Join together in imitating me, brothers, and pay close attention to those who live by the example we have set for you.

For I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of the Messiah.

Our citizenship, however, is in heaven, and it is from there that we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

Therefore, my dear brothers whom I long for, my joy and my victor's crown, this is how you must stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.

Then God's peace, which goes far beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your hearts and minds in union with the Messiah Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy keep thinking about these things.

Now I rejoice in the Lord greatly, because once again you have shown your concern for me. Of course, you were concerned for me but you did not have an opportunity to show it.

I am not saying this because I am in any need, for I have learned to be content in whatever situation I am in.

You Philippians also know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church participated with me in the matter of giving and receiving except for you.

Even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs not once, but twice.

It is not that I am looking for a gift. No, I want to see that you receive the fruit that increases to your benefit.

We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, praying always for you,

because we have heard about your faith in the Messiah Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints,

based on the hope laid up for you in heaven. Some time ago you heard about this hope through the word of truth, the gospel

For this reason, since the day we heard about this, we have not stopped praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the full knowledge of God's will with respect to all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

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.

Now I am rejoicing while suffering for you as I complete in my flesh whatever remains of the Messiah's sufferings on behalf of his body, which is the church.

I became its servant as God commissioned me to work for you, so that I may complete my ministry of the word of God.

For I want you to know how much I struggle for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have never seen me face to face.

For although I am physically absent, I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how stable you are and how firm your faith in the Messiah is.

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.

Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels cheat you out of the prize by rejoicing about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up for no reason by his carnal mind.

For you have died, and your life has been safely guarded by the Messiah in God.

Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old nature with its practices

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.

Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is appropriate for those who belong to the Lord.

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.

Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people.

For the person who does what is wrong will be paid back for what he has done without favoritism.

At the same time also pray for us that God would open before us a door for the word so that we may tell the secret about the Messiah, for which I have been imprisoned.

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.

Jesus, who is called Justus, also greets you. These are the only ones of the circumcision who are fellow workers for the kingdom of God. They have been an encouragement to me.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of the Messiah Jesus, sends you his greetings. He is always wrestling in his prayers for you, so that you may stand mature, completely convinced of the entire will of God.

For I can testify on his behalf that he has a deep concern for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.

We always thank God for all of you when we mention you in our prayers.

for the gospel we brought did not come to you in words only, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. Indeed, you know what kind of people we proved to be while we were with you, acting on your behalf.

As a result, you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

For people keep telling us what kind of welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve a living and true God

and to wait for his Son whom he raised from the dead to come back from heaven. This Jesus is the one who rescues us from the coming wrath.

For you yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a waste of time.

For our appeal to you does not spring from deceit, impure motives, or trickery.

even though as apostles of the Messiah we might have made such demands. Instead, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother tenderly caring for her own children.

We cared so deeply for you that we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but our very lives. That is how dear you were to us.

Here is another reason why we constantly give thanks to God: When you received God's word, which you heard from us, you did not accept it as the word of humans but for what it really is the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in union with the Messiah Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions from the people of your own country as they did from those Jews

Brothers, although we have been separated from you for a little while in person but not in heart we eagerly desire to see you again face to face.

After all, who is our hope, joy, or reason for rejoicing in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? It is you, isn't it?

and send Timothy, our brother who works with us for God in the gospel of the Messiah, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,

so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions, for which you are aware that we were destined.

For now we can go on living, as long as you continue to stand firm in the Lord.

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we have in God's presence because of you?

Now may our God and Father and our Lord Jesus provide a way for us to visit you.

May the Lord greatly increase your love for each other and for all people, just as we love you.

For it is God's will that you be sanctified: You must abstain from sexual immorality.

For God did not call us to be impure, but to be holy.

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

For we declare to you what the Lord has told us to say: We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have died.

for you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to darkness.

For people who go to sleep, go to sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night.

For God has not destined us to receive wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,

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

Brothers, we ask you to show your appreciation for those who work among you, set an example for you in the Lord, and instruct you.

Make sure that no one pays back evil for evil. Instead, always pursue what is good for each other and for everyone else.

In everything be thankful, because this is God's will for you in the Messiah Jesus.

Do not put out the Spirit's fire.

Brothers, pray for us.

Brothers, at all times we are obligated to thank God for you. It is right to do this because your faith is growing all the time and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

This is evidence of God's righteous judgment and is intended to make you worthy of God's kingdom, for which you are suffering.

Certainly it is right for God to pay back those who afflict you with affliction,

in blazing fire. He will take revenge on those who do not know God and on those who refuse to obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

With this in mind, we always pray for you, asking that our God might make you worthy of his calling and that through his power he might help you accomplish every good desire and faithful action.

Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for it will not come unless the rebellion takes place first and the man of sin, who is destined for destruction, is revealed.

For the secret of this lawlessness is already at work, but only until the person now holding it back gets out of the way.

For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.

At all times we are obligated to thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you to be the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through faith in the truth.

Finally, brothers, pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly, and that it may be honored the way it is among you.

For you yourselves know what you must do to imitate us. We never lived in idleness among you.

We did not eat anyone's food without paying for it. Instead, with toil and labor we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you.

that is, if he understands that the Law is not intended for righteous people but for lawbreakers and rebels, for ungodly people and sinners, for those who are unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers, their mothers, or other people,

for those involved in sexual immorality, for homosexuals, for kidnappers, for liars, for false witnesses, and for whatever else goes against the healthy teaching

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.

First of all, then, I urge you to offer to God petitions, prayers, intercessions, and expressions of thanks for all people,

for kings, and for everyone who has authority, so that we might lead a quiet and peaceful life with all godliness and dignity.

He gave himself as a ransom for everyone, the testimony at the proper time.

For this reason I was appointed to be an announcer, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the gentiles. (I am telling you the truth. I am not lying.)

Women, for their part, should display their beauty by dressing modestly and decently in appropriate clothes, not with elaborate hairstyles or by wearing gold, pearls, or expensive clothes,

but through good actions. This is proper for women who claim to revere God.

For Adam was formed first, then Eve,

For if a man does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?

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

Ministers, too, must be serious. They must not be two-faced, addicted to wine, or greedy for money.

Those ministers who serve well gain an excellent reputation for themselves and will have great assurance by their faith in the Messiah Jesus.

For everything God created is good, and nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for other believers in your speech, behavior, love, faithfulness, and purity.

Honor widows who have no other family members to care for them.

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to respect their own family by repaying their parents, for this is pleasing in God's sight.

A woman who has no other family members to care for her and who is left all alone has placed her hope in God and devotes herself to petitions and prayers night and day.

She must be well known for her good actions as a woman who has raised children, welcomed strangers, washed the saints' feet, helped the suffering, and devoted herself to doing good in every way.