To him be all glory through the Church and through Christ Jesus, for all generations, age after age. Amen.

But holding the truth in a spirit of love, we shall grow into complete union with him who is our Head--Christ himself.

For from him the whole Body, closely joined and knit together by the contact of every part with the source of its life, derives its power to grow, in proportion to the vigor of each individual part; and so is being built up in a spirit of love.

But far different is the lesson you learned from the Christ-- if, that is, you really listened to him,

And through union with him were taught the Truth, as it is to be found in Jesus.

Let the man who steals steal no longer, but rather let him toil with his hands at honest work, so that he may have something to share with any one in want.

For of this you may be sure--that no one who is unchaste or impure or greedy of gain (for to be greedy of gain is idolatry) has any place awaiting him in the kingdom of the Christ and God.

And submit to one another from reverence for him.

And masters, treat your slaves in the same spirit. Give up threatening them; for you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in Heaven, and that before him there is no distinction of rank.

I am sending him to you on purpose that you may learn all about us, and that he may cheer your hearts.

It is true that some do proclaim the Christ out of Jealousy and opposition; but there are others who proclaim him from good- will.

For, on behalf of Christ, you have had the privilege granted you, not only of trusting in him, but also of suffering on his behalf.

And that is why God raised him to the very highest place, and gave him the Name which stands above all other names,

For I have no one but him to send--no one of kindred spirit who would take the same genuine interest in your welfare.

And I can assure you that his illness very nearly proved fatal. But God had pity on him, and not on him only but also on me, that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow.

I am all the more ready, therefore, to send him, so that the sight of him may revive your spirits and my own sorrow be lightened.

Give him, then, the heartiest of Christian welcomes, and hold such men in great honour.

More than that, I count everything as loss, for the sake of the exceeding value of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. And for his sake I have lost everything, and count it as refuse, if I may but gain Christ and be found in union with him;

In the hope that, if I become like him in death, I may possibly attain to the resurrection from the dead.

I can do everything in the strength of him who makes me strong!

To him, our God and Father, be ascribed all glory for every and ever. Amen.

To Christ's People at Colossae--the Brothers who are faithful to him: May God, our Father, bless you and give you peace.

For in him was created all that is in Heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible--Angels and Archangels and all the Powers of Heaven.

All has been created through him and for him. He was before all things, and all things unite in him;

For it pleased the Father that in him the divine nature in all its fulness should dwell,

And through him to reconcile all things to himself (making peace by the shedding of Christ's blood offered upon the cross)-- whether on earth or in Heaven.

And it pleased God that you, once estranged from him and hostile towards him in your thoughts, intent only on wickedness--

Since, therefore, you have received Jesus, the Christ, as your Lord, live your lives in union with him--

Rooted in him, building up your characters through union with him, growing stronger through your faith, as you were taught, overflowing with faith and thanksgiving.

And, by your union with him, you also are filled with it. He is the Head of all Archangels and Powers of Heaven.

By your union with him you received a circumcision that was not performed by human hands, when you threw off the tyranny of the earthly body, and received the circumcision of the Christ.

For in baptism you were buried with Christ; and in baptism you were also raised to Life with him, through your faith in the omnipotence of God, who raised him from the dead.

When the Christ, who is our Life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

And clothe yourselves with that new self, which, as it gains in knowledge, is being constantly renewed 'in resemblance to him who made it.'

Therefore, as God's People, consecrated and dear to him, clothe yourselves with tenderness of heart, kindliness, humility, gentleness, forbearance;

Let the Message of the Christ dwell in your minds in all its wealth, bringing all wisdom with it. Teach and admonish one another with psalms, and hymns, and sacred songs, full of the loving- kindness of God, lifting your hearts in song to him.

And, whatever you say or do, do everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus; and through him offer thanksgiving to God the father.

I send him to you expressly that you may learn our circumstances, and that he may give you encouragement.

With him will be Onesimus, our dear faithful Brother, who is one of yourselves. They will tell you all that is going on here.

My fellow-prisoner, Aristarchus, sends you his greeting, and Barnabas's cousin, Mark, sends his. (You have received directions about him. If he comes to you, make him welcome.)

For, as we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring, with Jesus, those who through him have passed to their rest.

That, whether we are still watching or have fallen asleep, we may live with him.

When he comes to be honour ed in his People,' and to be revered in all who have learned to believe in him (for you also believed our testimony)--as he will be on 'That Day.'

Then, in the loving-kindness of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ, will the name of Jesus, our Lord, be honour ed in you, and you in him.

As to the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our being gathered to meet him, we beg you, Brothers,

Then will 'Wickedness Incarnate' appear, but the Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his lips, and annihilate him by the splendor of his Coming.

Yet do not think of him as an enemy, but caution him as you would a Brother.

Yet mercy was shown me for the express purpose that Christ Jesus might exhibit in my case, beyond all others, his exhaustless patience, as an example for those who were afterwards to believe on him and attain Immortal Life.

Do not reprimand an older man, but plead with him as if he were your father. Treat the young men as brothers,

Do not, therefore, be ashamed of the testimony which we have to bear to our Lord, nor yet of me who am a prisoner for him; but join with me in suffering for the Good News, as far as God enables you.

It was God who saved us, and from him we received our solemn Call--not as a reward for anything that we had done, but in fulfillment of his own loving purpose. For that love was extended to us, through Christ Jesus, before time began,

That is why I am undergoing these sufferings; yet I feel no shame, for I know in whom I have put my faith, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until 'That Day.'

