Saw fit to reveal his Son in me, so that I might tell the Good News of him among the Gentiles, then at once, instead of consulting any human being,

Or even going up to Jerusalem to see those who were Apostles before me, I went to Arabia, and came back again to Damascus.

I did not, however, see any other Apostle, except James, the Master's brother.

Of those who are thought somewhat highly of--what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not recognize human distinctions--those, I say, who are thought highly of added nothing to my Message.

On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the Good News for the Gentiles, just as Peter had been for the Jews.

The rest of the Jewish converts were guilty of the same hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led away by it.

But, when I saw that they were not dealing straightforwardly with the Truth of the Good News, I said to Peter, before them all, "If you, who were born a Jew, adopt Gentile customs, instead of Jewish, why are you trying to compel the Gentile converts to adopt Jewish customs?"

So we placed our faith in Christ Jesus, in order that we might be pronounced righteous, as the result of faith in Christ, and not of obedience to Law; for such obedience 'will not result in even one soul's being pronounced righteous.'

I have been crucified with Christ. So it is no longer I that live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and, as for my present earthly life, I am living it by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Can you be so foolish? After beginning with what is spiritual, do you now end with what is external?

Did you go through so much to no purpose?--if indeed it really was to no purpose!

You see, then, that those whose lives are based on faith are the Sons of Abraham.

And this he did that the blessing given to Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through their union with Jesus Christ; that so, through our faith, we also might receive the promised gift of the Spirit.

My point is this--An agreement already confirmed by God cannot be canceled by the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, so as to cause the promise to be set aside.

Does that set the Law in opposition to God's promises? Heaven forbid! For, if a Law had been given capable of bestowing Life, then righteousness would have actually owed its existence to Law.

But the words of Scripture represent the whole world as being in bondage to sin, so that the promised blessing, dependent, as it is, upon faith in Jesus Christ, may be given to those who have faith in him.

And, since you belong to Christ, it follows that you are Abraham's offspring and, under the promise, sharers in the inheritance.

And so is it with us; when we were under age, as it were, we were slaves to the puerile teaching of this world;

But, when the full time came, God sent his Son--born a woman's child, born subject to Law--

To ransom those who were subject to Law, so that we might take our position as sons.

You, therefore, are no longer a slave, but a son; and, if a son, then an heir also, by God's appointment.

Certain people are seeking your favor, but with no honorable object. No, indeed, they want to isolate you, so that you will have to seek their favor.

You for whom I am again enduring a mother's pains, till a likeness to Christ shall have been formed in you.

But what does the passage of Scripture say? 'Send away the slave-woman and her son; for the slave's son shall not be co-heir with the son of the free woman.'

And so, Brothers, we are not children of a slave, but of her who is free.

This is what I have to say--Let your steps be guided by the Spirit, and then you will never gratify the cravings of your earthly nature.

For these cravings of our earthly nature conflict with the Spirit, and the Spirit with our earthly nature--they are two contrary principles--so that you cannot do what you wish.

Bear one another's burdens, and so carry out the Law of the Christ.

Therefore, I say, as the opportunity occurs, let us treat every one with kindness, and especially members of the Household of the Faith.

See in what large letters I am writing with my own hand.

Even these men who are circumcised do not themselves keep the Law; yet they want you to be circumcised, so that they may boast of your observance of the rite.

To Christ's People [AT EPHESUS] who are faithful to him, from Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God.

And so to enhance that glorious manifestation of his loving- kindness which he gave us in The Beloved;

In him, I say, for by our union with him we became God's Heritage, having from the first been destined for this in the intention of him who, in all that happens, is carrying out his own fixed purpose;

And the Spirit is a pledge of our future heritage, fore- shadowing the full redemption of God's own People--to enhance his Glory.

And therefore I, ever since I heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which prevails among you, and of your confidence in all Christ's People,

That your minds may be so enlightened that you may realize the hope given by God's Call, the wealth of the glory of his heritage among Christ's People,

And God placed 'all things under Christ's feet,' and gave him to the Church as its supreme Head;

For the Church is Christ's Body, and is filled by him who fills all things everywhere with his presence.

Even though we were 'dead' because of our offenses, gave Life to us in giving Life to the Christ. (By God's loving-kindness you have been saved.)

For it is by God's loving-kindness that you have been saved, through your faith. It is not due to yourselves; the gift is God's.

For we are God's handiwork, created, by our union with Christ Jesus, for the good actions in doing which God had pre-arranged that we should spend our lives.

Remember that you were at that time far from Christ; you were shut out from the citizenship of Israel; you were strangers to the Covenants founded on God's Promise; you were in the world without hope and without God.

It follows, then, that you are no longer strangers and aliens, but are fellow-citizens with Christ's People and members of God's Household.

In former generations it was not made known to mankind, as fully as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to the Apostles and Prophets among Christ's People--

That, by union with Christ Jesus and through the Good News, the Gentiles are co-heirs with us and members of one Body, and that they share with us in God's Promise.

Yes, to me, who am less than the least of all Christ's People, was this charge entrusted!--to tell the Gentiles the Good News of the boundless wealth to be found in the Christ,

And to make clear what is God's way of working out that hidden purpose which from the first has been concealed in the mind of the Creator of all things;

So that now to the Archangels and to all the Powers on high should be made known, through the Church, the all-embracing wisdom of God,

So that the Christ, through your faith, may make his home within your hearts in love; And I pray that you, now firmly rooted and established, may, with all Christ's People,

And to understand--though it surpasses all understanding--the love of the Christ; and so be filled to the full with God himself.

