namely, that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are co-heirs, companions, and co-partners in the Promise.

less than the least of all saints as I am, this grace was vouchsafed me, that I should bring the Gentiles the gospel of the fathomless wealth of Christ

and enlighten all men upon the new order of that divine secret which God the Creator of all concealed from eternity ??10 intending to let the full sweep of the divine wisdom be disclosed now by the church to the angelic Rulers and Authorities in the heavenly sphere,

May you be so fixed and founded in love that you can grasp with all the saints what is the meaning of 'the Breadth,' 'the Length,' 'the Depth' and 'the Height,'

For there is one Body and one Spirit ??as you were called for the one hope that belongs to your call ??5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

What does he ascended mean, except that he first descended to the nether regions of the earth?

Now in the Lord I insist and protest that you must give up living like pagans; for their purposes are futile,

That is not how you have understood the meaning of Christ

(for it is Christ whom you have been taught, it is in Christ that you have been instructed ??the real Christ who is in Jesus);

you must lay aside the old nature which belonged to your former course of life, that nature which crumbles to ruin under the passions of moral deceit,

putting on the new nature, that divine pattern which has been created in the upright and pious character of the Truth.

Let no bad word pass your lips, but only such speech as is good for edification, as occasion may require, words that are gracious and a means of grace to those who hear them.

Never let any sexual vice or impurity or lust be so much as mentioned by you ??that is the proper course for saints to take;

no, nor indecent, silly, or scurrilous talk ??all that is improper. Rather, voice your thanks to God.

Be sure of this, that no one guilty of sexual vice or impurity or lust (that is, an idolater) possesses any inheritance in the realm of Christ and God.

Let no one deceive you with specious arguments; these are the vices that bring down God's anger on the sons of disobedience.

(for the fruit of light consists in all that is good and right and true),

still, whatever the light exposes becomes illuminated ??for anything that is illuminated turns into light.

and do not get drunk with wine ??that means profligacy ??but be filled with the Spirit,

that it may be well with you and that you may live long on earth.

Be sure that everyone, slave or free, will be paid back by the Lord and Master for the good he has done.

And as for you masters, act by your servants in the same way, and stop threatening them; be sure that they and you have a Lord and Master in heaven, and there is no partiality about him.

So take God's armour, that you may be able to make a stand upon the evil day and hold your ground by overcoming all the foe.

put on salvation as your helmet, and take the Spirit as your sword (that is, the word of God),

praying at all times in the Spirit with all manner of prayer and entreaty ??be alive to that, attend to it unceasingly, interceding on behalf of all the saints

and on my behalf also, that I may be allowed to speak and open my lips in order to expound fully and freely that open secret of the gospel

for the sake of which I am in custody as its envoy. Pray that I may have freedom to declare it as I should.

Our beloved brother Tychicus, a faithful minister in the Lord, will give you all information about me, so that you may know how I am;

that is why I am sending him to you, to let you know how I am and to encourage your hearts.

of this I am confident, that he who has begun the good work in you will go on completing it until the day of Jesus Christ.

(God is my witness that I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus himself!)

And it is my prayer that your love may be more and more rich in knowledge and all manner of insight, enabling you to have a sense of what is vital,

so that you may be transparent and no harm to anyone in view of the day of Christ,

your life covered with that harvest of righteousness which Jesus Christ produces to the glory and the praise of God.

I would have you understand, my brothers, that my affairs have really tended to advance the gospel;

throughout the whole of the praetorian guard and everywhere else it is recognized that I am imprisoned on account of my connexion with Christ,

the latter do it from love to me, knowing that I am set here to defend the gospel,

What does it matter? Anyhow, for ulterior ends or honestly, Christ is being proclaimed, and I rejoice over that; yes and I will rejoice over it.

The outcome of all this, I know, will be my release, as you continue to pray for me, and as I am provided with the Spirit of Jesus Christ ??20 my eager desire and hope being that I may never feel ashamed but that now as ever I may do honour to Christ in my own person by fearless courage. Whether that means life or death, no matter!

But then, if it is to be life here below, that means fruitful work for me. So ??well, I cannot tell which to choose;

I am in a dilemma between the two. My strong desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far the best.

Only, do lead a life that is worthy of the gospel of Christ. Whether I come and see you or only hear of you in absence, let me know you are standing firm in a common spirit, fighting side by side like one man for the faith of the gospel.

by waging the same conflict that, as once you saw and now you hear, I wage myself.

so that before the Name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven, on earth, and underneath the earth,

and every tongue confess that 'Jesus Christ is Lord,' to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my beloved, as you have been obedient always and not simply when I was present, so, now that I am absent, work all the more strenuously at your salvation with reverence and trembling,

In all that you do, avoid grumbling and disputing,

hold fast the word of life, so that I can be proud of you on the Day of Christ, because I have not run or worked for nothing.

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send you Timotheus before long, that I may be heartened by news of you.

I hope to send him then, as soon as ever I see how it will go with me ??24 though I am confident in the Lord that I shall be coming myself before long.

So I am specially eager to send him, that you may be glad when you see him again, and thus my own anxiety may be lightened.

