All that they had heard was--'The man who once persecuted us is now telling the Good News of the very Faith of which he once made havoc.'

It was in obedience to a revelation that I went; and I laid before the Apostles the Good News that I am proclaiming among the Gentiles. I did this privately before those who are thought highly of, for fear that I might possibly be taking, or might have already taken, a course which would prove useless.

But, on account of the false Brothers who had stolen in, the men who had crept in to spy upon the liberty which we have through union with Christ Jesus, in order to bring us back to slavery--

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.

He is subject to the control of guardians and stewards, during the period for which his father has power to appoint them.

Yet formerly, in your ignorance of God, you became slaves to 'gods' which were no gods.

But now that you have found God--or, rather, have been found by him--how is it that you are turning back to that poor and feeble puerile teaching, to which yet once again you are wanting to become slaves?

You make me fear that the labor which I have spent on you may have been wasted.

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

All this accords with the loving-kindness which God lavished upon us, accompanied by countless gifts of wisdom and discernment,

When he made known to us his hidden purpose. And it also accords with the good-will which God purposed to exhibit in Christ,

In view of that Divine Order which was to mark the completion of the ages, when he should make everything, both in Heaven and on earth, center in him.

And you, too, by your union with him, after you had heard the Message of the Truth, the Good News of your Salvation--you believed in him and were sealed as his by receiving the holy Spirit, which he had promised.

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,

And the transcendent greatness of the power which he is able to exercise in dealing with us who believe in him.

Yet God, in his abundant compassion, and because of the great love with which he loved us,

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.

For you have heard, I suppose, of the responsible charge with which God entrusted me for your benefit,

Of this Good News I became a minister, in virtue of the charge with which God entrusted me in the exercise of his power--

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;

In accordance with that purpose which runs through all the ages and which he has now accomplished in Jesus, the Christ, our Master.

To him who, through his power which is at work within us, is able to do far more than anything that we can ask or conceive--

And this shall continue, until we all attain to that unity which is given by faith and by a fuller knowledge of the Son of God; until we reach the ideal man--the full standard of the perfection of the Christ.

For you learned with regard to your former way of living that you must cast off your old nature, which, yielding to deluding passions, grows corrupt;

And that you must clothe yourselves in that new nature which was created to resemble God, with the righteousness and holiness springing from the Truth.

Take no part in deeds of Darkness, from which no good can come; on the contrary, expose them.

For the future, find strength in your union with the Lord, and in the power which comes from his might.

And receive 'the helmet of Salvation,' and 'the sword of the Spirit'--which is the Message of God--always with prayer and supplication.

On behalf of which I am an Ambassador--in chains! Pray that, in telling it, I may speak fearlessly as I ought.

Bearing a rich harvest of that righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

But what if the life here in the body--if this brings me fruit from my labors? Then which to choose I cannot tell! I am sorely perplexed either way!

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.

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

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,

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

Any righteousness that I have being, not the righteousness that results from Law, but the righteousness which comes through faith in Christ--the righteousness which is derived from God and is founded on faith.

Not that I have already laid hold of it, or that I am already made perfect. But I press on, in the hope of actually laying hold of that for which indeed I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

For I, Brothers, do not regard myself as having yet laid hold of it. But this one thing I do--forgetting what lies behind, and straining every nerve for that which lies in front,

I press on to the goal, to gain the prize of that heavenward Call which God gave me through Christ Jesus.

Brothers, unite in following my example, and fix your eyes on those who are living by the pattern which we have set you.

But the State of which we are citizens is in Heaven; and it is from Heaven that we are eagerly looking for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Who, by the exercise of his power to bring everything into subjection to himself, will make this body that we have in our humiliation like to that body which he has in his Glory.

Then the Peace of God, which is beyond all human understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and thoughts, through your union with Christ Jesus.

My wants are fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts which you sent me--the sweet fragrance of a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.

On account of the hope which awaits its fulfillment in Heaven. Of this hope you heard long ago in the true Message of the Good News which reached you--

And who told us of the love with which the Spirit has inspired you.

And therefore we, from the very day that we heard this, have never ceased praying for you, or asking that you may possess that deeper knowledge of the will of God, which comes through all true spiritual wisdom and insight.

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 he is the Head of the Church, which is his Body. The First-born from the dead, he is to the Church the Source of its Life, that he, in all things, may stand first.

If only you remain true to your Faith, firm and immovable, never abandoning the hope held out in the Good News to which you listened, which has been proclaimed among all created things under Heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Of which I myself became a minister in virtue of the office with which God entrusted me for your benefit, to declare the Message of God in all its fulness--

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

It is for that I toil, struggling with all the energy which he inspires and which works powerfully within me.

