But he said to me, "My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me.

Look, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you, because I do not want your possessions, but you. For children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

Now I will most gladly spend and be spent for your lives! If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

For I am afraid that somehow when I come I will not find you what I wish, and you will find me not what you wish. I am afraid that somehow there may be quarreling, jealousy, intense anger, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

I am afraid that when I come again, my God may humiliate me before you, and I will grieve for many of those who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.

This is the third time I am coming to visit you. By the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter will be established.

I said before when I was present the second time and now, though absent, I say again to those who sinned previously and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone,

For indeed he was crucified by reason of weakness, but he lives because of God's power. For we also are weak in him, but we will live together with him, because of God's power toward you.

And I hope that you will realize that we have not failed the test!

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice, set things right, be encouraged, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father,

yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, saying, "All the nations will be blessed in you."

Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous one will live by faith.

But the law is not based on faith, but the one who does the works of the law will live by them.

But what does the scripture say? "Throw out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the son" of the free woman.

Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all!

I am confident in the Lord that you will accept no other view. But the one who is confusing you will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.

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

envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

Carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

For each one will carry his own load.

Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows,

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

So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up.

And all who will behave in accordance with this rule, peace and mercy be on them, and on the Israel of God.

From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus], the faithful in Christ Jesus.

He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will --

He did this when he revealed to us the secret of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,

In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

When reading this, you will be able to understand my insight into this secret of Christ.

But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head.

For everything made evident is light, and for this reason it says: "Awake, O sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!"

For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord's will is.

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.

"that it may go well with you and that you will live a long time on the earth."

not like those who do their work only when someone is watching -- as people-pleasers -- but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.

because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this will be rewarded by the Lord.

Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances, how I am doing.

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

What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,

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

My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die.

Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me, yet I don't know which I prefer:

And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress and joy in the faith,

so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow -- in heaven and on earth and under the earth --

by holding on to the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.

For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you.

though I am confident in the Lord that I too will be coming to see you soon.

Therefore let those of us who are "perfect" embrace this point of view. If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways.

who will transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of his glorious body by means of that power by which he is able to subject all things to himself.

And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

And my God will supply your every need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

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

For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments that sound reasonable.

When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him.

Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become disheartened.

because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as the reward. Serve the Lord Christ.

For the one who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there are no exceptions.

Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.

I sent him with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave of Christ, greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

For this is God's will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality,

In this way you will live a decent life before outsiders and not be in need.

Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians.

For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, 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, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night.

Now when they are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.

He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep we will come to life together with him.

in everything give thanks. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this.

With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength,

And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith,

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.

And so you know what holds him back, so that he will be revealed in his own time.

For the hidden power of lawlessness is already at work. However, the one who holds him back will do so until he is taken out of the way,

and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy by the breath of his mouth and wipe out by the manifestation of his arrival.

The arrival of the lawless one will be by Satan's working with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders,

Consequently God sends on them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.

And so all of them who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evil will be condemned.

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

And we are confident about you in the Lord that you are both doing -- and will do -- what we are commanding.

But she will be delivered through childbearing, if she continues in faith and love and holiness with self-control.

But if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for the church of God?

He must not be a recent convert or he may become arrogant and fall into the punishment that the devil will exact.

Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings,

They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

By pointing out such things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, having nourished yourself on the words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.

Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that everyone will see your progress.

Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach. Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

Reinforce these commands, so that they will be beyond reproach.

But do not accept younger widows on the list, because their passions may lead them away from Christ and they will desire to marry,

Those who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters as deserving of full respect. This will prevent the name of God and Christian teaching from being discredited.

But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that.