Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also.

If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.

Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses.

For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Here for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances;

I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again I will not spare anyone,

For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.

But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.

Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”

They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them.

Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.

For each one will bear his own load.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:

He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him

also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

For this reason it says,
“Awake, sleeper,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you.”

So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men,

knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will;

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.Yes, and I will rejoice,

for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,

holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.

and I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.

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;

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.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

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.

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

When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

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.

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;

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

As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information.

and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your number. They will inform you about the whole situation here.

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

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 the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

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

While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

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

in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

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.

and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,

These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

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.

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

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