Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you.

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;

however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ,

who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone;

Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,

that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints,

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,

I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,

Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.

praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;

that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.

Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts;

Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.

For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house.

When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.

Say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.

and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain,

so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.

For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews,

hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost.

so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.

For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know.

For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.

But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you,

as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith?

so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;

that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,

and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.

so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief;

who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.

But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction,

and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.

See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.

But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;

This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.

when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.

To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power,

so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?

And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;

that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,

For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,

in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you;

and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.

We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command.

Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.

nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you;

not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example.

For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.

If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame.

As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines,

But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.

Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight,

Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,

for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.