For it is not as though we were overstepping our limits when we came to you. We were the first to reach you with the gospel of the Messiah.

Did I commit a sin when I humbled myself by proclaiming to you the gospel of God free of charge, so that you could be exalted?

When I was with you and needed something, I did not bother any of you, because our brothers who came from Macedonia supplied everything I needed. I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and I will continue to do so.

When I talk as a confident boaster, I am not talking with the Lord's authority but like a fool.

That is why I take such pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for the Messiah's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong.

I am afraid that when I come my God may again humble me before you and that I may have to grieve over many who formerly lived in sin and have not repented of their impurity, sexual immorality, and promiscuity that they once practiced.

We are glad when we are weak and you are strong. That is what we are praying for your maturity.

For this reason I am writing this while I am away from you: When I come I do not want to be severe in using the authority the Lord gave me to build you up and not to tear you down.

But when God, who set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace, was pleased

So when James, Cephas, and John (who were reputed to be leaders) recognized the grace that had been given me, they gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised.

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly wrong.

But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, "Though you are a Jew, you have been living like a gentile and not like a Jew. So how can you insist that the gentiles must live like Jews?"

Because the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles by faith, it announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, "Through you all nations will be blessed."

But when the appropriate time had come, God sent his Son, born by a woman, born under the Law,

However, in the past, when you did not know God, you were slaves to things that are not really gods at all.

(Now it is always good to be devoted to a good cause, even when I am not with you.)

For if anyone thinks he is something when he is really nothing, he is only fooling himself.

when he made known to us the secret of his will. This was according to his plan that he set forth in the Messiah

In the Messiah we were also chosen when we were predestined according to the purpose of the one who does everything that he wills to do,

You, too, have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed in the Messiah, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

which he brought about in the Messiah when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realm.

even when we were dead because of our offenses, made us alive together with the Messiah (by grace you have been saved),

That is why God says, "When he went up to the highest place, he led captives into captivity and gave gifts to people."

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear, trembling, and sincerity, as when you obey the Messiah.

For this reason, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to take a stand whenever evil comes. And when you have done everything you could, you will be able to stand firm.

Pray also for me, so that, when I begin to speak, the right words will come to me. Then I will boldly make known the secret of the gospel,

so that you may be able to choose what is best and be pure and blameless until the day when the Messiah returns,

Then your rejoicing in the Messiah Jesus will increase along with mine when I visit with you again.

And so, when Jesus' name is called, the knees of everyone should fall, wherever they're residing.

And so, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you but even more now that I am absent, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

as you hold firmly to the word of life. Then I will be proud when the Messiah returns that I did not run in vain or work hard in vain.

Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I can be encouraged when I learn of your condition.

You Philippians also know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church participated with me in the matter of giving and receiving except for you.

When you were buried with the Messiah in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

Even when you were dead because of your offenses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with him when he forgave us all of our offenses,

having erased the charges that were brought against us, along with their obligations that were hostile to us. He took those charges away when he nailed them to the cross.

And when he had disarmed the rulers and the authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross.

When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you, too, will be revealed with him in glory.

Devote yourselves to prayer. Be alert and thankful when you pray.

When this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and be sure to read the one from Laodicea.

We always thank God for all of you when we mention you in our prayers.

Here is another reason why we constantly give thanks to God: When you received God's word, which you heard from us, you did not accept it as the word of humans but for what it really is the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

Therefore, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to remain alone in Athens

In fact, when we were with you, we told you ahead of time that we were going to suffer persecution. And as you know, that is what happened.

But when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out about your faith. I was afraid that the tempter had tempted you in some way, and that our work had been a waste of time.

Then your hearts will be strong, blameless, and holy in the presence of God, who is our Father, when our Lord Jesus appears with all his saints.

When people say, "There is peace and security," destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.

May the God of peace himself make you holy in every way. And may your whole being spirit, soul, and body remain blameless when our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, appears.

and to give us who are afflicted relief when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels

when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be regarded with wonder on that day by all who have believed including you, because you believed our testimony.

not to be so quickly upset or alarmed when someone claims that we said, either by some spirit, conversation, or letter that the Day of the Lord has already come.

Don't you remember that I repeatedly told you about these things when I was still with you?

You know what it is that is now holding him back, so that he will be revealed when his time comes.

When I was on my way to Macedonia, I urged you to stay in Ephesus so that you could instruct certain people to stop teaching false doctrine

Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy when the elders laid their hands on you.

I constantly thank my God whom I serve with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did when I remember you in my prayers night and day,

Instead, when he arrived in Rome he searched diligently for me and found me.

and gentle when refuting opponents. After all, maybe God will allow them to repent and to come to a full knowledge of the truth,

to proclaim the message. Be ready to do this whether or not the time is convenient. Refute, warn, and encourage with the utmost patience when you teach.

For the time will come when people will not tolerate healthy doctrine, but with itching ears will surround themselves with teachers who cater to their people's own desires.

When you come, bring the coat I left with Carpus in Troas, as well as the scrolls and especially the parchments.

Our own people should also learn to make good deeds a priority when urgent needs arise, so they won't be unproductive.

I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers,

And again, when he brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."

Now when God put everything under him, he left nothing outside his control. However, at the present time we do not yet see everything put under him. But we do see someone who was made a little lower than the angels. He is Jesus, who is crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might experience death for everyone.

when he says, "I will announce your name to my brothers. I will praise you within the congregation."

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

do not harden your hearts as they did when they provoked me during the time of testing in the wilderness.

As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as they did when they provoked me."

For when the ground soaks up rain that often falls on it and continues producing vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated, it receives a blessing from God.

For when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath by himself, since he had no one greater to swear by.

In the same way, when God wanted to make the unchangeable character of his purpose perfectly clear to the heirs of his promise, he guaranteed it with an oath,

Now this man Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, met Abraham and blessed him when he was returning from defeating the kings.

because Levi was still inside his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

When a change in the priesthood takes place, there must also be a change in the Law.

but Jesus became a priest with an oath when God told him, "The Lord has taken an oath and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever."

There have been many priests, since each one of them had to stop serving in office when he died.

He has no need to offer sacrifices every day like high priests do, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he sacrificed himself.

They serve in a sanctuary that is a copy, a shadow of the heavenly one. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tent: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain."

but God found something wrong with his people when he said, "Look! The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors at the time when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. Because they did not remain loyal to my covenant, I ignored them, declares the Lord.

When everything had been arranged like this, the priests always went into the first part of the tent to perform their duties.

since they deal only with food, drink, and various washings, which are required for the body until the time when things would be set right.

But when the Messiah came as a high priest of the good things that have come, he went through the greater and more perfect tent that was not made by human hands and that is not a part of this creation.

For a will is in force only when somebody has died, since it never takes effect as long as the one who made it is alive.

For this reason, the Scriptures say, when the Messiah was about to come into the world: "You did not want sacrifices and offerings, but you prepared a body for me.

But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God."

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac he who had received the promises was about to offer his unique son in sacrifice,

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons "and worshipped while leaning on the top of his staff."

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelis and gave them instructions about burying his bones.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter,

By faith they went through the Red Sea as if it were dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do this, they were drowned.

You have forgotten the encouragement that is addressed to you as sons: "My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline or give up when you are corrected by him.

For you know that afterwards, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected because he could not find any opportunity to repent, even though he begged to repent with tears.

See to it that you do not ignore the one who is speaking. For if the hearers did not escape when they ignored the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we turn away from the one who is from heaven!

You should know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, he will be with me when I see you.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials,

How blessed is the man who endures temptation! When he has passed the test, he will receive the victor's crown of life that God has promised to those who keep on loving him.