To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

to reveal his Son to me so that I might proclaim him among the gentiles, I did not confer with another human being at any time,

Then three years later, I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and I stayed with him for fifteen days.

For the one who worked through Peter by making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me by sending me to the gentiles.

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

The other Jews also joined him in this hypocritical behavior, to the extent that even Barnabas was caught up in their hypocrisy.

In the same way, Abraham "believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

In union with him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of God's grace

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.

God has put everything under the Messiah's feet and has made him the head of everything for the good of the church,

raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly realm in the Messiah Jesus,

For through him, both of us have access to the Father by one Spirit.

In union with him the whole building is joined together and rises into a holy sanctuary for the Lord.

You, too, are being built in him, along with the others, into a place for God's Spirit to dwell.

to him be glory in the church and in the Messiah Jesus to all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

Surely you have listened to him and have been taught by him, since truth is in Jesus.

Masters, treat your slaves the same way. Do not threaten them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

I am sending him to you for this very reason, so that you may know how we are doing and that he may encourage your hearts.

For you have been given the privilege for the Messiah's sake not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.

For it is God who is producing in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases him.

I do not have anyone else like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.

Therefore, I hope to send him as soon as I see how things are going to turn out for me.

Indeed, he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow on top of another.

Therefore, I am especially eager to send him so that you may have the joy of seeing him again, and so that I may feel relieved.

So joyfully welcome him in the Lord and make sure you honor such people highly,

What is more, I continue to consider all these things to be a loss for the sake of what is far more valuable, knowing the Messiah Jesus, my Lord. It is because of him that I have experienced the loss of all those things. Indeed, I consider them rubbish in order to gain the Messiah

and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but one that comes through the faithfulness of the Messiah, the righteousness that comes from God and that depends on faith.

I want to know the Messiah what his resurrection power is like and what it means to share in his sufferings by becoming like him in his death,

He will change our unassuming bodies and make them like his glorious body through the power that enables him to bring everything under his authority.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

so that you might live in a manner worthy of the Lord and be fully pleasing to him as you bear fruit while doing all kinds of good things and growing in the full knowledge of God.

For by him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether they are kings, lords, rulers, or powers. All things have been created through him and for him.

For God was pleased to have all of his divine essence inhabit him.

he has now reconciled by the death of his physical body, so that he may present you holy, blameless, and without fault before him.

In him are stored all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

So then, just as you have received the Messiah Jesus the Lord, continue to live dependent on him.

For you have been rooted in him and are being built up and strengthened in the faith, just as you were taught, while you continue to be thankful.

because all the essence of deity inhabits him in bodily form.

And you have been filled by him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.

In union with him you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without human hands by stripping off the corrupt nature by the circumcision performed by the Messiah.

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,

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

In him there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free person. Instead, the Messiah is all and in all.

And whatever you do, whether by speech or action, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

I am sending him to you for this very reason, so that you may know how we are doing and that he may encourage your hearts.

Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have received instructions about him. If he comes to you, welcome him.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus God will bring those who have died with him.

who died for us in order that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

That way the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified by you, and you by him, according to the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus, the Messiah.

Now we ask you, brothers, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and our gathering together to him,

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

Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of his mouth, rendering him powerless by the manifestation of his coming.

If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of him. Have nothing to do with him so that he will feel ashamed.

Yet, don't treat him like an enemy, but warn him like a brother.

I am the worst of them. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the worst sinner, the Messiah Jesus might demonstrate all of his patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life.

He must be well thought of by outsiders, so he doesn't fall into disgrace and the trap set for him by the Devil.

Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him as if he were your father. Treat younger men like brothers,

At the right time, he will make him known. God is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

He alone has endless life and lives in inaccessible light. No one has ever seen him, nor can anyone see him. Honor and eternal power belong to him! Amen.

Enduring, we with him will reign. Who him denies, he will disclaim.

However, God's solid foundation still stands. It has this inscription on it: "The Lord knows those who belong to him," and "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from evil."

so that they might escape from the Devil's snare, even though they've been held captive by him to do his will.

Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry.

Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will pay him back for what he did.

You, too, must watch out for him, for he violently opposed our message.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will take me safely to his heavenly kingdom. Glory belongs to him forever and ever! Amen.

They claim to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.

and poured him out upon us, too, through Jesus the Messiah our Savior true.

Have nothing to do with a divisive person after you have warned him once or twice.

As I send him back, it's like I'm coming along with him.

I wanted to keep him with me so that he could serve me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel. forced, but voluntary.

15Perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you could have him back forever,

17So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.

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

how will we escape if we neglect a salvation as great as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and then it was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

Instead, someone has declared somewhere, "What is man that you should remember him, or the son of man that you should care for him?

You made him a little lower than the angels, yet you crowned him with glory and honor

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.

And again, "I will trust him." And again, "I am here with the children God has given me."

He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God's household,

Now who heard him and provoked him? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?

And to whom did he swear that they would never enter his rest? It was to those who disobeyed him, was it not?

No creature can hide from him, but everyone is exposed and helpless before the eyes of the one to whom we must give a word of explanation.

In the same way, the Messiah did not take upon himself the glory of being a high priest. No, it was God who said to him, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father."

As a mortal man, he offered up prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his devotion to God.

and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,

and who have fallen away, as long as they continue to crucify the Son of God to their own detriment by exposing him to public ridicule.

For God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have ministered to the saints and continue to minister to them.

so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us.

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.

He has no father, mother, or genealogy, no birth date recorded for him, nor a date of death. Like the Son of God, he continues to be a priest forever.

Just look at how great this man was! Even Abraham the patriarch himself gave him a tenth of what he had captured!

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

For it is declared about him, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

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."

Therefore, because he always lives to intercede for them, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him.

so the Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for him.

but my righteous one will live by faith, and if he turns back, my soul will take no pleasure in him."

By faith Enoch was taken away without experiencing death. He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he won approval as one who pleased God.