I urge you, then--I who am a prisoner in the Master's cause-- to live lives worthy of the Call that you have received;

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.

This, then, as one in union with the Lord, I say to you and urge upon you: Do not continue to live such purposeless lives as the Gentiles live,

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.

And do not grieve God's Holy Spirit; for it was through that Spirit that God sealed you as his, against the Day of Redemption.

As for unchastity and every kind of impurity, or greed, do not let them even be mentioned among you, as befits Christ's People,

Therefore do not grow thoughtless, but try to understand what the Lord's will is.

But as the Church submits to the Christ, so also should wives submit to their husbands in everything.

So that he might himself bring the Church, in all her beauty, into his own presence, with no spot or wrinkle or blemish of any kind, but that she might be holy and faultless.

So that thou mayest prosper and have a long life on earth.'

Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground against the stratagems of the Devil.

For ours is no struggle against enemies of flesh and blood, but against all the various Powers of Evil that hold sway in the Darkness around us, against the Spirits of Wickedness on high.

Pray in spirit at all times. Be intent upon this, with unwearying perseverance and supplication for all Christ's People- -

And on my behalf also, that, when I begin to speak, words may be given me, so that I may fearlessly make known the inmost truth of the Good News,

To enable you, as well as others, to know all that concerns me and what I am doing, Tychicus, our dear Brother and faithful helper in the Master's Cause, will tell you everything.

May God's blessing be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

To all Christ's People at Philippi, with the Presiding Officers and Assistants, from Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.

It has even become evident, not only to all the Imperial Guard, but to every one else, that it is for Christ's sake that I am in chains.

And besides this, most of our Brothers have gained confidence in the Lord through my chains, and now venture with far greater freedom to speak of God's Message fearlessly.

Yes, I am confident that this is so, and therefore I am sure that I shall stay, and stay near you all, to promote your progress and joy in the Faith;

So that, when you once more have me among you, you, in your union with Christ Jesus, may find in me fresh cause for exultation.

Under all circumstances let your lives be worthy of the Good News of the Christ: so that, whether I come and see you, or whether I hear of your affairs at a distance, I may know that you are standing firm, animated by one spirit, and joining with one heart in a common struggle for the Faith taught by the Good News,

You will be engaged in the same hard struggle as that which you once saw me waging, and which you hear that I am waging still.

So that in adoration of the Name of Jesus every knee should bend, in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth,

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always been obedient in the past, so now work out your own Salvation with anxious care, not only when I am with you, but all the more now that I am absent.

So as to prove yourselves blameless and innocent-- 'faultless children of God, in the midst of an evil-disposed and perverse generation,' in which you are seen shining like stars in a dark world,

I hope, however, as one who trusts in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you before long, so that I may myself be cheered by receiving news of you.

For he has been longing to see you all, and has been distressed because you heard of his illness.

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.

For it was owing to his devotion to the Master's work that he was at the point of death, having risked his own life in the effort to supply what was wanting in the help that you sent me.

But all the things which I once held to be gains I have now, for the Christ's sake, come to count as loss.

So then, my dear Brothers, whom I am longing to see--you who are my joy and my crown, stand fast in union with the Lord, dear friends.

Yes, and I ask you, my true comrade, to help them, remembering that they toiled by my side in spreading the Good News; and so, too, did Clement and my other fellow-workers, whose names are 'in the Book of Life.'

All that you learned and received and heard and saw in me put into practice continually; and then God, the giver of peace, will be with you.

It is not that I am anxious for your gifts, but I am anxious to see the abundant return that will be placed to your account. I have enough of everything, and to spare.

All Christ's People here, and especially those who belong to the Emperor's household, send theirs.

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

Bearing fruit and growing, as it does, through all the world, just as it did among you, from the very day that you heard of God's loving-kindness, and understood what that loving-kindness really is.

Then you will live lives worthy of the Master, and so please God in every way. Your lives will be fruitful in every kind of good action, and your characters will grow through a fuller knowledge of God;

And you will give thanks to the Father who made you fit to share the lot which awaits Christ's People in the realms of Light.

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.

But now he has reconciled you to himself by the sacrifice of Christ's earthly body in death--it has pleased God that you should stand in his presence holy, pure, and blameless,

That Truth which has been hidden from former ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to God's People,

This is the Christ whom we proclaim, warning every one, and instructing every one, with all the wisdom that we possess, in the hope of bringing every one into God's presence perfected by union with Christ.

I want you to know in how great a struggle I am engaged for you and for Christ's People at Laodicea, and for all who have not yet seen me;

In the hope that they, being bound to one another by love, and keeping in view the full blessedness of a firm conviction, may be encouraged to strive for a perfect knowledge of God's hidden Truth,

I say this to prevent any one from deceiving you by plausible arguments.

It is true that I am not with you in person, but I am with you in spirit, and am glad to see the good order and the unbroken front resulting from your faith in Christ.

Do not let any one defraud you of the reality by affecting delight in so-called 'humility' and angel-worship. Such a man busies himself with his visions, and without reason is rendered conceited by his merely human intellect.