Give him a welcome in the Lord, then, with your hearts full of joy. Value men like that,

Well then, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. I am repeating this word 'rejoice' in my letter, but that does not tire me and it is the safe course for you. ??2 Beware of these dogs, these wicked workmen, the incision-party!

Though I could rely on outward privilege, if I chose. Whoever thinks he can rely on that, I can outdo him.

and be found at death in him, possessing no legal righteousness of my own but the righteousness of faith in Christ, the divine righteousness that rests on faith.

Not that I have already attained this or am already perfect, but I press forward to appropriate it, because I have been appropriated myself by Christ Jesus.

For all those of our number who are mature, this must be the point of view; God will reveal that to any of you who look at things differently.

who will transform the body that belongs to our low estate till it resembles the body of his Glory, by the same power that enables him to make everything subject to himself.

so shall God's peace, that surpasses all our dreams, keep guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

It was a great joy to me in the Lord that your care for me could revive again; for what you lacked was never the care but the chance of showing it.

Not that I complain of want, for I have learned how to be content wherever I am.

You Philippians are well aware that in the early days of the gospel, when I had left Macedonia, no church but yourselves had any financial dealings with me;

It is not the money I am anxious for; what I am anxious for is the interest that accumulates in this way to your divine credit!

Your debt to me is fully paid and more than paid! I am amply supplied with what you have sent by Epaphroditus, a fragrant perfume, the sort of sacrifice that God approves and welcomes.

due to the hope which is laid up for you in heaven. You heard of this hope originally in the message of the Truth, in that gospel

You got that lesson from our beloved fellow-servant Epaphras, a minister of Christ who is faithful to your interests;

so that you may lead a life that is worthy of the Lord and give him entire satisfaction. May you be fruitful and increase in the doing of all good, as you thus know God!

In him we enjoy our redemption, that is, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the likeness of the unseen God, born first before all the creation ??16 for it was by him that all things were created both in heaven and on earth, both the seen and the unseen, including Thrones, angelic Lords, celestial Powers and Rulers; all things have been created by him and for him;

Also, he is the head of the Body, that is, of the church, in virtue of his primacy as the first to be born from the dead ??that gives him pre-eminence over all.

For it was in him that the divine Fulness willed to settle without limit,

so as to set you consecrated and unblemished and irreproachable in his presence ??23 that is, if you adhere to the foundations and stability of the faith, instead of moving away from the hope you have learned in the gospel, that gospel which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I Paul was made a minister.

I am suffering now on your behalf, but I rejoice in that; I would make up the full sum of all that Christ has to suffer in my person on behalf of the church, his Body;

for I am a minister of the church by the divine commission which has been granted me in your interests, to make a full presentation of God's message ??26 of that open secret which, though concealed from ages and generations of old, has now been disclosed to the saints of God.

It is His will that they should understand the glorious wealth which this secret holds for the Gentiles, in the fact of Christ's presence among you as your hope of glory.

I labour for that end, striving for it with the divine energy which is a power within me.

May their hearts be encouraged! May they learn the meaning of love! May they have all the wealth of conviction that comes from insight! May they learn to know that open secret of God, the Father of Christ,

It is in Christ that the entire Fulness of deity has settled bodily,

it is in him that you reach your full life, and he is the Head of every angelic Ruler and Power;

in him you have been circumcised with no material circumcision that cuts flesh from the body, but with Christ's own circumcision,

He cancelled the regulations that stood against us ??all these obligations he set aside when he nailed them to the cross,

All that is the mere shadow of what is to be; the substance belongs to Christ.

instead of keeping in touch with that Head under whom the entire Body, supplied with joints and sinews and thus compacted, grows with growth divine.

"Hands off this!" "Taste not that!" "Touch not this!" ??22 referring to things that perish by being used? These rules are determined by human precepts and tenets;

So put to death those members that are on earth: sexual vice, impurity, appetite, evil desire, and lust (which is idolatry),

things that bring down the anger of God on the sons of disobedience.

Also, let the peace of Christ be supreme within your hearts ??that is why you have been called as members of the one Body. And you must be thankful.

Wives, be subject to your husbands; that is your proper duty in the Lord.

and pray for me as well, that God may give me an opening for the word, to speak of the open secret of Christ for which I am in custody.

Pray that I may unfold it as I should.

Tychicus, that beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord, will give you all information about me.

The reason why I am sending him to you is that he may ascertain how you are, and encourage your hearts.

He is accompanied by that faithful and beloved brother Onesimus, who is one of yourselves. They will inform you of all that goes on here.

Epaphras, who is one of yourselves, salutes you ??a servant of Christ Jesus who is always earnest in prayer for you, that you may stand firm like mature and convinced Christians, whatever be the will of God for you.

And when this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans; also, see that you read the letter that reaches you from Laodicea.

And tell Archippus, 'Attend to the ministry you have received in the Lord; see that you fulfil it.'

But you remember yourselves, brothers, that our visit to you was no failure.

We never resorted to flattery (you know that), nor to any pretext for self-seeking (God is witness to that);

We thank God constantly for this too, that when you received the word of the divine message from us, you took it not as a human word but for what it really is, the word of God. It proves effective in you believers,

to prevent anyone being disturbed by these troubles. (Troubles are our lot, you know that well;