiving instead.

For you may be absolutely sure that no one who is sexually impure, immoral or greedy for gain (for that is idolatry) can have a part in the kingdom of Christ and God.

For at one time you were darkness itself, but now in union with the Lord you are light itself. You must live like children of light,

for no one ever hates his own physical person, but he feeds and fosters it, just as Christ does the church;

for you know that everyone, slave or free, will get his reward from the Lord for anything good he has done.

You slave-owners, too, must maintain the same attitude toward your slaves, and stop threatening them, for you know that their real Lord and yours is in heaven, and that He never shows partiality.

From now on you must grow stronger through union with the Lord and through His mighty power.

That you may also know how I am, Tychicus, our dearly loved brother and a faithful minister in the Lord's service, will give you all the information;

that is the very reason I am sending him, to let you know how I am and to cheer your hearts.

for your cooperation in spreading the good news, from the first day you heard it until now.

Now I want you to rest assured, brothers, that those things which have befallen me have actually resulted in the progress of the good news;

the latter, indeed, are doing so from love to me, for they know that I am providentially put here to defend the good news;

for I know that through your prayers and a bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my spiritual welfare,

in accordance with my eager expectation and hope that I shall never disgrace myself, but that now as always hitherto, by my all-conquering courage, whether by living or dying, Christ will be honored in me.

Now since I am certain of this, I know that I shall stay on and stay by you all to promote the progress of your faith

So, my dearly loved friends, as you have always been obedient, so now with reverence and awe keep on working clear down to the finishing point of your salvation not only as though I were with you but much more because I am away;

For I have no one else with a heart like his who would take such genuine interest in you,

But you know his tested character, how like a son in fellowship with his father he has toiled with me like a slave in preaching the good news.

But I think it proper now to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow-laborer, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger to minister to my needs,

Yes, I long to come to know Him; that is, the power of His resurrection and so to share with Him his sufferings as to be continuously transformed by His death,

For there are many, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you in tears, who practice living as the enemies of the cross of Christ.

Now, brothers, practice thinking on what is true, what is honorable, what is right, what is pure, what is lovable, what is high-toned, yes, on everything that is excellent or praiseworthy.

I know how to live in lowly circumstances and I know how to live in plenty. I have learned the secret, in all circumstances, of either getting a full meal or of going hungry, of living in plenty or being in want.

And you Philippians yourselves know that immediately after the good news was first preached to you, when I left Macedonia, no church but yours went into partnership with me to open an account of credits and debits.

which reached you, and since it is bearing fruit and growing among you, just as it is all over the world, from the day you first heard of God's favor and in reality came to know it,

So you, who were once estranged from Him, and hostile in disposition as shown by your wrongdoings, He has now reconciled

I am now glad to be suffering for you, and in my own person I am filling in what is lacking in Christ's sufferings for His body, that is, the church.

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

I want you to know what a battle I am fighting for you and for those in Laodicea, yes, for all who have never known me personally,

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.

for you have died, and your life is now hidden in God through your fellowship with Christ.

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.

for you know that it is from the Lord that you are going to get your pay in the form of an inheritance; so keep on serving Christ the Lord.

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

Masters, you must practice doing the right and square things by your slaves, for you know that you have a Master in heaven.

Always let your conversation be seasoned with salt, that is, with winsomeness, so that you may know how to make a fitting answer to everyone.

I am sending him to you for the express purpose of letting you know my circumstances, and of cheering your hearts;

For we know, brothers so beloved by God, that He has chosen you,

for our preaching of the good news came to you not entirely in words but with power and with the Holy Spirit and with absolute certainty (for you know the kind of men we were among you for your own sakes).

For you know yourselves, brothers, that our visit to you was by no means a failure.

for since we have been so approved by God as to be entrusted with the good news, we are now telling it, not to please men but God, who proves and finds approved our hearts.

for you know how, as a father deals with his children, we used to encourage you, cheer you on, and charge each of you

Now we, brothers, on our part, when we were separated from you for a little while -- in person but not in heart -- were extremely eager and intensely longing to see you.

so that none of you might be deceived amid these difficulties. For you knew yourselves that this is our appointed lot,

for when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were going to be pressed with difficulties, and it took place, as you know.

That was why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for I was afraid that the tempter had tempted you and our labor might be lost.

But now, since Timothy has just come back to me from you, and brought me good tidings of your faith and love, and told me how kindly you remembered me and that you are longing to see me as much as I am to see you,

for now I am really living, since you are standing firm in the Lord.

Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus guide my way to you!

Now, brothers, we ask and beg you, in the face of our union with the Lord Jesus, as you once received from us how you ought to live so as to please God -- as indeed you are living -- to continue to live this life better and better.

not out of evil passions as the heathen do who do not know God;

that no one should do wrong and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord takes vengeance for all such things, as we told you before and solemnly warned you.

Now as to brotherly love, you have no need of anyone's writing you, for you have yourselves been taught by God to love one another,

Also we do not want you to have any misunderstanding, brothers, about those who are falling asleep, so as to keep you from grieving over them as others do who have no hope.

For on the Lord's own authority we say that those of us who may be left behind and are still living when the Lord comes back, will have no advantage at all over those who have fallen asleep.

But as to times and dates, brothers, you have no need of anyone's writing you,

for you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night.

When people say, "Such peace and security!" then suddenly destruction falls upon them, like birth pains upon a woman who is about to become a mother, but they shall not escape, no, not at all.

in a flame of fire, who will take vengeance on those who do not know God, that is, those who will not listen to the good news of our Lord Jesus.

So now you know the power that is holding him back, that he is to be unveiled at His own appointed time.

We have confidence in you through the Lord that you are now practicing the directions which we give you and that you will continue to do so.

Now we charge you, brothers, on the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, to hold yourselves aloof from any brother who is living as a shirker instead of following the teachings you received from us.

You know yourselves how you ought to follow my example; for I was not a shirker when I was with you;

Not that I have no right to be supported, but to make myself an example for you to follow.

Now on the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ we charge and exhort such persons to do their own work with quiet and eat their own bread.

Indeed, I know that the law is an excellent thing, if a man makes a lawful use of it;

(if a man does not know how to manage his own house, how can he take care of a church of God?).

He must not be a new convert, or else becoming conceited he may incur the doom the devil met.

so that, if I am detained, you may know how people ought to conduct themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Now the Spirit distinctly declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, because they continuously give their attention to deceiving spirits and the things that demons teach

Let no one think little of you because you are young, but always set an example for believers, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.

No widow under sixty years of age should be put on this roll. A widow must have had but one husband,

Now the fact is, religion with contentment is a means of great gain.

who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

on being reminded of your genuine faith, a faith that first found a home in the heart of your grandmother Lois, then in the heart of your mother Eunice, and now in yours too, I am sure.

For this reason I now remind you to rekindle and keep burning the fire of the divine gift which came upon you when I laid my hands upon you.

This is why I am suffering so, but I am not ashamed of it, for I know whom I have trusted and I am absolutely sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

You know that everyone here who belongs to the Roman province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.