If we continue to endure, we shall also share his throne. If we should ever disown him, he, too, will disown us.

There is no one but Luke with me. Pick up Mark on your way, and bring him with you, for he is useful to me in my work.

Alexander, the coppersmith, showed much ill-feeling towards me. 'The Lord will give him what his actions deserve.'

Do you also, be on your guard against him, for he is strongly opposed to our teaching.

The Lord will rescue me from all evil, and bring me safe into his Heavenly Kingdom. All glory to him for ever and ever! Amen.

They profess to know God, but by their actions they disown him. They are degraded and self-willed; and, as far as anything good is concerned, they are utterly worthless.

If a man is causing divisions among you, after warning him once or twice, have nothing more to say to him.

Yet the claims of love make me prefer to plead with you--yes, even me, Paul, though I am an ambassador for Christ Jesus and, now a prisoner for him as well.

And I am sending him back to you with this letter--though it is like tearing out of my very heart.

For my own sake I should like to keep him with me, so that, while I am in prison for the Good News, he might attend to my wants on your behalf.

It may be that he was separated from you for an hour, for this very reason, that you might have him back for ever,

If, then, you count me your friend, receive him as you would me.

For to which of the angels did God ever say-- 'Thou art my Son; this day I have become thy Father'? or again-- 'I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son'?

And again, when God brought the First-born into the world, he said-- 'Let all the angels of God bow down before him.'

how can we, of all people, expect to escape, if we disregard so great a Salvation? It was the Master who at the outset spoke of this Salvation, and its authority was confirmed for us by those who heard him,

No; a writer has declared somewhere-- 'What is Man that thou shouldst remember him? Or a Son of Man that thou shouldst regard him?

Thou hast made him, for a while, lower than angels; With glory and honour thou hast crowned him; Thou hast set him over all that thy hands have made;

Thou hast placed all things beneath his feet.' This 'placing of everything' under man means that there was nothing which was not placed under him. As yet, however, we do not see everything placed under man.

Therefore, since human nature is the common heritage of 'the Children,' Jesus also shared it, in order that by death he might render powerless him whose power lies in death--that is, the Devil--

The fact that he himself suffered under temptation enables him to help those who are tempted.

See how faithful he was to the God who appointed him, as Moses was in the whole House of God.

Who were they who heard God speak and yet provoked him? Were not they all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?

There is no created thing that can hide itself from the sight of God. Everything is exposed and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we have to give account.

In the same way, even the Christ did not take the honour of the High Priesthood upon himself, but he was appointed by him who said to him-- 'Thou art my Son; this day I have become thy Father';

Jesus, in the days of his earthly life, offered prayers and supplications, with earnest cries and with tears, to him who was able to save him from death; and he was heard because of his devout submission.

and, being made perfect, he became to all those who obey him the source of eternal Salvation,

while God himself pronounced him a High Priest of the order of Melchizedek.

if those, I say, fell away, it would be impossible to bring them again to repentance; they would be crucifying the Son of God over again for themselves, and exposing him to open contempt.

It was this Melchizedek, King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and gave him his blessing;

and it was to him that Abraham allotted a tithe of all the spoil. The meaning of his name is 'King of Righteousness, ' and besides that, he was also King of Salem, which means 'King of Peace.'

but his appointment was ratified by an oath, when God said to him-- 'The Lord has sworn, and will not change, "Thou art a priest for all time."'

And that is why he is able to save perfectly those who come to God through him, living for ever, as he does, to intercede of their behalf.

so it is with the Christ. He was offered up once and for all, to 'bear away the sins of many'; and the second time he will appear--but without any burden of sin--to those who are waiting for him, to bring Salvation.

and, since we have in him 'a great priest set over the House of God,'

And through faith the Righteous man shall find his Life, But, if a man draws back, my heart can find no pleasure in him.'

Faith made the sacrifice which Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain's, and won him renown as a righteous man, God himself establishing his renown by accepting his gifts; and it is by the example of his faith that Abel, though dead, still speaks.

Faith led to Enoch's removal from earth, that he might not experience death. 'He could not be found because God had removed him.' For, before his removal, he was renowned as having pleased God;

But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that God exists, and that he rewards those who seek for him.

It was faith that made him go to live as an emigrant in the Promised Land--as in a strange country--living there in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who shared the promise with him.

For he counted 'the reproaches that are heaped upon the Christ' of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, looking forward, as he did, to the reward awaiting him.

Faith caused him to leave Egypt, though undaunted by the King's anger, for he was strengthened in his endurance by the vision of the invisible God.

Faith led him to institute the Passover and the Sprinkling of the Blood, so that the Destroyer might not touch the eldest children of the Israelites.

our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the Leader and perfect Example of our faith, who, for the joy that lay before him, endured the cross, heedless of its shame, and now 'has taken his seat at the right hand' of the throne of God.

Weigh well the example of him who had to endure such opposition from 'men who were sinning against themselves,' so that you should not grow weary or faint-hearted.

for it is him whom he loves that he disciplines, and he chastises every child whom he acknowledges.'

Beware how you refuse to hear him who is speaking. For, if the Israelites did not escape punishment, when they refused to listen to him who taught them on earth the divine will, far worse will it be for us, if we turn away from him who is teaching us from Heaven.

Therefore let us go out to him 'outside the camp,' bearing the same reproaches as he;

Through him let us offer, as our sacrifice, continual praise to God--an offering from lips that glorify his Name.