He canceled the bond which stood against us--the bond that consisted of ordinances--and which was directly hostile to us! He has taken it out of our way by nailing it to the cross!

Therefore destroy all that is earthly in you--immorality, uncleanness, passions, evil desires, and that greed which is idolatry.

These are the things on account of which the Wrath of God comes,

And to which you, like others, once devoted your lives, when you lived for them.

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

Over all these virtues put on love; for that is the girdle which makes all complete.

Since you know that it is from the Master that you will receive the inheritance which will be your recompense. You are serving Christ, the Master.

And at the same time pray for us, that God may give us an opening for our Message, so that we may speak of the truths hidden in the Christ--the truths for which I am in chains!

And when this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read before the Church at Laodicea, and that you yourselves read the letter which will be forwarded from there.

Give this message to Archippus--'Take care to discharge to the best of your ability the office to which you were appointed in the Master's Cause.'

This, too, is a reason why we, on our part, are continually thanking God--because, in receiving the teaching that you had from us, you accepted it, not as the teaching of man, but as what it really is--the teaching of God, which is even now doing its work within you who believe in Christ.

For you, Brothers, began to follow the example of the Churches of God in Judea which are in union with Jesus Christ; you, in your turn, suffering at the hands of your fellow-citizens, in the same way as those Churches did at the hands of the Jews--

So that none of you should be shaken by the troubles through which you are passing. You yourselves know that we are destined to meet with such things.

So much is this the case that we ourselves speak with pride, before the Churches of God, of the patience and faith which you have shown, in spite of all the persecutions and troubles that you are enduring.

These persecutions will vindicate the justice of God's judgment, and will result in your being reckoned worthy of God's Kingdom, for the sake of which you are now afflicted;

And you know now what the restraining influence is which prevents his appearing before his appointed time.

To this you were called by the Good News which we brought you, to attain to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We urge you, Brothers, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to avoid any Brother who is living an ill-ordered life, which is not in agreement with the teaching that you received from us.

nor to devote their attention to legends and interminable genealogies, which tend to give rise to argument rather than to further that divine plan which is revealed in the Faith.

The object of all instruction is to call forth that love which comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.

They want to be Teachers of the Law, and yet do not understand either the words they use, or the subjects on which they speak so confidently.

as is taught in the glorious Good News of the ever-blessed God, with which I was entrusted.

and the loving-kindness of our Lord was boundless, and filled me with that faith and love which come from union with Christ Jesus.

but in case I should be delayed, I want you to know what your conduct ought to be in the Household of God, which is the Church of the Living God--the pillar and stay of the Truth.

Put all this before the Brethren, and you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, sustained by the precepts of the Faith and of that Good Teaching by which you have guided your life.

Do not neglect the divine gift within you, which was given you, amid many a prediction, when the hands of the Officers of the Church were laid on your head.

Those are the points on which you should dwell, that there may be no call for your censure.

In the same way noble deeds become conspicuous, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.

Those who want to be rich fall into the snares of temptation, and become the prey of many foolish and harmful ambitions, which plunge people into Destruction and Ruin.

And that is my reason for reminding you to stir into flame that gift of God, which is yours through your ordination at my hands.

For the Spirit which God gave us was not a spirit of cowardice, but a spirit of power, love, and self-control.

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.

of which I was myself appointed a Herald and Apostle, and Teacher.

Keep before you, as an example of sound teaching, all that you learnt from me as you listened with that faith and love which come from union with Christ Jesus.

Do you, then, my Child, find strength in the help which comes from the union with Christ Jesus;

in the service of which I am suffering hardships, even to being put in fetters as a criminal. But the Message of God is not fettered;

and that is why I submit to anything for the sake of God's People, that they also may obtain the Salvation which comes from union with Christ Jesus, and imperishable glory.

as well as of my persecutions, and of the sufferings which I met with at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know what persecutions I underwent; and yet the Lord brought me safe out of all!

and that, from your childhood, you have known the Sacred Writings, which can give you the wisdom that, through belief in Christ Jesus, leads to Salvation.

And now the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just Judge, will give me on 'That Day'--and not only to me, but to all who have loved his Appearing.

Bring with you, when you come, the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.

From Paul, a servant of God, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, charged to strengthen the faith of God's Chosen People, and their knowledge of that Truth which makes for godliness, .

and is based on the hope of Immortal Life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began,

and has revealed at his own time in his Message, with the proclamation of which I was entrusted by the command of God our Savior.

not as the result of any righteous actions that we had done, but in fulfillment of his merciful purposes. He saved us by that Washing which was a New Birth to us, and by the renewing power of the Holy Spirit,

which he poured out upon us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior;

Because I hear of the love and the faith which you show, not only to the Lord Jesus, but also to all his People;